castaside | [Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

"Messed up tradies, I guess," MK took the bottle at the same time he put the sack in Red Son's hand. The feeling washed over him and he gasped. Oh. OH.

Realization was clear in MK's eyes. Big deep character defining realization.

"Holy Sage..."

"Messed up tradies," Red Son said, taking the sack and-

Oh.

Its.

Well, the feeling isn't REALLY a surprise. He's had moments like that, wondering if he's really worth all the trouble he seems to cause. Not quite to the point of wanting to disappear, he's not so selfless, but he can see the leap.

It hurts.

To think of him seeing himself like that.

But that is saddening, but MK seems to have made a realization. Good. He had hoped so. "Are you all right?"

MK looked at Red Son. He still had the bag clutched tight to his chest.

"...I'm his North Star. He said that. All these memories about his darkness. He's scared to go back to that. To how he was when...we first met? And way before he met Monkey King. I didn't fully...I didn't get it. I didn't get how important that was. I...Mei is right. Sometimes I am so dumb."

MK gently folded the sack and put it back down on the floor.

"He's counting on me to keep him from...sliding back. And I...I was such a jerk. I really fucked up, Red Son. I'm gonna make it up to him. I will. I just...oh wow I fucked up."

"...well, Dragon Girl is right," he said. Sorry MK, but she is right. You are so dumb.

Red Son reaches out to take the bottle and set it down carefully. Then he's going to take MK into his arms. "You inspire people. You draw them in. You help guide him to be somewhere better than the bitter resentment. Just like you guide me to be better than just the aching loneliness. You were always that kind of person."

MK didn't resist the pull. He looked up at Red Son, the anxiety and confusion clear on his face.

"But why? I thought for like the longest time I was just a noodle delivery boy. I don't...get it. You all keep saying I'm a light in the dark. I just don't...I didn't get how...important that was. Or powerful, I guess. I just...why me?"

"Noodle Boy, if I knew that, I might have actually stood a chance against your magnetic pull," Red Son said dryly.

He sighs, reaching up to caress his cheek. "Its just...you. That right mix of earnestness and standing firm and optimism and probably the willingness to kick our asses when we need it. You manage to find just the right words when we need them most. The right act of kindness when we don't expect it. Its just..." He shrugged and chuckled. "The MK Effect."

MK leaned into the touch. His own effect. One he didn't really understand or knew he had.

"I just...I don't want to let any of you down. Especially knowing that. That scares me a lot."

"You aren't letting us down, Noodle Boy," Red Son said, thumb tracing under his eye. "If anything, we're the ones constantly worried about letting you down. Straying too far on the path we chose because we want to keep seeing you smile."

MK smiled a little. He rubbed his cheek against that hand and sniffled.

"You aren't letting me down. None of you are. I...sure. Things kinda went bad here like this. But it's nothing we can't fix. And...you make me proud. You and Macaque both. Like in the underground mob lab. You were amazing. You are amazing," MK said, not fully realizing he let that slip.

Red Son freezes. "Whaaaat do you mean in the mob lab?"

Oops.

"Oh. Um...I kinda saw the whole...uh infiltration mission. Thing. With you and Macaque and Wukong. In the Scroll. One time."

He opens his mouth.

Closes his mouth.

Hand over face. "I'm going to ask WHY later."

"Why is totally a better question later. Point is! I'm proud of you both. You had every reason to like bring down the house. But you didn't. And scaring the scientists was good. Especially since they keep doing stupid stuff like kidnapping people and turning them into cats now."

"Are they seriously-" Red Son sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear, they just never learn."

There is a pause.

"You should tell Macaque. We really wanted to kill them. But that's why I invited Wukong, to make sure we didn't."

"Yeah. They are. Happened to Cole," MK said with an obvious sour note in his voice.

"I will. Tell Macaque I'm proud. Because I am proud of you both. And I'm gonna make sure I tell you both more often when I am." MK nuzzled noses again.

Red Son actually squeaked, his hair lighting up. "You-"

He huffs and buries his face against his shoulder. "We. Should fill the void in this room."

"Yeah..." MK rubbed Red Son's back. "I was kinda...trying to push that off a little bit. Okay. Void time. We need something that fits with all this...guilt. But not so bad? Checking inventory. I'm...tempted to put the sun plush here but him loving me and all this guilt is definitely a baaaaaad combo."

"Good lord, no, do not put love in this room, you do not want to tie love with guilt," Red Son said with a grimace.

He has a lot of guilt and love tied together.

Its terrible.

"....I think the bottle might be best. Its intense, but...its also a motivation. That would be the best use of a negative emotion. To motivate," he said.

MK nodded as he looked at his phone. No love in here. This guilt. This shame. He looked at the inventory of the others. There was one...

"Korone has a mirror that might work. If she still has it too. Hold on. I wanna see what that one is. If it isn't better than the bottle, we use the bottle."

MK just opened a shadow portal right then and there.

Sadly shame and guilt is a hard one to work with to get a positive. It kind of NEEDS to be heavy to work.

"All right," he said.

Unfortunately, he is gonna be out of luck.

After a rather short conversation, MK came back.

"Bottle. She had one but it was tied to her heart game and sounded like...I think it'll go somewhere else. Things keep getting harder and worse the lower we go. Anyway," MK nodded.

"The bottle. We use that. You wanna do it? Or we can do it together."

Red Son nodded. "All right," he said, picking up the bottle. He paused a moment, considering. "I can do it," he said, and reaching for MK's hand as he tosses the bottle into the void.

MK took the hand and squeezed it. Goodbye bottle. MK hoped it was the right choice. He reached into his bag with his free hand and touched the paper and crayons. Just to feel them and remember he had them. He'd need to draw later. Definitely would need to draw later.

Red Son squeezes his hand.

"Let's go. North or East?" HE asked, tugging him to leave the room.

[Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

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