The Games: Reload
~ Chapter Two ~
by Yuen
"Okay," Jyounouchi said, once Wu Kong had finally stopped laughing and was instead just grinning widely, showing off his fangs. "We need explanations."
"Yes," Ryou said. "How did Bandit Keith get so powerful?" In the clearing, everyone was muttering amongst themselves about the strangeness of their situation.
"And most importantly," Yami glared at Wu Kong. "Who are YOU?"
"Yeah, you were so COOL!" Mokuba chirped. "How did you learn to fight like that?" Everyone sweatdropped.
Putting his Jin Gu Bang back into his ear, Wu Kong swept his glance over this strange group of humans. They were mostly ordinary, but he could feel some powerful magic emanating from three of them. The hilarious-looking boy (Wu Kong had to suppress another bout of laughter), the boy with spiky white hair, and the dark-skinned guy with golden hair. He further pinpointed the source of magic to be the enchanted items on their persons. 'How could a human possess such power? Ah, of course,' he thought as he probed further. 'It's some kind of dark magic. I can smell blood, lots of it. Sacrifices were made to create these items... Hngh! Typical human magic.'
"Well, speak up!" Yami said, annoyed. 'He dared to insult our beautiful hairstyle!' he thought. 'And now he's staring at us. How rude...' He felt a sudden chill. The golden eyes seemed to be probing into his soul, his... Millenium Puzzle!
"What are you doing?!" Yami shouted at the same time as Bakura and Yami Malik. Their hikaris and friends looked at them questioningly.
"What is it, yami?" Yuugi asked. Yami answered by glaring at Wu Kong.
"That guy over there was intruding into our Items!" Bakura snarled. The others gasped.
"Why did you do it?" Yami asked, eyes narrowing.
"I don't care why, I'm just going to kill you," Yami Malik growled, grasping his Rod.
Wu Kong just grinned. "Hey, don't get so worked up. I was just checking your magical powers." His grin turned into a smirk. "Which turn out to be far inferior to mine." There was an uproar. The three yamis were visibly enraged.
"I am the King of Games," Yami declared hotly. "No one talks to me like that and gets away with it."
"How dare you insult the great Touzouku Ou of all Egypt!" Bakura seethed. "I challenge you to a Shadow Game!"
"That's it!" Yami Malik roared. "You are DEAD!!" He raised his Millennium Rod. Everyone was shocked. Yami Malik was going to use his shadow powers!
The Rod glowed menacingly and Wu Kong was thrown back violently by an unseen force. "Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!" Yami Malik laughed evilly. "Take THAT - ah?"
The monkey youkai stood in front of him, unscathed by the attack, his smirk still firmly in place. He pointed at Yami Malik and uttered a single word. "Freeze."
Yami Malik was promptly frozen to the spot. 'I... I can't move!' The Millennium Rod glowed feebly a few times in his attempts to free himself, to no avail. His eyes shrank to pinpricks. 'The bastard froze me with... with some kind of spell.'
"I proudly present," Wu Kong proclaimed happily. "The body freezing spell." Everyone was struck dumb. Then Malik stepped forward, trembling.
"You... You.... Whatever your name is....." he drew a deep breath. "Free my yami... please." Yami Malik stared at him in horror. //Malik, I won't have you BEGGING with that... that shrimp!// he yelled through their mind link. Malik turned to face his yami. /Yami, it's the only way to free you./
//No it is not.//
/Yes, it is! You can't get free by yourself!/
//Of course I can!//
/... Oh? Then tell me why are you still standing there like a statue./
//... I ... I like it like this!//
/ Really you don't expect me to believe that./ /
/*growl* You just can't beg with him, Malik, I won't allow it!//
Malik let out a frustrated sigh. /Yami! Shut up, okay?/
//NO!//
/Oh, stop being stubborn!/
Everyone watched the silent exchange between yami and hikari. It was very interesting, really, to see the changing expressions and stances and looks, without a spoken word passing between them.
Wu Kong turned to Yuugi. "They can do telepathy?" he asked.
Yuugi blinked and nodded. "Sort of."
To his utmost surprise, Wu Kong exclaimed enthusiastically, "That is so COOL!" He skipped over to Malik and Yami Malik and bombarded them with questions. "How do you do it? You can still communicate when one of you is immobile? Are you twins? I thought only immortals were telepaths?" Malik raised an eyebrow and Yami Malik would have done the same had he not been frozen.
Then Malik decided to turn this situation to his advantage by asking, very politely, "Ano, my yami and I would love to answer your questions, but could you please lift your spell first?" Wu Kong waved a hand impatiently. "Of course, of course." He pointed at Yami Malik again who found that suddenly he could move again. In the background, Malik grinned and gave the symbol for victory.
Wu Kong smiled brightly. "Now do you admit that I am the stronger one here?" Yami Malik scowled and lifted his Rod, drawing the blade out, eyes flashing dangerously. He would have attacked Wu Kong there and then if Malik hadn't stood in his way, blocking him. The monkey youkai was unfazed.
"Hey, a secret weapon!"
"Malik!" Yami Malik growled, but his grip wavered slightly. "Get out of the way!"
"No, yami." Malik glared back at Yami Malik. "You are no match for him and you know it!"
Yami Malik stared into Malik's steady gaze... and slid back the blade into the Millennium Rod again at last.
"All right, all right," he snarled. "I won't kill him. Fine?" Malik heaved a sigh of relief. Wu Kong shrugged and looked at Yami and Bakura.
"You two? Want to prove that you're stronger than me?"
Yami and Bakura looked at each other. They seemed to come to a silent understanding.
"I admit that you may be stronger than us in some areas," Yami said slowly. Wu Kong gave him a wry look that said 'Some areas?'
"But no way can you beat us in a Shadow Game!" Bakura finished proudly.
Mai rolled her eyes and whispered to Anzu, "Boys will be boys." Anzu giggled in response.
Wu Kong was looking highly interested again. "What's a shadow game? Does it have anything to do with the enchanted items you're carrying? What -" He would have continued for quite some time in this vein if Jyounouchi had not interrupted.
"Wait a minute, monkey boy," he said loudly. "I think you should introduce yourself first, before we answer any questions."
Wu Kong turned a full force glare on him. "Never call me monkey boy, mortal! I am Sun Wu Kong, Great Sage Equal of Heaven, and Handsome Monkey King of Water Curtain Cave, Flower Fruit Mountain!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled.
"Sun Wu Kong.... Masaka... SON GOKU!!" Honda cried out.
"As in the old Chinese legend?!" Mai asked, astonished.
"We're in the world of Journey to the West?!" Anzu exclaimed.
"Wu Kong-sama!!' Shizuka squealed and ran up to Wu Kong, who looked very taken aback. "I love you, you are my most, most favorite character from the book!! Can I have your autograph?!" Jyounouchi gaped at his sister.
"What's 'autograph'?" Wu Kong asked, scratching his head. "Why do you all know me? Am I well known in your world too?"
"Well, basically, Taisei-sama," Ryou walked up to Wu Kong, looking at him in an entirely new light. "Your adventures were recorded in a book by Wu Cheng En. He managed to pass it off as fiction! This book was very popular in China, and now, in modern times, your story has become a household legend in China and Japan. Maybe Korea too. And I really have to tell you this, Wu Kong-san..." Ryou glomped Wu Kong happily. "You're my IDOL!! I've been wanting to do that for ages!!"
"Not fair, Ryou!" Shizuka pouted. "I want to hug him too!" Which she did with great enthusiasm.
Wu Kong froze, his mind busy processing this new information. In these people's world, he was a fictional character. 'What the hell?!' And in these people's world, he was a household legend throughout entire China and countries that he didn't know of. 'Well, that's good, at least. Very, very good....' His inflated ego ordered him to do a victory dance in the sky but another part of his brain was telling him that two people he didn't even know were clinging to him like there was no tomorrow. 'Lord Buddha no one's ever hugged me before, what do I do what do I do what do I do?'
Luckily before Wu Kong's brain went into overload, Bakura pulled his hikari away, while Jyounouchi did the same with Shizuka. The monkey youkai sighed in relief.
"Shizuka, don't you dare embarrass me like that again." Jyounouchi chided his sister.
"But, onii-chan, he's so kawaii ~"
Wu Kong blanched at this. 'Cute? Me?!'
"Pathetic." Bakura hissed at Ryou, who grinned and started chanting happily: "I got to hug Son Goku, I got to hug Son Goku..."
Bakura growled, eyes darkening. \\What's so good about that monkey guy?\\ he thought huffily. \\All right, he's goddamn powerful but Ryou knows I'm better than him, right?\\
Unknowingly, Bakura had spoken through their mind link. Ryou giggled. \Right.\
\\ Shit, Ryou! You heard me? I mean, uh, I... \\ He paused for a moment before finishing lamely. \\ No way can that monkey compare to me!\\
Ryou's eyes twinkled. \Yami... Are you jealous?\
\\ Jealous?! \\ Bakura twitched nervously. \\ What gave you that idea?! Why should I be jealous?! Why I -\\
\Yami.\ Ryou was on the verge of laughter. \You're blushing.\
\\ I'm NOT!!\\ Bakura clapped his hands to his cheeks. Indeed, they felt warmer than usual. \\ I'm... I'm just angry at you for being so childish! \\
\Yeah, whatever you say, yami.\ Ryou answered, rolling his eyes.
"The white haired guys are mind talking each other too?" Wu Kong asked Yuugi again while he watched Bakura and Ryou. "Hai," Yuugi nodded. "By the looks of it, you and your twin can do it too, right?" Wu Kong continued thoughtfully. 'How odd... Three pairs of twins in a group. Is it mere coincidence? Or perhaps twins are more common in their world?'
"Um, yeah," Yuugi replied, slightly surprised that Wu Kong had caught on. "We're not twins though," he said. "He's my yami."
"What's a 'dark'?" Wu Kong asked, puzzled, but before Yuugi had the chance to reply, he was distracted by some of the others screaming.
"Onii-chan!" Shizuka cried. "I'm scared!"
"What... What are these things?!" Honda stammered.
About twenty youkai had surrounded them. All were wielding various types of weapons. And all of them wore the same menacing, greedy expression. Everyone backed away into the center of the clearing, looks of fear on their faces.
'Youkai!' Wu Kong thought, mildly surprised. 'I was so occupied that I didn't even notice their scents... Which aren't very strong anyway. Their power is extremely weak, no command of magic whatsoever...' He smiled. This was an excellent chance to see how the strangers utilized their powers.
"Well, well," one of them said mockingly in ancient Chinese. "We were just going out to get some food and look what we found... A bunch of humans dressed like clowns!" The other demons started laughing idiotically.
"What did he say?" Jyounouchi frowned.
"Evidently, they have just said something insulting that is funny at our expense," Kaiba said expressionlessly. "Which is probably not very funny by the way."
"Uh huh, you got that right. Now just leave them to me," Wu Kong grinned. "My staff loves the taste of blood." Everyone shot him strange looks. He sweatdropped. "O.. Okay, I was just kidding!"
"Who wants to leave them to you?" Yami smirked. "I can handle them all by myself."
"No," Bakura cut in. "If anyone fights the demons, it'll be me!"
"Hah!" Yami Malik scoffed. "As if you two could fight anything! My Millennium Rod will destroy them all!"
Yami and Bakura glared at him darkly. "Nani ~ ?!"
The demons sweatdropped as the three yamis began to quarrel.
"I'll face the demons!"
"No, me!"
"No way in hell can you beat them!"
"What did you say~?!"
"Hey, they're ignoring us completely," said a tiger demon. The bear demon beside him snapped.
"Those insolent humans! Everyone, let's kill them NOW!"
"Right!"
The demons rushed in, shouting battle cries. Shizuka screamed in fright.
"What should we do now?!" Malik yelled, as he dodged a youkai's blow.
"We fight!" Yami shouted. "Everyone, stay together! Don't get separated!"
"Yami, behind you!" Jyounouchi cried out in warning.
Yami turned to face a huge, black panther demon. Without hesitating, Yami yelled: "MIND CRUSH!!!" With a last choked cry, the demon sank to the ground.
"Yami, that was sugoi!" Yuugi exclaimed. Yami turned and winked at his hikari. Then he gasped. 'Yuugi, there's a demon behind you!!'
"Huh?" Yuugi turned to see Wu Kong swinging his metal staff lazily into the demon's head, beating it into a bloody pulp. "KYAAAAAA!!!" Yuugi screamed as he scuttled backwards to avoid the flying bits and pieces of the demon's corpse. Yami ran up to him.
"Yuugi, are you okay?!" Yami asked, concern showing in his eyes.
" I... I... Yes.... I... I'm just a little startled, that's all. "
"Good... Oh Ra, there's another one! MIND CRUSH!!" Yuugi watched as his yami mind crushed yet another demon. As the demon toppled to the ground, Yami turned back for a moment, thinking. He, Yuugi and Wu Kong being close to the edge of the clearing, were far from the center of the fight. He looked back to where most of the others were fighting off the demons and made up his mind.
"Wu Kong! Take care of my hikari! I'm going to help the others. And if you let anyone harm Yuugi, I'll make sure that you pay!" 'Yuugi, stay with Wu Kong! He'll protect you. If you get into trouble, just call out to me.' With a last lingering glance at Yuugi, he ran to join the main fight.
"Yami...." Yuugi whispered, worry clouding his eyes.
"Your 'yami' is strong, Yuugi," Wu Kong laughed merrily. "He'll be fine." Without even a glance, he swung his staff backwards, the force of it pulverizing the demon that had just sneaked up behind them. Yuugi paled at the remains of the corpse. Wu Kong noticed and smiled.
"Don't be afraid Yuugi," he said softly. "Come, let's watch them. Look at your friends fight. Don't worry, I'll help out if any of them gets into real danger." Yuugi gulped and turned to watch the fight going on in all directions.
***********
Ryou was hiding behind Bakura, who had a knife in his hands. With a confident smirk, he threw the knife directly at the demon standing before them. The demon dodged it easily and lunged at them with a roar.
"Yami!" Ryou squeaked in fright.
Bakura gave a twisted grin. "Nothing to be afraid of, Ryou. Watch..." Ryou gasped.
The knife had changed direction in mid air and gathering up speed, charged into the demon's back. The demon gave a guttural moan and collapsed as it burst out from his chest, taking a still beating, bloody heart with it.
"Yes! *smirk* Right on target! I love it when I seal part of my soul in things, they're so easy to control." Bakura caught it deftly and slid the heart off, licking the blood off his knife. "Um... So this is what demon blood tastes like." Then he dropped the heart and stepped on it. Ryou clapped a hand to his mouth as the heart was crushed. Bakura looked at Ryou and frowned.
"Ryou, don't be so pathetic," he said, annoyed. "It's just a goddamn heart!"
Ryou shook his head, hand still firmly pressed to his mouth. \I know, but... it's just too... horrible!\
Bakura sighed. \\ You are such a weakling... WATCH OUT!!\\ He pushed Ryou to the side, avoiding another demon's attack. "Here we go again... "
**********
"Who was that, Yuugi?" Wu Kong asked. "How did he make the knife change directions?"
"Oh... that was Yami Bakura. He's the spirit of the Millennium Ring and was once a notorious tomb robber in ancient Egypt. I think he sealed a part of his soul into the knife, enabling him to control it freely. That's the the Ring's power. The one who looks like him is his hikari, Bakura Ryou. "
Seeing Wu Kong's confused expression, Yuugi sighed. "I think I'd better explain to you about the items and the spirits in them..."
**********
Meanwhile, Yami Malik was fighting a tiger youkai, with Malik standing behind him where he was safe.
"DIE!!" Yami Malik shouted as the Millennium Rod glowed. The demon cried out as he was pinned to the ground. Swiftly, Yami Malik leapt on top of the demon's chest. Drawing out the blade from the Rod, he plunged it into the demon's heart. The demon promptly choked up blood and died.
/Wow, that was fast work, yami./
//*smirk* Why, thank you, Malik. Oh, here comes another one! //
/How about you control his mind and order him to attack the other demons? Then when all the demons are gone, make him kill himself... If the other demons don't kill him first./
//That was a brilliant idea, Malik!// Screams in ancient Chinese filled the air. "What are you doing?!" "Why are you attacking us - AARGH!" "Betrayer!" "I'll kill you!!" //I love it when you come up with evil plans like that...//
/*smirk* Why, thank you, yami./
**********
"Who're they?" Wu Kong asked.
"That's Yami Malik and his hikari Malik Ishtar," Yuugi broke off his explanation for a while to answer Wu Kong's question. "They're the holders of the Millennium Rod which can control the minds of others..."
"Mind control!" Wu Kong exclaimed. "I've never even touched that type of magic before." 'And here I was thinking that they were just weak human magical items...'
**********
At the same time another demon was rushing at Mokuba. The boy was trembling all over, his heart beating wildly as the demon raised his axe and started to swing it down.
"Onii-chan, HELP!!" Mokuba screamed, squeezing his eyes shut in fear.
There was a sickening thud as the axe connected. Mokuba looked up to see his brother standing in front of him, blocking the demon's weapon with his briefcase.
"Onii-chan!" Mokuba breathed in wonder and relief.
"You've dirtied my precious cards, monster!" Kaiba snarled. He punched the demon squarely on the nose. The demon just grunted and lifted his axe for another attack. "What the... " Kaiba was shocked. His punches were nothing against a demon.
"HIYAKK!!! JYOUNOUCHI AND HONDA FUSION KICK~!!" Kaiba and Mokuba stared as Jyounouchi and Honda landed flying kicks together on the demon's head, knocking it unconscious.
**********
Wu Kong whistled. "Those two mortals must be very strong to be able to knock out a youkai like that. Who are they?"
Yuugi smiled. "The blonde one is Jyounouchi and the other is Honda. They're my best friends!"
"And the ones they saved? I think the way the tall one blocked the axe was good for a mortal."
"He's Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corps. The kid's his brother, Mokuba."
**********
"Well, how about that, Kaiba!" Jyounouchi grinned widely as he landed. "We've saved you and your brother's lives!"
"You'll be in debt to us forever, Kaiba!" Honda laughed.
Kaiba smirked. "I don't think so." Opening his case, he took out a few M&W cards. "Look over there." Jyounouchi and Honda turned to see a demon attacking Shizuka, Anzu, and Mai!
"Shizuka!!" Jyounouchi yelled in horror as he and Honda started to run towards his sister. 'Damn! Too late...!' he thought desperately.
Suddenly he saw two cards whizzing past him. Jyounouchi looked back.
"Kaiba?!"
Kaiba was throwing his cards at the demon! One card hit the demon's neck, the other his forehead. The demon stopped his attack for a while, looking wildly in all directions for the source of the cards. Then two cards managed to embed themselves in his eyes.
"YEAAARRRGGHH!!" The demon roared in pain and confusion. Anzu grabbed the chance to launch an attack of her own.
"GRANDE BATTLEMENTS DEVANT!!" she screamed and slammed her leg into the demon's crotch. His roar became a choked up groan, and he doubled over in pain.
"I don't take ballet lessons for nothing, you know," Anzu said, smirking.
"Take this, demon! HYAA!!!" Mai finished the job by slamming her heavy backpack onto the demon's head, rendering it unconscious. Seeing that the demon was finished, Kaiba smirked and turned his attention back to his little brother. 'The debt is cleared, Jyounouchi...' he thought smugly.
**********
Yuugi and Wu Kong watched in amazement as the two females defeated the youkai.
"Whoah..." Yuugi said slowly. "I never knew that Kaiba was so accurate with cards... Wu Kong-san, the girl with short hair is Anzu, my childhood friend. She's very good at ballet... that's some sort of dance. And the other woman is Mai. She's an excellent duelist."
Wu Kong nodded. "Frankly, I'm impressed. Despite their lack of strength, they still defeated the demon with teamwork and by taking advantage of his weaknesses. That Kaiba is a very good strategist. Eyes are most people's weakness and ..." Yuugi sweatdropped as Wu Kong babbled on happily about the fight.
**********
"Yatta! " Grinning widely, Anzu and Mai slapped their hands together in a high five. "We did it!"
"You two were great!" Shizuka laughed. "Oniichan, did you see? Did you see?"
Stopped in his tracks, Jyounouchi gaped. "They managed to defeat the demon ... "
"Well, with Kaiba's help, though..." Honda said, before giving a relieved sigh. "I thought they were dead for sure..."
"Don't let your guard down!" They were startled by Otogi's voice and the roar behind them. Jyounouchi and Honda turned to see a demon howling with his eyes scrunched tight in pain.
"Come on, Honda!" Jyounouchi yelled. Once again they used their fusion kick, knocking the demon unconscious. Otogi strode up to them and picked up two dice from the ground nearby.
"Hey, Otogi!" said Honda. "You knocked out the demon's eyes?"
"I saw the demon sneaking up behind you," Otogi said nonchalantly. "So I decided to take a leaf out of Kaiba's book and threw my dice at his eyes." He smirked. "Looks like it worked, ne?"
**********
"That's Otogi," Yuugi said, relieved at the opportunity to stop Wu Kong's rant. "He's the inventor of the game DDD and he's a master with dice. You should see the tricks he does with them."
"Oh... Okay," Wu Kong said as he surveyed the clearing. "Hm... There are still a few unconscious youkai left. It'll be best to kill them off." He looked at Yuugi. "Go to your Yami, he'll protect you." Yuugi nodded in understanding and left. Wu Kong started walking towards the demons who hadn't died yet. "There aren't many of them left now, anyway..." he murmured absentmindedly as he ended the demons' miserable existences.
**********
"....Ne? What's wrong with you two?" Otogi asked.
"Nothing," Jyounouchi gasped, eyes wide and staring.
"Only that there's a really big demon standing behind you," Honda moaned, looking as if he was going to wet himself.
Otogi turned around slowly to see a gigantic demon as tall as a house aiming a huge spear at him.
"KYAAAAAA!!!" Otogi screamed, drawing everyone's attention. 'Godhelpme I'mgonnadie I'msogonnadie.... Huh?'
Before anyone could react, there was a flash of gold and red as the demon exploded into great big chunks of muscle and blood. Everyone gaped as they saw Wu Kong appearing from behind it, his Jin Gu Bang covered with gore.
"Well," Wu Kong beamed. "I think that was the last one."
Everyone blinked. Then...
"MWA HA HA HA HA!!" Yami Malik laughed triumphantly. "WE DID IT~! WE DESTROYED THEM ALL!!"
"Hah!" Yami allowed himself a small smirk. "Not one of them was a match for my Mind Crush!" Beside him, Yuugi smiled.
"Hngh," Bakura snorted. "Piece of cake."
As the realization finally sank in, everybody began to laugh and talk about their success... Until Mai noticed something.
"Everyone!" Mai exclaimed. "Look at the corpses!"
Only then did all of them noticed that the clearing was littered with corpses of various animals. Tigers, bears, lions, snakes...
"What happened?" Yami asked, frowning.
"These are the demon's true forms," Wu Kong explained. "When they are dead, demons lose all of their youki and revert to their original forms."
There was silence for a few seconds as everyone contemplated this new piece of info.
"Anyway, you all did a very good job!" Wu Kong said happily. "Especially Yami, Bakura and Yami Malik. Oh, and yeah, Yuugi just told me all of your names and some things about your world. It sounds really interesting! You are very strong too... for mortals anyway."
"What do you mean by 'for mortals'?!" Yami Malik snarled. "Yami, calm down!" Malik muttered. Yami and Bakura didn't look too happy either.
"But I must remind you," Wu Kong continued, this time in a more serious tone. "That these demons were very weak. Then they had the disadvantage of being very stupid..." Mokuba couldn't suppress a giggle.
"This is no laughing matter, boy!" Mokuba stopped and lowered his head in shame. "When we go into the game, there's no telling what we might meet. Remember what Otogi said before - Never let your guard down. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Everyone jumped.
Wu Kong looked solemnly at them all. "Your life is in your own hands."
There was another short silence.
"So," the monkey youkai suddenly smiled. "Shall we go now?" He shrunk his staff to the size of a needle, flicked the remaining blood off it, and kept it again in his ear.
"Right," Yuugi said. "Let's go, minna-san!" "
"Ah, Yuugi, can you explain more about the shadow games and yamis and things as we go? There are some things I'm not very sure about..."
"Of course! And my yami will too, right, Yami?"
"Uh... Um... All right then, if you wish."
"Yeah!"
"We'll win this game," Anzu said confidently.
"We'll be back to our own world soon enough!" Jyounouchi said.
"If you don't mess up, mutt," Kaiba smirked.
"Why you~!"
And so, laughing and talking, everyone went through the vortex. Wu Kong was the last. Before he stepped through, he heard someone calling him.
"Brother Wu Kong!" It was the white horse in his true form, a dragon prince, standing at the edge of the clearing. "What happened? Where... Where are you going?!"
"To save our master," Wu Kong replied. "He and the others were abducted to another world. I will be out of this world for some time to try and find them. Yes, I know it sounds unbelievable but please, listen to me first. Take the luggage and cross the mountain. After that, find a village to settle down in and wait for us there. When we return, we'll find you."
Another world?! What did his brother mean? The dragon prince looked at Wu Kong for a moment. He saw determination shining fiercely in his brother's golden eyes.
"I understand, brother," he sighed and lowered his eyes. "Our master and brother's lives are in your hands. Please..." he swallowed. "Please bring them back safely!"
"Of course," Wu Kong grinned. "I'm the Great Sage Equal of Heaven! Nothing can stop me!" He looked at his brother's eyes. "I will bring them back safe and sound, this I promise you."
"Brother Wu Kong!" the dragon prince exclaimed. "I will wait for you no matter how long it takes!" He bowed his head. "Please take care."
Wu Kong smiled and gave a little wave. After he entered the vortex, it swirled one last time before dispersing into the air. The dragon prince stood in the clearing for some time before disappearing into the shadows.
'I wish you well, Brother Wu Kong.'
TO BE CONTINUED