The Jade Emperor << A Lifetime of Mistakes >> The Plan Man |
(Azure Lion struggles to hold the Celestial Realm together while Yellowtusk glances at him in concern.)
Yellowtusk: Hmm.
(Down below in Flower Fruit Mountain, the others watch cracks form and disappear in the sky.)
Mei: Uh... at least it's pretty?
Pigsy: Oh, sure. If you ignore the strong "end of the world" vibes.
Ne Zha: The Pig Man is right.
Mei and Pigsy: Hmm?
Ne Zha: Azure underestimated the control it takes to wield the power of the Jade Emperor. If we don't stop him, that power is gonna tear this world apart. Monk, the scroll. Have you repaired it?
Tang: One repaired piece of magical bamboo scroll comin' up! (He presents the two halves of the scroll horribly wrapped up in tape.)
Ne Zha: You can't be serious. There's no way that'll hold!
Sandy: There ain't nothin' a bit of tape can't fix.
MK: Alrighty! Now to jump in there and find Monkey King!
Mei: Wait! How do you know that Monkey King is still...
MK: What? It's fine! It's Monkey King! That guy is indestructible.
Ne Zha: Be that as it may, we have no idea what you'll find once you're inside. Or if this magical tape will even hold!
Sandy: Oh, it's not magical tape. (Tang desperately shushes him and laughs nervously. Ne Zha just silently glares at him.)
MK: We have to try. He'd do the same, for any of us.
Ne Zha: (He sighs.) You're right. It's worth the attempt.
Macaque: Ugh, can't believe I'm sticking my neck out for Wukong. Again.
MK: Wha?! You're coming too?!
Macaque: Yeah, if he's lost in broken memories from his past, then who better to tag along than someone who was there for some of it? And besides, your knowledge of the Journey to the West seems pretty selective.
MK: What— You know what? Your criticism is harsh but fair. Alright, LE'GO!
(Tang wastes no time and sends them into the piece of the scroll with his powers.)
(MK and Macaque find themselves in front of the entrance to Shuilian Cave but nearly cracked with power.)
Macaque: Wukong, what have you done?
MK: Monkey King did this?
Macaque: It looks like he's been tearing his way through his past. Trying to find his way to...
MK: Me.
Macaque: We need to find him. Fast! (They turn around to leave when MK suddenly points.)
MK: Oh, there he is! That was easy.
Macaque: That ain't him. That's just a memory, and a pretty broken one too. I really wish they used magic tape. I'll know the real Wukong when we find him. I can smell him a mile away. (A monkey runs up to the memory loop when it ends.)
MK: Hey! That monkey is... (He remembers and approaches the monkey, who seemingly looks up at him happily.) Hey! Hey, little guy! (But it dashes off.) Huh? (And plays on Macaque.)
Macaque: Alright. Let's get moving. (He peels the monkey off him. Macaque starts to walk away while MK watches the monkey try to get their attention.)
MK: Whatcha tryna tell us, lil' guy?
Macaque: Kid, come on, we got— (MK shushes him.)
MK: I think he wants us to go in... (They look back at the waterfall.) that!
Macaque: Alright then. You ready to become King of the Monkeys?
MK: What?
Macaque: 'Cause when Monkey King jumped through the waterfall, he became... You really should read the book, kid. Here we go.
(He grabs MK and they jump through the waterfall into another memory.)
(They land in a city. The first monkey sees one of its lost friends and goes off to dance with it.)
Macaque: How many of these little guys are in here?
MK: I dunno, barrel's worth? Look!
Past Monkey King: I am the Monkey King! I'm speaking human! Don'tcha like it?
Macaque: Just another memory, bud.
Past Monkey King: I am the Monkey King! I'm speaking human!
(They arrive in another memory located in the Temple of the Tilted Moon and Three Stars.)
MK: Oh, Monkey King was so cute and cheeky! I don't get it! I don't get how he ever made anyone mad or got so many enemies. He's just so—
Macaque: This is like Chapter 1, kid. Again, really gotta read the book.
(A crack appears behind them.)
(They have crossed it and come to a beach.)
Past Monkey King: Macaque! You okay, bud?!
MK: Bud?! (He looks at Macaque, where one of the monkeys draws the corners of his mouth into a forced smile.)
Past Macaque: Welcome back, your majesty.
Past Monkey King: Aah, don't be like that! Eat some fruit, soak up the sun! That's why I've been training so hard.
Past Macaque: What, so you can be the strongest?
Past Monkey King: No! Well, maybe a little bit, but that's not the point! It's so we don't have to worry about anything or anyone ever again! Just live a lazy life, sittin' in the sun, eatin' fruit, and doing whatever we want. Sounds pretty good, huh? Huh? Huh? (He elbows and playfully rubs Macaque's head until he laughs.)
Past Macaque: Quit it! Eat your dang peach.
Past Monkey King: You're a peach.
MK: Why didn't he just stop right here? He was already so much stronger than anyone ever needed to be.
Macaque: Wukong didn't think so. He always felt he had to be stronger. More immortal. He was so terrified of mortality, he went so far as to take his name out of the Book of the Dead. But even that wasn't enough.
(They look at a memory of Monkey King trapped under Five Phases Mountain and a past Macaque emerge from a shadow portal.)
Past Macaque: Yo. Hey, bud. I got you a little something.
Past Monkey King: (He gasps.) What?! For me?! You're not serious, that whole peach is for me?! Bud, you shouldn't have.
Past Macaque: Okay, you don't have to be so you about it.
Past Monkey King: No, no! Honestly! This is exactly what I need right now. I'm trapped under a mountain but the Six-Eared Macaque brought me a peach. Hurray.
Past Macaque: You know I'd help if I could.
Past Monkey King: Oh, sure! 'Cause normally you just rush to my rescue!
Past Macaque: Yeah, okay. (He gets up and starts to walk away.)
Past Monkey King: Well, it was great seeing you, bud! Just run off like you always do.
Past Macaque: No, that's you! (He turns back to face Monkey King.) You're the one who's always running off! Looking for more power, more sources of immortality! You're the one who wouldn't quit while we were ahead! Not the Great Sage, he's gotta drag everyone else into his mess!
Past Monkey King: You're not in this mess! You're still free! Everything I did was for us!
Past Macaque: You did it for yourself. You become like this... obsessive demon! I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no, Wukong doesn't listen to anyone. He just does whatever he wants! You put yourself here, not me. (He crushes the peach and tosses it away before leaving through his portal.)
Past Monkey King: Fine! Leave! I don't want to see your face here again, you big— (He growls and then sighs.) I really wanted that peach.
MK: So, Monkey King really was a bad guy?
Macaque: That's what I believed. What Azure would have you believe. Then, he met him. The monk. Wukong was on a path of self-destruction. We all were. But when he met the monk, it sent him down a different path.
MK: Ah, the path of the good guy! Making those good life choices?
Macaque: Every choice has consequences, kid. For someone.
MK: Okay, c'mon man. What happened between you two? For realsies. (Macaque doesn't answer and walks off to another memory.) Seriously?! Come on, man, I need answers! (He follows after him, grunting unhappily.)
(They arrive at the memory of Camel Ridge.)
MK: Woah.
Macaque: This is Azure's utopia and this wasteland is the price he paid to build it. He stole the energy he needed from everything around it.
MK: I thought he wanted to help people. He said he wanted to be the hero.
Macaque: I'm sure he does. Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story. Azure's always been good at convincing people he's the good guy. He's even fooled himself. (A giant crack forms behind them and MK senses Monkey King suffering from his memories nearby.) It's him.
(MK and Macaque cross through to see Monkey King sitting on an outcrop atop a cliff surrounded by memories flashing around him. He looks up and sees them.)
Monkey King: Kid. You found me. I couldn't, I— I... (MK goes up and sits by him.) I just wanted to protect the people I cared about. To be strong enough. I lost sight of why I was doing any of it. I know I've made a few lifetimes worth of mistakes but living them over and over again like this, I...
MK: Well. Good thing you're immortal, right?
Monkey King: What?
MK: There's plenty of times to do things over.
Monkey King: Kid, I—
MK: You told me something that I thought was just a-a weird Monkey King thing but... you were right. We can't fix everything. We just need to leave it a little better than we found it. As long as we stay true to that, we can deal with whatever comes next. (Monkey King sees Macaque has come up to join them.) Monkey King, I'm not ready to not have a mentor. Azure needs to be stopped, but... we need you. I need you... (He summons the Golden Staff from his ear.) to be the Monkey King.
(Monkey King looks at MK and then Macaque, who offers a tiny smile. He gets up and takes a deep breath before grabbing the other side of the staff. Light explodes as they are taken out of the scroll.)