A Son Of Two Dad's

Forgotten

MK felt the bottom of his stomach drop, looking up with wide eyes as he swallowed, breath stuttering in his chest. 

"You know, the guy that came here was he was injured? The demon? That I talked to you about?" MK clarified, hoping- praying that Pigsy had simply forgotten the name, his tongue feeling as dry as sandpaper and feeling even worse as the other continued to look confused. 

"I'm sorry, I really don't know who you're talking about kid? This a new friend of yours you think I've met? Cause I haven't." He said it patiently like it wasn't a big deal like he wasn't talking about someone he'd absolutely, definitely met and certainly couldn't forget. 

"No! No you- you've met him! He- he was injured. I told you all about how he trained me! And- and there was a fight with Monkey King-" He was interrupted. 

"Monkey King? Kid, is this some dream you had last night or something?" MK gripped his arms hard at the dismissal, shaking his head indignantly as his nails dug into his skin. 

"What? No! Of course not! Why-" 

"Because Monkey King is just a legend, kid. Unless this is some story you and Tang have come up with or something cause I don't get it." He shook his head, completely calm while MK felt his world shatter around him. 

Maybe that's why it should have been expected when the world shook again and MK found himself digging his hands into his chair as he tried not to fall off, breathing picking up as soon as the earthquake stopped. 

Pigsy didn't even notice.  

"WHAT? No, he isn't! You know this! Everyone knows this. And I found his staff a while ago and went off work to train with him, remember?" He was praying, begging every diety that Pigsy did or would laugh and say 'got ya' like he was joking. 

If anything he looked even more confused now.

"You must have had some dream, kid. Now if you're not gonna take the time off I offered you then you can deliver these for me." Surprisingly, that had been the most reassuring thing Pigsy had said all day because at least it was something he normally would say. It was gruff and harsh and MK smiled so brightly it hurt. 

Maybe things were okay. Maybe he just wasn't feeling so good this morning. Perhaps it really was brain damage. 

Then he remembered that Pigsy hadn't remembered Monkey King or Macaque and that feeling sunk like a stone in his stomach, making him slump. 

What was he going to do? 

"Sure thing Pigsy!" He said instead, taking the bag off the counter and speeding out the door. 

Instead of delivering it though he went straight for Flower Fruit Mountain, sure he'd be able to talk to Monkey King (no matter how nervous the thought made him) and get this whole thing sorted out. 

Maybe he knew what was going on.

He drove to the edge of the city, to the docks, and his eyes watched over the water carefully, taking a deep breath before focusing on summoning his staff from his ear. 

Nothing happened. 

His eyebrows furrowed and he tried harder, panic squishing its' way into his stomach as he tried to force it back down. It was fine. He was fine. He just- maybe it was a concentration thing? The staff- he had the staff. It was real. He was sure of it, knew it for a fact. 

Pigsy's words bounced around his head and he felt sick. 

He tried again, panic reaching its' crescendo that he stubbornly pushed down once again before ignoring it, putting on a strained, fake smile. 

"You're fine MK, this is fine. I can just ask Sandy for a lift. It's probably a concentration thing. Maybe I do have a concussion. Yeah. Everything's fine." He told himself, clenching and unclenching his hands. 

Though there was some trepidation about going to Sandy's boat, the previous images of Mei being weird flicking through his mind.

Still, he needed to get to Monkey King. He needed to be sure that he wasn't going mad. 

He made it back to the boat, rushing onto it so quickly that he slammed straight into Sandy's large chest, stumbling back with a grin. 

"Sandy! I need your help to get to Flower Fruit Mountain!" He exclaimed and Sandy grinned a slightly too wide grin that had MK's nerves tingling. 

"Why do you want to go there, little buddy? There's nothing interesting on that mountain." He insisted and MK shook his head, debating denying the statement and mentioning the famous home of the Monkey King but inevitably keeping his mouth shut because there probably wasn't any point. 

"Uh it's..." He tried to come up with a lie, his mind going frustratingly blank. 

"It's for a delivery!" Was the obvious lie his mouth blurted out and he felt stupid for saying it because why would someone deliver noodles to an apparently empty mountain? 

Still, Sandy didn't call him out on it and instead let him pass, smile tight on his face, unlike the usually welcoming one. 

"Sure thing little man, this boat can get you there in no time." 

MK waited as he went to the top deck where both the controls were and the steering and decided to wait on the main deck on one of the many chairs and tables that were scattered around. There wasn't anyone else here luckily and he wondered how much business Sandy could possibly be getting with the romantic cruise ship thing he had going on when there seemed to be no one around.

The ship lurched forwards as the engine started and MK let himself relax in the seat he had sat himself on, watching as they grew further and further from land. 

Once the shore had vanished from sight completely MK stopped looking, casting his gaze to the other side of the boat as his feet tapped nervously on the ground. He hummed a little a few seconds later then sighed and started wringing his fingers together, bored. 

He hoped that everything would be sorted out when he talked to Monkey King. Maybe there was some memory magic affecting everyone? If there was, Monkey King would know how to fix it. He didn't let himself think about what would happen if Monkey King wasn't there. 

It took an unbearably long time before the island could be seen and MK stumbled off his seat and rushed over the railings the moment he saw it, eyes wide and lips pulled into a wide smile. 

"There it is!" He yelled out, excitement flooding his veins as he jumped up and down, leaning over the railing slightly as though that would help him get closer. 

The boat stopped at the volcanic rings and Sandy came back down, putting a hand on MK's shoulder. The grip was just a tad too tight but MK would have felt rude moving away from it so he stayed where he was and tried to ignore how uncomfortable he felt. Which he shouldn't be! Sandy was his friend and MK had never felt uncomfortable around him before. 

"You'll have to go alone from here." The taller said and MK nodded, sliding out from under his grip now that it was appropriate too. 

"Don't worry, I'll be fine! Be back before you know it!" He called, about to summon his staff only to falter and remember that he couldn't. (Not because it was just a legend. He knew it was real, knew that what had happened wasn't a dream. There was no way.) 

He scrunched his eyebrows as his brain clicked and then he smiled, feeling like an idiot for forgetting. 

He could use the shadows to get there! Sure it was hard over water but they weren't that far away. MK was positive he could concentrate that long. He just needed to try. 

He took a deep breath, taking a step closer to the shade of the top deck before finding that feeling, that darkness, and pushing.