Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A maniacal and bright laugh echoed through the halls of the palace. Another laughter followed, this one deep and unrestrained. Princess Iron Fan was not surprised to see her husband running after their son, even though it was inappropriate, especially in front of the Lotus Prince.

“Keep running boy, you’re just delaying the inevitable!” The Demon Bull King said, there was a toothy smile on his face, something that the Princess barely saw ever since Redson’s first fire outbursts.

The little boy was covered in a dark fire, the only thing visible was the outline of his figure, his eyes were bright and his own grin was wide. ‘Redson looked so much like her father’, Princess Iron Fan remarked once, staring at the two, it seems that that statement was as true as ever. Iron Fan’s lips curled upward, just a bit.

“I um…We could always plan the ritual some other day if-“ Nezha said, his tone wavering, it was clear to the Princess that the God of Victory did not want to deal with the child. Iron Fan couldn’t blame him, their son was young, yes. But also dangerously powerful.

“No need” Iron Fan started, her head now turned toward the Lotus Prince. “We already called everyone over, it would be useless to tell them to leave. Besides, we need this matter over with as quick as possible, I fear if we wait another day we could risk the annihilation of the entire universe” Iron Fan looked back at her little family. Redson looked so happy and free… She hated the thought of stripping away a part of her son but she knew it was better like this, she couldn’t have her son living in isolation forever. 

“Alright then…I’m sure the Monkie King and the others are on their way. Sun Wukong would never miss a reunion with his brother after all” Nezha added, he let out a nervous little chuckle. Sometimes Princess Iron Fan forgot that he was still just a teenager, he may be violent and a huge threat, but he was still a child at heart…Just like Redson…Iron Fan thought to herself, she hesitantly lifted her hand and held Nezha’s shoulder, which seemed to surprise him. “You’ve been through worst, Lotus Prince. If we follow the ritual nothing should go wrong” 

Nezha nodded, processing her words for a moment before looking away. “I don’t want to hurt him..” He muttered, all the confidence he had had dissipated. Again, Iron Fan sometimes forgot how much this boy had been through. He and Redson were like family, she knew he couldn’t bear to lose him. In all honesty, she didn’t know if she could either.

“I know you don’t” Iron Fan said, her voice was full of a rare empathy. “Which is how I know you won’t fail” she gently patted Nezha’s shoulder, giving him a small smile, which he returned before looking at the Demon Bull King again. He was trying to grab at Redson but the fire around his body just burned his hands, making the little boy laugh in a psychotic way that actually made Iron Fan feel queasy and sick to her stomach.

She suddenly felt a huge gust of wind smack her in the face, almost making her fall backward if it weren’t for Nezha quickly taking her hand and helping her balance herself.

With wide eyes, she looks around the room, trying to see what could be the source of the wind. She felt panic rise within her. It could be a demon…trying to kidnap her son and sell him off, or worse, trying to eat him! Her panic quickly dissolves into annoyance when she hears the familiar, screeching voice of an old friend.

“WHEEEERE’S MY NEPHEEEEEW?” Sun Wukong exclaimed in a sing-song voice. He turned his head and looked around the room. He was confused for a moment,he was starting to wonder why the halls were empty until he felt the heated presence of a demon right beside him, the suddenness of it all made him jump behind his master, Tripitaka. When he realized it was Redson he sighed and chuckled loudly. “There you are! What have you been up to, huh? Little scamp” The monkey used his tail to mess around with Redson’s hair, making the fire demon laugh once more.

“Monkie King..” Princess Iron Fan started, her hands moved to pat down her own hair, which had been messed up by the wind. “I see you still have a knack for dramatic entrances…” She could hear the King baby talk to her son, disregarding her completely.

“Monkie…Monkie King….” Iron Fan repeated, trying to get Wukong’s attention so they could finally start the stupid ritual. She was not impressed.

“Heyyyy, Wukong, buddy?” Ao Lie whispered, his smile was small and nervous, as if already Wukong had made a fool of himself. The Dragon was in his human form which Iron Fan personally found disgusting, his pure white robe just dragged on her floor, she should ask a servant of hers to clean up next time before guests come in.

“Hm? Oh right, hey Princess! How ya doin’?” The simian asked, Redson was playing with his tail, there were scorch marks on his ginger fur, she thought it bothered the simian but then she realized one thing; he was an idiot who didn’t know self preservation. Even if Sun Wukong was immortal that didn’t mean he was immune to Samadhi Fire.

“Let’s just get this over with..” Another voice said, Iron Fan then saw the shadow of a vase morph into a humanoid creature, then it fully transformed into Macaque who had his arms crossed and a not so pleased look on his face. 

“Alright then…” The Princess said, her eyes quickly scanned through everyone present, there was Sha Wujing, Zhu Baije, Tang Xuanjang (Or Tripitaka as he prefered to be called), Ao Lie, Sun Wukong, Macaque and Nezha. Her husband had taken Redson away from Wukong’s line of sight (Separated, Redson and Wukong were menaces, Iron Fan and Bull King had noticed, but working together they were even worse) and must’ve already taken him to the mountain where they would perform the ritual. 

She secretly hoped the plan would work, Tripitaka had warned her earlier that if anything went wrong the Samadhi Fire would consume either Redson, consume the world, consume someone else or would successfully be separated into the rings. The Princess hoped for the latter.

“Le-Go!” Wukong said, marching toward Princess Iron Fan before being stopped by Macaque’s tail. “Wrong way, idiot” the darker monkey mumbled under his breath, a gentle smile growing on his lips. Zhu Baije had to stifle a giggle as Wukong glared at him and walked out of the palace.

The rest of the group had followed the two primates out of the palace, leaving the Princess and Tripitaka to have a moment for themselves.

“I understand this may be stressful for you, Princess Iron Fan…” The monk started, he turned to look at her, his brows furrowed and his lips pursed, his expression was one that Princess Iron Fan knew too well, pity. She felt a small pang of anger toward the monk.

“I’m fine” She spoke through gritted teeth, if there was one thing she hated, it was being pitied, she was a strong woman, she used to be one strongest of the celestial maidens even. She inhaled, there was no reason why she should be mad at Tripitaka, he was only trying to help after all. She didn’t need to lash out on her allies. She seriously hoped taking self help classes was worth it. “I’ll be even better once we rid Redson of his curse” she saw how Tripitaka tensed, as if there was something he hid from the Princess. Forget it, self help classes were useless and moronic. “What is it?” She said, her voice calm but there was a fire in her eyes as she glared at the pilgrim. Tripitaka could see the family resemblances alright..

“I um…you do know this won’t destroy the curse completely, right? It is impossible to strip it away from its existence” the monk explained, hoping the bead of sweat falling off his forehead weren’t noticeable, he had a fair share of being threatened by people much stronger than him and he did not want to make an enemy of the Princess.

She only sighed though, her expression faltered a bit, she crossed her arms, something the monk realized she did a lot nowadays. “Of course I know…I just want my baby to be safe..” She mumbled under her breath. She was a loving mother, Tripitaka could tell. “I don't want him to be at the mercy of his own powers, he doesn’t deserve that…” she could feel her heart break at the thought of anything happen to Redson, her thoughts scattered further to the ritual failing, leaving Redson be in pain forever until the end of days, she could feel her walls crumble all on its own. She started wondering about how the present would’ve been if she didn’t give up her old life. Redson wouldn’t have been born but at least he wouldn’t have to go through all the painful things that simply living would offer “Oh heavens, this whole entire thing was a mistake..” The air around them started to get colder, at the corner of his ear, Tripitaka could hear the sounds of rustling fabric of the curtains and the vase that Macaque had appeared from had fallen, breaking into little pieces. He couldn’t let the Princess drown within her own thoughts, her eyes were wide as she stared onto the floor, muttering apologies to her son. She started covering her face in her hands, which did nothing to help the wind turmulating around them.

He needed to do something; he walked toward the Princess, the wind wasn’t strong enough for him to resist so he moved with ease. He quickly took hold of Iron Fan’s hands, which would probably be regarded as a mistake when her brows furrowed once more, probably in anger. She was breathing heavily now, she seemed ready to murder someone. “Calm yourself,” Tripitaka started, his voice calm and soothing. The Princess took in a few breaths, inhaling and exhaling quickly, just as her therapist had told her. “Redson will be fine, everything will be fine. It’s not healthy nor good to worry about events that haven't happened yet, take it from someone who knows..” He gave her a small smile that he hoped would be comforting.

The Princess sighed, taking her hands away from the monk’s grasp, “Apologies, I was being ridiculous… Mothers shouldn’t be this worried with their sons, should they? Redson is strong, he will…he’ll be alright..” Tripitaka was about to protest, he was about to say that worrying makes her a good mother, that that proves she cares even if her son is incredibly menacing. But he was stopped when the Princess walked past him, she had a few tears in her eyes from earlier but she wiped them away quickly. Her eyes were slightly puffed up but not enough for anyone to notice from up close “Come, monk, we have a ritual to attend” her voice was back to how it should be, full of authority and with no room left for hesitance.

Tripitaka smiled before nodding once more. “Of course, Your Majesty” he summoned his staff, gently lifting it then hitting it softly onto the ground. A pattern of golden lines and spells started appearing from underneath them. Before she knew it, there was an orb growing around them, quickly and swiftly taking them away from the castle and taking them somewhere else…

Chapter Text

 It had been a while since Iron Fan had teleported, usually she was too busy making sure her child hadn’t been burning down the nearest village. There was a yellowish glow everywhere and for a short, devastating moment she felt the worst pain in her head. She blinked once, twice. Soon enough she found herself atop a mountain. Her hand was pressed against her temple, trying to soothe the aching headache. Tripitaka had offered his arm to the celestial. Iron Fan only shook her head. Now, standing straight, she looked at the view. There were tall rectangular rocks, inscripted with symbols she couldn’t recognize properly. Her eye caught the sight of one though. Fire. Inside of it was what captured her attention though, there was a circle which could very easily be seen as a ring. The Samadhi Fire Rings.

Tripitaka and everyone else went to their places. The monk started muttering a spell to himself. He closed his eyes for a second and the next they were wide, open and gold. The same colour started appearing everywhere once more. It was so bright the celestial had to blink back tears. 

Suddenly everything seemed so real. She couldn’t mask her fear anymore. Not when the pilgrim’s eyes had been gleaming. Not when Ao Lie had turned back into his dragon form, surrounding the scene with his terrible presence. Not when poor Red Son was being lifted from the air, laughing maniacally as if this was all just some game. From a distance, she could see the worry in everyone’s faces. Even Macaque seemed scared for the demon boy. 

She caught a glimpse of the look on her husband’s face, filled with more surprise than fear. This was all her fault. It’s a fact that’s been echoed in the back of her mind ever since she left home. If only she could’ve been less selfish, she could’ve denied the Bull King’s hand in marriage. Red Son would’ve never existed but maybe it was best for the safety of the world. 

She heard what must’ve been the worst sound of her life. A pure, unfiltered shriek from her boy. She looked up to see him, struggling in the burning darkness. If she squinted her eyes she could see tears forming in his eyes, falling onto his cheek and landing on the floor with a hot scorch. Goodness, this was hurting him. Which was the complete opposite of what she wanted in the first place.

Stop! Leave him alone!..Please! She wanted nothing more than to yell. Her son was in pain and it was all because of her own selfishness. 

She didn’t have enough time to fully rethink her entire life choices though.

For her son was finally falling.

She didn’t even think twice before running to him, her hands outstretched in the air. Luckily, she had a husband that was much taller than her and caught the previously flaming boy in his arms. When she looked into her husband’s face, he almost seemed like a different person, a much kinder one. His eyes had softened once he looked at the child, relieved of the torturous fire that had burdened him. Iron Fan’s previously frozen heart melted at the sight of her- their son. 

Without the Flaming Curse surrounding the boy, it was much easier for them both to finally take a good look at their son, to fully appreciate what their love had brought to the world. Redson had some demonic features, that was to be expected, he had his father’s ears, which resembled a bull and a thin tail that ended with a clump of hair. Although, he did have his mother’s nose which was wide and for now was simply reminiscent of a button. Once Redson blinked his eyes open and finally cried, Iron Fan noticed that he also had hazel eyes, just like her own.

Iron Fan knew how to love, she felt it when she had first seen her husband in the battle field after all, and perhaps after that as well. But she had never felt it like this. This overwhelming feeling of pride just kept falling upon her like waves of a stormy ocean that refused to stop. She looked up at the Bull King, who looked down at her with a wide smile. “He’s so small,” her husband commented, letting out a fond chuckle as he pulled him closer to his chest. The Celestial only nodded, her own lips started to tilt upwards until it became clear she was smiling as well. 

“He’s perfect,” The princess decided, she ran a hand through her little Redson’s scalp, which was slightly adorned with red hairs and tiny stubs, like horns. His skin was darker than her own, the contrast was noticeable and in all honesty she couldn’t care less. She wiped the tears away from her boy’s cheeks, which were burning hot to the touch. She didn’t pull her hand away though, her son was worth all of the pain in the world.

“Iron Fan!” A familiar voice rang in the corner of her ear, she turned to see who it was and sure enough, it was the orange simian, who was running to her already while her friends attended to the Dragon of The West, who seemed… nauseous somehow.

“Monkey King” she echoed, turning fully to face the orange-furred moron. If he wasn’t so busy looking at the boy in shock he would’ve noticed the frustrated look on her face. As always, he ignored it completely, apparently being a Celestial didn’t guarantee the “Great” Sun Wukong’s respect.

Speaking of, the monkey’s mouth gaped open in surprise. Everyone was so used to seeing the little boy with a menacing fire around him, it was hard to imagine him without it. “Wow…” He started, for once Iron Fan had thought that Sun Wukong’s jokester persona was gone, hidden away, at least for just this moment. But she was immediately proven wrong when his signature grin formed on his face. “He’s small,” he commented, which made the Bull King laugh. His smile was plastered onto his face. “He is, isn’t he?” He replied, he didn’t make the effort to hide the pride in his voice. 

The Monkey King nodded and squinted his eyes at the boy, his smirk had immediately faded, and his lips puckered in confusion. With his tail, he pointed at the spot inside the boy’s wrist. Iron Fan raised her brow in confusion and when she looked, there it was. A symbol of what looked like a monkey. It had dark hair and a wide grin, and much to Wukung’s dismay, A band around the monkey’s forehead. 

Iron Fan almost wanted to laugh, the moment where there seems to be peace, finally after years of confusion and false hope, is ruined by a mysterious drawing that branded her son’s skin like a scar.

Wukong frowned at the little drawing and placed his hand on his chin, rubbing it as he thought “It looks like a…” No, no it couldn’t be… “A soul mark” Oh.. wonderful…

There wasn’t anything wrong with soul marks, except that seeing someone who had it was an exceptionally rare find. The only people that Iron Fan truly knew were soulmates were the Macaque and his orange-haired idiot. As much as they tried to deny it, the marks never lied. Iron Fan and the Bull King never got one, and yet she still felt as if her soul was complete whenever her husband would laugh whole-heartedly or stared at her with amazement in his eyes.

Both the Bull King and the Celestial Princess looked at each other with befuddlement clear in their expression, then at Wukong, who had an equally puzzled look on his face “Wukong” the Celestial started. As the Monkey King tilted her head upwards to look at her, she remembered to be very precise and careful with her words, lest she accidentally offends the demon. “Do you think that perhaps… someone of your tribe is the-“

Wukong immediately cut her off, the tone in his voice leaving no room for argument, “No, absolutely not. I know everyone on my island and I can assure you, Princess, That no one is marked” Such insubordinate behaviour ought to be worth of a punishment, but Iron Fan only glared at the other before looking down at her son. Wukong was overprotective, that much was obvious. He cared about everyone in Flower Fruit mountain as if they were of his own blood, maybe that’s why Iron Fan doesn’t smite him into oblivion. (Wukong couldn’t die but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be tortured) She can see some of that possessive behaviour within herself, she would destroy anyone who dared try to hurt her family.

The rest of it all was a blur, she remembered everyone gathering around her son, congratulating them for their patience and dedication to Redson. There was an air of tension that came out of The Dragon but Iron Fan didn’t question it, the shapeshifter was weirdly behaved anyway, always so clingy and kind… She didn’t trust him, to say to least.

When they had gotten to the castle, it wasn’t even a question whether they were going to isolate Redson or not. Before, they couldn’t imagine being in the same room as the boy for an hour or two, let alone an entire night. Iron Fan relished when she could finally see what her son looked like without the fire consuming him. He seemed peaceful… Much calmer without the Samadhi Fire following him around and causing him endless pain.

Iron Fan couldn’t imagine ever having to go though years and years of the terrible burden, that night, while the Bull King rested comfortably at Iron Fan’s side and Redson slept in a crib next to the their shared bed the Celestial promised herself, she would do anything it takes for Redson to feel as happy and loved as possible. She couldn’t forgive herself if he had to suffer even more emotionally because of her.

“I love you…” she whispered to the sleeping child, hoping that somehow the words would etch themselves onto his heart and would serve as a reminder to him, always.