Show Me the Monster << Pitiful Creatures >> The Brotherhood |
(MK watches the protective curse complete its transformation.)
Protective curse: What's the matter, guy?
MK: Nothing. I just—
Protective curse: Hey, nah, I get it, man. You wanna get back to our Monster of the Week Adventures? To get back to our simple missions with Mei, mastering all Monkey King's powers and delivering noodles for Pigsy, right?
MK: Yeah. Yeah, actually that's exactly what I wanna—
Protective curse: But we can't! Not after all we've seen. All we know and all we don't. (It sighs.) Right, friend?
MK: You're not my friend. (He summons his Golden Staff.) You're not me!
Protective curse: Sure, I am. I'm your best friend! Well, closest at least. I know more about you than you'll even admit. To yourself or to others. (MK takes a step back and the protective curse suddenly appears behind him.) Yo, where you goin', guy?
MK: You're not real. You're just the curse of the scroll trying to get all up inside of my head, just like—
Protective curse: The Lady Bone Demon? Tell me, what do you think we are? Honestly. 'Cause I have been dying to hear us say it. Out loud.
MK: What kind of question is that?! I'm just... I'm just MK. A noodle delivery guy with the powers of the Monkey King. No biggie.
Protective curse: (It appears in front of him.) Oh. You mean, these powers?
(The curse takes MK off his feet and punches him with its powers, before coming after him.)
(A Humble Farmer has finished attending to her plants when the other Monkie Kids teleport on to her plantation.)
Mei: Ugh! He's not here either! Tangy, get your head in the game!
Humble farmer: My bok choy! Welp, there goes the winter rations. (She starts digging a hole.) Guess I better get grave diggin' for me and my folk.
Tang: I'm sorry. We're looking for our friend and I lost my cheat sheet, so we don't know where we are and I'm starting to freak out pretty hard, and these guys are desensitized to my breakdowns, so I need a reaction. For the love of the Great Sage, I need a reaction!
Pigsy: Tang! Would you pull yourself together?!
Tang: I'm sorry. I'm just— I'm having a meltdown and I have no idea what's going on and—
Sandy: Tangy, we're right there with you, old friend. But right now, we need to find MK and Monkey King. (Mei hands Tang his khakkhara.) We gotta hold it together until then. (Tang prepares to teleport them away.)
Humble farmer: Oh, you mean Sun Wukong? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven?
Mei: You mean you've seen him?!
Humble farmer: Yeah, I've seen him. He done made a mess of the whole air round my geese stable.
Pigsy: Uh, geese stable?
Humble farmer: Ay-yarp. See, I always been sayin' why come horses get themselves a fancy stable, but the geese don't?
Tang: (He points at the light behind the geese stable.) Guys, look at this!
Humble farmer: I say to brick with that. (The Monkie Kids have taken a peek around the stable.) Geese are truly a noble bird, and I take great pride in my gaggle.
Mei: Huh. You think Monkey King made this?
(Meanwhile, MK and the protective curse are fighting each other with their powers.)
Protective curse: Seriously? You still think we're just some... (Clones of the protective curse appear.) "noodle delivery guy"? You can't remember where we came from, and we got all this power, and you never once thought, why us? (MK defeats all the clones.) What are we?! What is our purpose?!
MK: Of course I thought about it! I mean, maybe! I was gonna thought about it. I just... I just wanna be me. To be MK.
Protective curse: Yeah, well, we all know exactly where that leads, don't we?
Past Lady Bone Demon: (Echoing.) To pain.
MK: We help people. I mean, I help people. It's what I do.
Protective curse: Are you sure about that? Last I checked, all of this happened because of us. We said it ourselves. We released the Demon Bull King from the Underworld. We gave the Spider Queen the means to dominate the city, and we gave the Lady Bone Demon the opportunity to wreak havoc on the world.
MK: Ahh, this is going to haunt my nightmares forever!
Protective curse: We're just like Wukong. A fraud, a trickster, destructive. Why would our legacy be any different? Actually, no, no. The chaos and destruction (MK starts to flicker as he struggles against the protective curse.) that we'll bring upon the world will make Wukong's past look like nothing. Shifu Subodhi said it himself, right?
MK: No. No, you're wrong. I'm-I'm... I'm not—
Protective curse: Not what? Some monkey demon thing destined to bring chaos upon the world? Come on! Use your words, big brain boy. Say it! What are we?
MK: (His flickering becomes more frequent until he holds out his monkey form, letting out his power.) Stop! (Echoing.) Stop! Stop! Stop! (His power causes the neighboring memories to crack.)
Mei: MK? That's MK!
MK (Echo): Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!
Monkey King: Kid!
Protective curse: Yeah, boi! Oh, that's what I'm talking about! You can't escape it. This thing, whatever you are, embrace it. (MK drops his staff, clutching his head.) Embrace your destiny!
Monkey King: (Echoing.) Kid! Kid! Kid! (Monkey King bursts through and takes in the situation. He races over to the staff and reduces the protective curse to splatters.) MK!
MK: Monkey King?
Monkey King: I'm sorry I made you wait so long, bud. But it's fine. You look like you're doing... fine.
MK: (His form continues flickering in and out uncontrollably.) I don't know what's happening to me.
Monkey King: We can figure it out after this, but we gotta deal with the now first.
Protective curse: Hey, nice of you to join us, bud. You know, none of this would have happened without you, right?
Mei: Yeah. And us too! (The rest of the Monkie Kids crash in.) Without us, you wouldn't be able to stop this thing. That's what you were saying, right?
Monkey King: Not really, but I like the energy.
Tang: The curse! Is it just me or is it way scarier than it was before?
Pigsy: How did Azure say to defeat this thing again?
Monkey King: Azure... Lion?
Protective curse: Say goodbye!
Mei: Wait, no! Hold on! (The protective curse darkens everything, splitting the view from one another.)
Tang: Where'd they go?
Protective curse: Such pitiful creatures. Cowardly. Reckless. Monstrosities!
Monkey King: MK! Where are you?
Protective curse: All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart. To cause nothing but chaos and destruction.
Monkey King: Enough! I've never let anyone dictate my destiny in the past, and I'm not about to start now. None of us are! We can't change who we were yesterday, or in a past life, or a hundred lifetimes ago. We live with the choices we've made. But what matters is the choices we make right now! Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have!
Protective curse: Nice hero speech, bud, but I know better. Deep in your hearts, you don't believe a word of that.
Mei: Yeah, well, we're pretty good at fakin' it till we makin' it, so you better takin' it, son!
Tang: Yeah! I might be a coward, but we've faced scarier monsters than you!
Monkey King: I won't let some curse bully me or my friends a second longer! (Everyone standing summons their power and clears the illusion the protective curse made. The Monkie Kids use their weapons to hold the curse in place.)
Protective curse: You can see it, can't you? This is your fate. Your friends will turn on you, seeing you for the monster you will become. (MK taps into his monkey form.) They will destroy you, Harbinger of Chaos. It's just like the Lady Bone Demon said. Despite your efforts, all you'll ever do is cause pain and suffering.
MK: Stop talking! Get out of my head! (He leaps up, summoning his powers, and dives at the protective curse.)
Protective curse: Then prove us wrong. (MK disintegrates the curse, which explodes into ball of light.)
Mei: (Simultaneously.) He did it!
Pigsy: (Simultaneously.) That's my boy. (MK flickers out of his monkey form.) Now would be a good time to get out of here!
Mei: But how?! (An opening brings their attention and Azure Lion steps in.)
Monkey King: You.
Azure Lion: (He sighs.) Me. (He snaps and pillars of light form around them, separating everyone from one another.)
MK: What? (He finds himself in a new area with the other Monkie Kids.) Monkey King? Where are we? (He looks around as his friends take stance.) Azure? Where's Monkey King?
(Azure Lion looks up from the scroll he's holding, his eye glowing ominously in purple.)