seasonsrpg | The MK Intimidation Squad

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The MK Intimidation Squad

WHO: Red Son, Wukong, Macaque
WHAT: Payback
WHEN: After the masquerade
WHERE: A location not too far from the underground mall
WARNINGS: Violence, demon intimidation tactics, spicy talk

The Hearts Gang was lucky in many ways. The luck was in that the fact the person they messed with was MK, who was overall a very good boy who preferred it if no one had to get seriously hurt for problem solving.

The bad luck was the fact the person they messed with was MK and he had three extremely protective immortals who are willing to go as far as they think they can without truly upsetting him and there was enough wiggle room in that for an extremely bad time to be had.

Red Son probably could have had the information sooner, but working on Saya's hibernation project took priority. Helping loved ones was more important than revenge. But he had kept out the feelers, slipped in some sabotage, kept up the work enough to get the information he wanted. It still took a bit of time after, but he had it.

He had the full list of names of every Heart Gang member who was working the day MK arrived on Ellipsa. And he found a day where in that full list of names should be present again. There were a few others, but frankly, he didn't much care for collateral damage. They were part of the same gang, they would have done the same thing, so they deserved it well enough. All that mattered is that all of those who COULD have been involved WERE present.

So a few days before hand, he sends a message to Wukong and Macaque.

They should all be present finally to be taught their overdue lesson. Along with the day, time, and where to meet.

Red Son wasn't far from the facility, waiting for the other two to arrive not long after sunset. Wearing a new hairpin with red gems and has a small cooler nearby because hey, he's never one to be remiss about achieving more than one goal at a time.

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There is that argument again. Red Son bites back the words. The obvious reasons why he struggles with Wukong and even the less obvious. Even the fact Wukong was trying real hard to scorch the earth their last conversation, whether that was his intent or not.

He knew emotions may be harrowing tonight and he was prepared.

He did flinch as Macaque was thrown back, attempt to dodge, but a shadow portal caught him and there's a sigh of relief.

Though honestly, how blind was Wukong about Macaque?

"Look at your tail, Wukong. Hasn't your problem with me lately been how I'm not considerate of my impact on others? What do you think that is going to do to MK and Saya, if you just ignore it? Whatever my feelings in regards to you, we both don't want them to see you leaving behind a statue. The lucky outcome would be MK just refusing to budge from you for the three days," Red Son said, edging towards him again. "Whatever is wrong, I can fix it. But I need you to work with me."

"What part of I don't care isn't clear here? Do I have to spell it out? Because you two are supposedly smart."

His tail goes for Macaque's neck with the intent to squeeze any air away. Shut him up. The skin is clammy and losing warmth. Not true cold, dying cold under fur that's becoming dry and brittle-feeling.

"I don't want you near me. I'm going home. You've both been more than clear about my causing pain and my lack of consideration, and how nothing else means anything when it come to me. So if I turn to stone. So what? I'm tired of this. And I'm tired of the oh but what about the feelings of others. So leave me alone."

Maybe he should just outwardly express the effect he has on others. It's tempting right now. Just let his touch rot everything, destroy what actually doesn't rot. Maybe that would make the point. He has the power to do it.

[ Could Macaque have dodged that tail? Maybe. He'll never know, because he doesn't try. Because if Wukong is strangling him then at least he's not leaving. At least there's a chance. A connection, even if a twisted version of what he's wanted. ]

[ Macaque reaches out, but not to attack or try to claw his way to freedom. He just -- touches Wukong's face, in a gentle way that he hasn't in so, so long. No real logic to it, it more just happens with everything that's running through his head. He knows it's too late, but... ]

[ With his vision quickly going dark, it's the only thing he wants to do. ]

Constricting metal-

Stay present!

Wukong is losing it. Macaque is immortal. It won't kill him. Probably. Red Son's gaze flicks to the plant. Probably. Tries to swallow the panic of Macaque getting limp. He'll be fine.

Don't panic. That helps nothing.

"Wukong, this isn't the time to fight. This isn't about others. It's about MK and Saya. They love you. They accept you. We all know how much that means. Let Macaque go and let me help. You know they don't have the skills to fix this sort of thing. They'd just end up calling me anyway," he said, moving forward, hand reaching out to grab the tail near Macaque's neck, see if he can coax him to let go.

Why is Macaque doing that? WhywhyWHY? He's not fighting, just letting this happen. WHY?

"If you don't want a fight, then listen to what I am telling you."

Wukong's eyes lock onto Red Son's, the light slowly draining from them and an edge to his words that's not him. Somehow hollow and sharp at the same time. Like his stare.

"When I said the others, I meant MK and Saya. And if you touch me, I will make you feel exactly what I am now. Last warning."

[ Why indeed? Maybe because it took this to make him willing to cut through the intentional fog of anger and resentment and see what really matters, for however brief a glimpse. ]

[ Macaque keeps his hand on Wukong's face. Gently stroking his fur in a way that can't help but be nostalgic, reaching through not only the physical space between them, but the years as well. Macaque always thought there would be more chances, forever is a long time, but now ]

[ He holds out his other hand toward Red Son, telling him to stop. Back off. His hand is shaking and the edges of his vision are going grey, but Wukong will release him if they do what he's asking. At least he has to believe that, because the two of them, strong as they are? Can't stop Wukong from going anywhere, and they've played the trump cards they had available. Time to retreat and regroup. ]

Don't panic. Do not panic.

"Wukong-" Red Son starts, only to stop when Macaque holds up his hand. His own hand is still hovering near Wukong's tail.

It's started to shake.

He's starting to lose his grip.

He steps back, curling his fingers, other hand moving over it to try and get the shaking to stop.

"Please let him go. He-he can't breathe," he said, voice quiet. Submissive. Pleading in a way Wukong's heard once before, centuries ago.

Edited 2023-10-19 22:36 (UTC)

Wukong hears it, but in the moment it doesn't hit where it should. He should probably feel guilt, but right now it's just a sort of detached confirmation bias. Because Red Son and Macaque were together at least physically, so it makes sense they'd be concerned for each other. Fine.

When Red Son finally stops, his tail loosens and drops Macaque none-too-gently. He doesn't throw him, he just drops him and steps around to continue on his way out the door.

[ Macaque hears Red Son's pleas for what they are. He studied that damn book backwards and forwards, after all. It distantly occurs to him that this might cause the sort of reactivity that Macaque was sort of poking at with the exposed bite mark and clear innuendo, albeit that he never thought would actually lead anywhere like this. ]

[ But he's dropped, and Macaque doesn't try to be proud about it. Both because Wukong is strong as hell and he really couldn't breathe, and because being defiant will probably be counterproductive. So he lands in a heap, gasping for air, hand loosely touching his throat. Coughing and tasting blood. ]

[ Wondering how the hell he let this happen, and what they're going to tell MK. ]

Red Son isn't even thinking about how it could look. He's trying to drag his mind back to the present and what little was present was trying to keep things from happening that would hurt MK even more.

When Macaque is released, his own back hits the nearby wall. Tries to get the shakes to dies down. Watching Macaque to make sure he was breathing again.

He breathes himself, squeezing his hands together.

It takes a minute. "Are you okay?"

[ Macaque just wheezes for a second, glancing at Red Son and knowing he's in no position whatever to be a comfort. He thinks his stomach is somewhere around a mile below the earth's crust. ]

Not permanently injured, if that's what you mean. [ Okay is leagues and lightyears off. ]

[ In a minute, his feelings will coalesce into rage at the gang scientists and he'll want to go start painting that room with blood, but luckily for Red Son, Macaque is in shock enough to give him time to recover so he'll be able to deal with that when it comes. ]

Okay. Okay. [That gives him time to pull things together. Present. Be. Present. Breathe.]

[He can breathe. He's fine.]

[Be present. Figure out the next step. Doing things is always easier.]

[Slowly, he pushes himself from the wall. Moves over to deal beside Macaque, a hand going to his shoulder. Sending the healing energy through for his neck.]

[Not much can be done for the heart ache unfortunately.]

[ The healing magic both helps and hurts. On one hand, he can physically breathe again. On the other, that only draws attention to the nonphysical hurts. ]

[ Moving to his knees, Wukong punches a small crater into the subfloor. ]

I'll kill them. All of them.

[ A murmured warning. Anger is also easier than grief, as exemplified by the way he and Wukong were arguing. ]

[ He's about to get up and go do that, which will only make matters worse for MK. At any other time, Macaque himself would be the one pointing that out. But his usual composure is shattered, for the time being. He'll grapple it eventually. ]

[ But right now all he knows is Wukong turned into something cold and cruel and dead and while he has no idea what to do about that, he knows exactly how that happened. ]

[Oh]

[Yeah, no, that tracks. He wanted to do the same when he learned MK was drugged after he got over the stupidity of him essentially taking candy from an unmarked van. And that was before he had fully recognized his feelings.]

[Killing the gang members would upset MK. And Wukong wouldn't want it either. Probably.]

[They need to leave.]

[He wraps his arms around Macaque, fire flaring up around them as he transport them to the Summer Segment. On the beach, hopefully so the moonlight might help. A bit. To hinder a shadowy escape.]

[He only has so many options at night.]

[ Macaque squints back when there's fire, barely registering the arms around him until he feels sand beneath him and blinks back bright afterimages to see moonlight. So, Red Son took him away before he could give those bastards the punishment they deserved-- ]

[ ...which. ]

[ He knows is for the best. So he takes a deep breath. Shaky and slow. ]

I guess that would have only made things worse. [ So, you know, thank you. He doesn't want to make MK grieve more than he already will when he sees whatever happened to Wukong. ]

He always had a way of getting around my rationality.

[ Love makes you stupid. ]

Yes. MK is already going to be upset. [He doesn't need to hear about a slaughter and potentially having authorities after Macaque. A gang won't report an aggressive shakedown. A wholesale slaughter is hard to hide. Someone would come looking and even with a good cover up and fact no one could really HOLD Macaque...]

[Well, it would still be upsetting for him.]

Love does that. [Because maybe Wukong doesn't see it, but Red Son does.]

[ Macaque drops his glamour for the time being, rubbing his forehead above his blind eye. ]

That it does. [ He's in no position to deny it even if he wished to. Which, in this moment and in this particular company, he doesn't. ]

...What the hell do we do with this?

[ He means a lot of things at once. Telling MK. Fixing Wukong, and MK too although we all know which one MK will prioritize. ]

[Red Son does get it. He may not have realized his feelings for MK for the longest time, but he still felt them. Still reacted to them. Did dumb things and felt the pain of conflict and denial.]

[He may not have the centuries of it, the intensity, but he's got the start of the idea.]

[He does slowly let go of Macaque when he's sure he isn't about to run off. Sitting on his knees in the sand, fists pressed to his legs. Breathe. Keep grounded.]

Tell MK. We're not going to convince Wukong of anything, but hopefully Noodle Boy can. If that doesn't work, there are options available to cancel out home powers, and that will make him containable.

Hopefully we don't have to. Invoking his trauma won't help, but if we can't get him to agree to help, there aren't many options.

[He takes a breath, rubs his face.]

The Noodle Boy is two days a month. Hopefully now that he has a mate, that should stop anything dramatic from happening.

Unless we happen to be in the right moon phase or something, Wukong's got a moving or more frequent variable. I need to know what's been done. [And MK Would Insist. This makes it easier for Red Son to swallow.]

At least I should have a sample, I just need to know which it is.

[ Macaque keeps rubbing his forehead, looking vaguely ill at what Red Son said. ]

It might have been my fighting with him. Not that it's unusual, but he was fine until then.

Which... the symbolism would be a little on the nose, but magic does that sometimes.

[ He hesitates. Tellingly, once one knows what he's about to say. ]

Would Saya help too? [ It's the first time he's used her name out loud. Macaque probably needn't elucidate how conflicted he is about asking. ] You mentioned her, so you must think it would help manage him.

Magic does like it's irony. He was very focused on us not caring.

And honestly the fact he could think of me with you there seems like he's oddly fixated. [Because Macaque is like way higher on the list of people whose opinions Wukong actually cares about.]

[Even if Wukong won't admit how much he cares.]

[As far as Red Son could figure anyway.]

Saya would, yes. She just has...certain experiences. [The trauma.] But she would help. If MK isn't enough, she may be able to tip the odds. [Which was really his step two after get MK to try, but he's trying to not hit all the wasp nests at once.]

Yes, well. I worked quite hard to convince him that I didn't care. [ He really should get a bonus for meeting all his project goals. ] And he clearly made assumptions about you.

--Which, in a sick way, is evidence that before that happened, he did care.

[ This Emotionally Distant Analysis brought to you by centuries of working his stuff out, methodically, despite everything in him kicking and screaming. Having his stuff worked out was never the issue, his self-protective measures were always deliberate. Until the Lady Bone Demon got into his head about a vampire that wouldn't ask anything of Wukong. ]

You seem to want to try just MK first. Is that smart? We might only get one shot. I know MK is a miracle in so many ways [ make of this statement what you will ], but this isn't something where normal rules apply. If it was, Wukong never would have gotten swept up by some invasive thing inside his body.

I mean...

I can't say he was necessarily wrong. He did a pretty thorough job on wrecking my ability to try and care about him independently of MK. [Because some sparks had genuinely started, when he felt he could breathe, when he felt like he was getting somewhere in understanding.]

[And then he pulled out every knife he could.]

I know he at least believes he cares about me. I'm not sure I can believe its anymore genuine than he cares about father still and that has some transference. [And even that is a dodgy belief.] But he does care about you. You effect him too much for him to not care.

[Red Son considers that for several beats.] If he lashes out, I don't know how well Saya is going to take it. She would still be there, but she also gets very....

Self destructive in that mindset.

[She was ready to take everything from MK to keep him safe. She was so close to death that time and-]

[He grabs his shaking hand again.]

Noodle Boy, for all it may hurt him, can keep a cool head in those circumstances. A little too hopeful, a little too optimistic, but Wukong fights for control the hardest with him.

Edited 2023-10-20 02:21 (UTC)

I don't know who needs a mediator worse, me and him or you and him. [ And while Macaque likes MK more than he should, more than is reasonable, that would be not only cruel, but questionable in terms of strategies. MK leads with his feelings, which is useful in a lot of situations, maybe not so much when you're trying to mediate complicated conflicts that are already too emotion-laden ]

I'll trust your judgment. I don't know her. Although I'm questioning whether I'm agreeing so easily because it's reasonable-sounding, or because I don't want to watch her comforting him. [ Watching MK do it, that's fine. Expected. Normal. It's so commiserate with who MK is that to expect or hope for anything different would be sacrilege. ]

Just make sure you're saying it because you think it won't help, not because you're worried about her. She'll be worse off if you don't call her and it goes bad and she finds out it was to spare her feelings, if she's as like MK as you said.

--MK will be worse off too, if he can't help on his own and has to face failure to help Wukong. You know how he gets.

You and him. At least any competent mediator isn't someone I'm going to be honest in front of because I haven't been trying to talk badly about Wukong in front of people who care about him.

Well, care about him and aren't... [He gestures at Macaque. Bitter exes. He gets it.] And talking about our last fight isn't going to make him look like a terribly good person.

...to be honest, I don't know if its a rational decision, or because I'm still shaken when she stood between MK and me. [He huffs and smiles a bitter, guilty smile.] If its an emotional decision, its not just to spare her feelings. [Its to spare his too.]

I know how he gets. But he also doesn't give up. As long as we're still standing, we have hope, and all that. [There is a pause.] There is an answer here. Wukong is not beyond saving. The only question is how rough its going to be. MK will not have a definite failure.

[ A huff that's as close as he can get to amusement right now. ] I'm honored, or something.

I don't mean permanent failure. I more mean, can you imagine if MK had to hear Wukong talk like that about him? I'm hoping he was only sounding like that because it's us, but I don't think we can assume that safely. Maybe whatever transformation has hold of him makes him lash out at whoever.

MK is the exception to all rules, I know that quite well. I'm just -- concerned. For both of them. [ Since once Wukong is back to normal -- which has to be possible, it has to -- if he remembers or even knows that he hurt MK in that way... ]

It's your call.

And then we should get moving. Find MK before Wukong does. [ OOPS. ]

The MK Intimidation Squad

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