Disclaimer: Yes! I own it! I own it all! That’s exactly why I still have to beg my parents for money and I’m writing this. In case you didn’t get the sarcasm, no I don’t own it. I do own their personalities and stuff. There’s a little of ‘The Lost Empire’ in here though.

Summary: Dwynwen was a young girl who’s only goal in life was to become a reclusive hermit and hide away from the rest of the world. But it seems the gods have other things in mind. With the help of Wukong and the others Dywn must save the world whether she wants to or not.

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CHAPTER 3

Wukong led Dwynwen down the other side of the mountain, and they had begun their journey. But only after 10 minutes, Dwynwen began to complain.

“Aw, man! I’m sooo tired!” she moaned as she fell back on to a rock. There were only rocks and more rocks around them, and Dwynwen was exhausted from climbing over them.

“Kid. We’ve only been walking for 10 minutes, get a hold of yourself.” said Wukong as he looked back at her. This was to be his student? Why didn’t they just lay down and die?

“I was walking for a long time looking for you! Plus getting pulled through a interdimensional time portal or whatever, really takes it out of ya! Not to mention I was chased by a giant boar and I had to move a giant bolder to free you!” defended Dwynwen.

“Excuses! Excuses! If you’re tired now, you’ll never last the journey to Suki-no-Kumi!”

“Which is exactly why your monk should have found a real hero for this!” Dwynwen grumbled.

“Enough! Get up and start walking! I want to get 20 miles behind us before sunset.” said Wukong as he started walking. Dwynwen moaned.

“Can’t you just fly us to where it is we’re suppose to go to?” she asked.

“Nope. You’re human, so you’re bound by a thing called karma, so you won’t be able to fly. At least not until you earn true enlightenment, or whatever. Like me!” explained Wukong as jabbed his thumb at himself.

“Funny. You don’t seem that enlightened to me.” muttered Dwynwen.

“Just get moving.” he snapped as he jumped on to a big bolder. While Dwynwen walked, he was jumping from bolder to bolder like cricket.

“You know, no one ever mentioned that you were a slave driver.” she moaned as she used the staff to help her stand.

“Don’t mind him. He just likes being in control.” said Xuanzang as he floated next to her.

“How did you put up with him?” Dwynwen asked him as she started to walk.

“Well, for one thing I was in much better shape then you.” he chuckled. Dwynwen glared at him. “But also, I had the help of Buddha.”

“Oh, yeah. The golden head band thingy. Where is it by the way?” wondered Dwynwen. Suddenly Wukong looked alert. He jumped down in front her, making her crash into his strong build. “OW! What’s the deal?!” she whined as she fell back.

“Shush!” he said in low voice, eyes narrowed. He held his hand in front of him and summoned a long red staff with golden orbs at the end. Dwynwen stared in awe and shock.

‘Whoa! That is so awesome!’ she thought. Wukong twirled his staff then suddenly he charged forward, jumped in the air and brought his staff swiftly down on a giant bolder like sword. But the bolder didn’t look smashed, or anything.

“Uh... Nothing happened.” said Dwynwen.

“Oh, really?” said Wukong as he leaned on his staff. He snapped his fingers and the bolder split in two. Dwynwen stared in awe.

“Wow! That’s so cool!!” she exclaimed. Wukong smirked, looking cocky. Then he became serious as he held his staff and got into a fighting stance. He charged towards another rock when suddenly voice yelled,

“Wukong! It’s me!” Wukong stopped and blinked.

“Yulong?” he said. A few seconds later a cute man with pearl white hair that covered his eyes came out from behind a rock. He looked a little shaken, but who wouldn’t after almost being hit by Wukong’s attack? Wukong grinned as he relaxed his stance.

“Yulong! Long time no see friend!” he said as he walked over to the man and slapped him on the back. “What brings you here? Aren’t you suppose to be in heaven?” The man who Wukong kept calling ‘Yulong’ muttered something, but it was so low they couldn’t hear what he said. “What? Speak up, man! I can’t hear you! Sheesh! You haven’t changed in 50 years!” sighed Wukong impatiently.

“Who’s that?” Dwynwen quietly asked Xuanzang.

“That’s Yulong. During our journey he turned into a horse and carried me to India. He’s very shy though as you can see.” he explained. “It’s good to see he at least got a little braver.”

“I-I s-said that I requested to Kuan Yin t-to a-ac-accompany you to- to Suki-no-Kumi to help retrieve the creator’s scripture.” Yulong said quietly to Wukong.

“Really? That’s great!” said Wukong as he swung his arm around Yulong’s shoulders. “It’s always nice to have old friends!” Then he turned to Dwynwen. “This is... uh, what’s your name again?” Dwynwen gave a irritable sigh.

“And you’re suppose to be my teacher.” she said. “The name’s Dwynwen Stone, you dope!”

“Show some respect to your teacher!” snapped Wukong. Then to Yulong, who was fidgeting from all the yelling, he said, “Anyway, she’s my student now.” Yulong blinked.

“Your student?” he asked in a unbelieving tone.

“What with the unbelieving tone? Is that so hard to believe?” asked Wukong as he narrowed his eyes.

“N-no! Not at all!” said Yulong. “Well, maybe a little...” Wukong glared a little.

“Oh, yeah? Just watch! I’ll make her the best warrior you’ve ever seen!” he claimed.

‘Yeah, good luck with that. Oh, wait! He’s talking about me! Oh, great! I’m gonna die, I just know it.’ thought Dwynwen as she walked forward. She held her hand out to Yulong.

“It’s nice to meet you, Yulong! I’m Dwynwen.” she said. Yulong turned red as he shook Dwynwen hand.

“Ah! I-It’s nice to meet you, too. Y-you must be the great warrior Master sent from the other world.” he said.

“Great warrior? Ha! She didn’t even have a weapon! Master must have made a mistake.” scoffed Wukong. Dwynwen glared at him.

“Ever hear that old saying? Beggars can’t be choosers? I didn’t want to come here, ya know! Heck I didn’t even want to leave my house!” she snapped. “And what the heck is your problem?! You’ve done nothing but poke at me! Tell me, what did I ever do to you?!”

Wukong opened his mouth to retort, but just then six bandits surrounded them, brandishing long spears, and short swords.

“Alright, boy... leave us all your belongings and your woman, and we’ll spare your worthless life.” one sneered.

Dwynwen, this being her first encounter with bandits, and not to mention all the weird stuff that had happen to her today, and the fact that they appeared suddenly, jumped back and hit a rock with her back hard.

“Ah! Miss Dwynwen, are you alright?” Yulong asked as he looked over at her. He was surprised a human could jump that far. Wukong walked over to her with a chuckle and help her up and whispered,

“Don’t be so scared. They just want to give us some gifts.”

“First off, I wasn’t scared! I jumped back in shock. Second, are you deaf man?!” exclaimed Dwynwen. “They said our things! They want our stuff! And your woman, who by the way I have no clue who they’re talking about.” Wukong chuckled a little.

“Don’t worry,” he replied as he looked at the bandits and smirked. “I can handle them.”

“Huh?” said Dwynwen.

“Oh, no. Not again. I thought he had gotten over this kind of stuff.” said Xuanzang beside her.

“Wukong...” started Yulong, quietly. But Wukong ignored them as he stepped forward towards the six bandits and shouted at them,

“Yo! Idoits! What right do you have to block this road?” One bandit smugly answered,

“We do this for a living. Leave your goods, and your woman, and we’ll spare your life. If not, we’ll smash you to bits.” Wukong just laughed. Dwynwen thought he had cracked.

“You stupid bandits. Even after 50 years you never change. Let’s get one thing cleared, she is not my woman. She’s my student, got it?” he said. “Now, here’s the deal, leavenow, or I’ll show you who’s boss, like I did to the last pair of bandits who dared to challenge me.” Upon hearing this, the bandits roared with rage and rushed at Wukong.

“Wukong!” Dwynwen yelled, concerned. Why was he just standing there?

“Miss Dwynwen, no! Please stay back!” said Yulong as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back as she started forward.

“But–! What about Wukong?” she asked as she looked up at him with big eyes.

“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine. Haven’t you ever heard the stories about him?” Yulong asked, as he held her back.

Wukong stood calmly in the middle of the encircling bandits, receiving over a hundred blows. Dwynwen started forward again, when she realized something. All the blows were bouncing off him like rubber.

‘What the heck?!’ she thought. After 20 minutes, Wukong yawned, looking bored.

“You’ve all had your turn. Now it’s mine,” he said as he got into a fighting stance. The bandits gaped like fish, seeing he was unharmed and Wukong smirked as began to thrash it wildly, killing all six bandits within seconds. Yulong shielded Dwynwen, but it was too late. She had saw. A little blood splashed on her cheek, her eyes were wide, and she seemed to be frozen.

Wukong walked over to them, boredly.

“See? Whatta I tell ya, they wouldn’t kill us. I killed them,” he said, not caring that he had just killed six men. He didn’t seem too proud though. Dwynwen was quiet, but she shook.

“Miss Dwynwen?” said Yulong. Suddenly Dwynwen pulled away from and clutched her fists.

“Stupid... Stupid! Why did you kill them?!” she yelled. She was trembling now. She couldn’t believe he killed them, and so quickly, too. Wasn’t he suppose to be Buddha’s right hand or something?! Wukong looked a little taken aback, but recovered himself.

“If I didn’t they would have killed us! Or just me, and sold you off to some slave trade, or worse!” he retorted.

“You could have scared them off! Maybe injure a few, but there was no reason to kill them!” Dwynwen shouted, shaking violently. It was funny. When people read about this stuff they think, if it was me, I could handle it. But now... now that Dwynwen was surrounded by those dead bodies... She felt sick. She wanted to puke, but not here...

“What’s the big deal? When I was Monkey King, I killed hundreds of creatures,” said Wukong. Damn, this scene felt familiar.

“That’s why you were locked up in the first place, wasn’t it?!” Dwynwen yelled. “If you’re going to kill people without even a second thought, then... then... You’re just a murderer!” Wukong stood there, quiet.

“But... Isn’t that the reason you were imprisoned?” he remembered Xaunzang asking him. “A person who can kill someone without even an ounce of mercy... Is nothing but a murderer.”

Wukong looked away, then turned. This child wasn't suppose to be there, scolding him... that was his master's job. Not hers...

“Fine. If that’s how you feel, then you can find yourself another teacher and go to Suki-no-Kumi by yourself! I’m outta here!” he said. Then he somersaulted into the clouds and disappeared.

“Wukong!” Yulong yelled after him. He sighed. “I’ll go get him, in the mean time, could you go wait by the river? It should be just three miles from here. I don't think there are anymore bandits.” Dwynwen just mutely nodded as she stared at the ground. Yulong bent down and looked up at her. She could finally see his eyes. They were a bright red that reminded Dwynwen of a strawberry. “I’m sorry.” he said. “Wukong means well, it’s just... He was imprisoned for a long time and he angry at himself. He hasn’t forgiven himself for something, and he’s taking it out on you and on these poor bandits. But he knows what he did was wrong. I’ll go get him and I hope you’ll give him a second chance as your teacher.” He stood, then jumped into the air and sprouted large white dragon wings, then flew off in a direction.

Usually Dwynwen would be amazed at this type of thing, but not now after seeing all those dead bodies. Dwynwen couldn’t take it anymore. She doubled over near a tree and began to puke.

XxXxX

Meanwhile, about 20 miles away, Wukong was leaning against a mountain, thinking back to over 60 years ago.

The bandits had attacked him and Xuanzang just like today, he had killed them just like today.

“How... How could you have killed them like that?” Xuanzang had asked with his eyes shadowed. “Don’t you even feel an ounce of pity for them?”

“No way!” he had replied. “If I didn’t kill them they would have killed us!”

“And... you have no regret of doing this?” Xuanzang asked. “These people... were just doing what they had to survive. They did not understand that what they did was wrong. For they are only humans who were confused. And they had not the strength to match yours, for you are immortal. Tell me... Did you enjoy killing them, knowing they were weaker and stood not a chance?”

“What’s the big deal? When I was Monkey King, I killed hundreds of creatures,” Wukong had asked.

“But... Isn’t that one of the reason you were imprisoned?” he remembered Xaunzang asking him. “These men may have wanted to kill me, but the lives of six men all for one... Seems unjust. A person who can kill someone without even an ounce of mercy... Is nothing but a murderer. ”

“There you are!” said Yulong as he landed next to him, pulling Wukong back to the present. “I’m so glad I found you.”

“Nn. Whadda you want?” Wukong grunted.

“Wukong, you have to go back. Miss Dwynwen needs you.” said Yulong as he puled his wings back.

“Ha! The way she talks, she doesn’t! She’s not even trying!” said Wukong, arms folded behind his head.

“You haven’t given her a chance, Wukong. You’ve been rude to her and pushing around like you used to with Bajie,” reasoned Yulong. “And you have to remember, she is only a child. She has never seen anyone slaughtered right before her eyes before. She doesn’t understand that sometimes you have to kill in order to survive. To see someone who is suppose to be her teacher, kill without a second thought, is quite a shock for anyone.” Wukong didn’t say anything. He just listen in silence as Yulong continued, “Wukong... I thought you had gotten over this. What happened to your enlightenment?” Wukong scoffed.

“Enlightenment? What good has it done any of us? Master died and I was locked up again when I fought Amatsu.” It wasn't fair. His master was suppose to be there to scold him, not that child. So where was he? Where was his master? Yulong’s eyes soften as he realized.

“Oh, I see. You’ve lost faith. That’s why you’re like this again.” he said.

“I haven’t lost anything.” said Wukong as he stood.

“It’s alright, Wukong. When master died... I too began to doubt. But then I remembered Master telling me that he believed in me. And even now, even now that he’s gone... I know he still believes in me. Just like I know he believes in you. That’s why you were chosen to be Miss Dwynwen’s teacher. He believes you help her get through this.” said Yulong as he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“What if I can’t? What if I let her down... Like I let Master down?” he asked. Yulong smiled a little.

“I remember what master used to say about ‘what if’s. ‘What if the sky turned to flames and burned off your tongue? You shouldn’t think about ‘What ifs’. They just make you depressed. Having regrets and worries is part of being alive. Besides... A person without worries and regrets is a boring person. You’re fine the way you are.’ he told me once.” Yulong smiled at Wukong with half eyes. “What would master say if he was here?” Wukong smiled a little.

“He’d smile and tell me that the only way I could let him down would to give up before I even tried.” he said. “...You know something like this happened when we first met, too. But he didn’t get angry. He just said things to make me feel guilty in the end. Even when I did and said horrible things to him... He never got mad. Not once. He never gave up on me.”

“If he had, you wouldn’t be here today. Now you need to believe in Miss Dwynwen like Master believed in you.” Yulong told him. “And don’t give up so easily. That’s not like you at all.” Wukong gave a goofy smile.

“Well, whadda ya know! The journey west did you some good after all! At first you wouldn’t talk at all and then in your human form, you kept turning red and running away. Now if only you talk like that if front of the ladies...” he teased. Yulong blushed.

XxXxX

Dwynwen washed the taste of vomit from her mouth with water from the river. With the help of Xaunzang she had found the river. She pulled her knees to her chest. Why her? Why? She never wanted anymore than to hide away for her whole life in her little apartment, so why was this happening?

“Dwynwen...” said Xuanzang gently.

“Shut up! This is your fault! Why did you choose me?! I’m not even a fighter! And I don’t believe in gods, so why? Why me?” Dwynwen cried. Xuanzang eyes saddened.

“Because I believe you can save our worlds.” he said as he bent down.

“Why?! I’m not strong! You don’t know anything about me!” she cried. He bent down in front of her.

“I know that, if given the chance, you can do great things. And so what if you’re not strong? What’s so wrong with being weak?” he asked. “I was actually your age when I started my journey and I wasn’t strong ether if you recall. If you’ve read of me, you know I was weak too. And quite pathetic, really. I was always getting in trouble. If my disciples weren’t there, I never would have made it to India. And to thank my disciples, I usually made them feel bad. I really was... pathetic.” he said with a sad smile.

“That’s not true!” said Dwynwen. “When reading about you... I always thought that... You weren’t strong at all. But... you were always trying your best. I always... admired that about you.” Xuanzang looked surprised, then he smiled.

“Thank you.” he said. “And you ask why I chose you? It’s because you have a very special power that you will need on this journey to obtain the lost scripture. And I know my disciples will help you. Wukong’s just worried. And he’s still not used to the new human feelings he has. They frighten hm a little, and when Wukong’s frighten he let’s it off by fighting.”

“That doesn’t explain why he killed those men.” sniffed Dwynwen as she wiped her eyes.

“He wasn’t thinking. Old habits die hard as they say. Someone was trying to hurt the people he was trying to protect, so he killed them. He takes these things very seriously. I was thrown into his care and he felt the need to protect me like he does you. You’re his student, so he’ll protect you no matter what. Even if that means killing and defying the ways of Buddha. Please be patient with him. He is new at this like you are.” Xaunzang told her as he looked her in the eyes. “I’m sure... That in time, you two will come to understand each other and come to get along. That or you’ll rip each other limb from limb.” Dwynwen chuckled a little.

“You’re weird.” she said.

“So I’ve been told.” he said with a smile.

Just then Wukong appeared right behind her.

“Well, now that you’ve had your break, let’s get going, shall we?” he said.

“GAAHH!” Dwynwen yelled in shock as she back into the river. “Could you please not just appear out of nowhere! I’m still not used to that kind of stuff.” she gasped as she came back up.

“Eh, heh... Sorry. But anyways, let’s continue our journey.” Wukong said as he helped her out.

“Aww! Can’t we eat first? I’m starvin’!” moaned Dwynwen.

“Oh, come on! Look, with all the bandits here, it’s not a good idea to camp. So we should make it to a town before we camp, alright?” said Wukong.

“But–!” started Dwynwen.

‘It’s like nothing happened.’ Yulong thought with a small smile.

“How about this...” he quietly interrupted, a little red. “I could transform into a horse and carry you to the next town.”

“Really? You’d do that?”

“Yulong. I want her to train! Walking will build her endurance.” frowned Wukong.

“I-it won’t do her any good to collapse while we’re traveling. I think she’s had enough for now, d-don’t you agree?” said Yulong. Wukong glared a little then sighed.

“Master rode you for too long. He’s rubbed off on you. Alright, but I want you to do this too happen often. I want to train her after all.” he said. Yulong smiled as he bent over. Within seconds he became a pure white horse with cute strawberry eyes. Dwynwen’s eyes were wide.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Get on. It’ll be sun down soon.” said Wukong. But Dwynwen stared, clueless. Although her family on her father’s side were cowboys, she had never ridden a horse before. Wukong raised a eyebrow. “You do know how to ride a horse, don’t you?” Dwynwen didn’t reply and Wukong gave a irritable sigh. “I really have my work cut out for me. Come here.” he helped her up on to Yulong who stood still and patiently as Dwynwen settled on him. When she was settled, Wukong started to lead Yulong.

“Your name is Dwynwen, right? It seems I’m gonna have a lot of work to do with you, but in the end, remember this. I will make a warrior out of you yet.” But Dwynwen didn’t hear him, for she had already fallen asleep.

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Well, if nothing else Dywnwen makes me feel better about myself.

Note:

In the original story, Wukong and his master was attacked by bandits and after Wukong had killed them he and Xuanzang got into a huge fight and Wukong had run away to visit the Dragon King. While he was away, Xuanzang ran into Kuan Yin who was disguise at the time. She gave him the gold head band, and when Wukong returned, he unknowingly put it on and thus the ring became fixed on his head.

Yulong, also known as Horse or Dragon, was the son of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. One day he accidently put the castle on fire and was sentenced to death. His tears started to flood the world below so Kaun Yin came to him and when he told her his situation, she took pity on him and told him that he could repent by carrying Xuanzang to India.