#poor Tang

[justanotherblogger]

A World Without Him

Chapter 8

(TW minor violence against furniture and some self-loathing thoughts)

Tang could hear the voices through the piles of broken bookshelves and ceiling bits. He didn't think they were hallucinations, as they got more frantic near his safe area and how he heard big pieces being carefully dragged outside.

He didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he could move all the layers covering him himself. Maybe if he yelled out, someone could finally hear him.

"H-hello?! Is anyone out there?!" He shouted with a shakey voice. Almost right after, he could hear the talking stop and someone sprinting over the rubble towards his area.

"Hey there; I'm with the Metrapolis first responders! Where are you?!" A woman yelled out into the crash site.

Tang scrambles up to the edge of his collapsed prison. "I'm down here! There's lots of debris covering me, but I'm alright! Please try digging to my left first. My friend is down there, and please hurry!" He yelled with a bit of desperation.

"Ok, stay there and don't move sir! We'll have more people here soon to clear all this out!" She shouted in response, most likely sprinting towards where the ceiling fell...

Tang decided to stop that train of thought. He needed to wait for the backup to arrive; someone to haul him out of here. Like always, he supposes.

So he waits. The unusual silence gives way to the grating of stone, wood, and drywall as he knows they're digging out Allan. He'll be okay. Tang stopped him from running right underneath the collapsed ceiling, so he's still alive. He must be.

Tang also knew when reinforcements arrived. The harsher steps from heavy-duty boots along with the many steps he hears overlap basically gave them away.

He stayed silent, though, so as not to disturb the now very delicate shell of debris surrounding him.

He waited for a while before he could hear a big chunck getting thrown from his left and on top of his area. The added weight caused pieces to break off and his "ceiling" to give way, now with it barely crushing his skull.

He gasped, then coughed from the debris that was shaken loose, covering him in a layer of dust. Pieces of splintered wood and some jagged metal now stick out in the corners.

More yelling started after that. Tang mostly just focused on his breathing again.

When he got back to his senses yet again, he heard picks and gloved hands clawing at his barrier of debris.

He almost cried in relief as the moonlight stone through the new cracks in his dome. He slowly watched as the hole got bigger and bigger, with more and more hands helping to carefully dig him out.

Once the hole was big enough, someone reached their hand down for Tang to grab. He gripped it tightly as he was slowly risen out of his confines.

He blinked at the sudden change in light, still out of it from his time trapped in that place. He was suddenly coerced to an emergency vehicle in the library parking lot, seeing the many paramedics wheeling in people from the library storage area.

He looked at his surroundings as they walked; he could see the ceiling was in total shreds at this point, with the standing walls looking like swiss cheese.

All the people who made it to the storage unit gained only minor injuries, as they all seemed to be walking, talking, and didn't have any blood on them.

As he continued to move towards the emergency vehicle, the ground covered in rubble turned to concrete as they made it to the sidewalk. He could feel his shoulder throbbing with pain as he sat down for the medics on site.

They did everything routinely, giving him a shock blanket, testing his cognitive ability, and so what. "You're all right, sir. Your shoulder just needs padding, and no sudden movements for it to heal up properly. You're very lucky, and you can go back to your residence now."

Tang just nodded in response, seeing them walk back towards another shock patient. He slumped into himself and took off his glasses, rubbing his temple.

Why couldn't I ever do something right, he thought. His thoughts stirred to Allan. Is he really okay? I should've done better. What if he's dead?! He can't be. He'll be okay. He'll be fine. You'll be fine.

He grumbled to himself, stopping his train of thought. He put his glasses back on and stood up, looking out for any free paramedics to ask about Allan.

He had only taken a few steps before a group of paramedics came barreling into the parking lot, rushing past him with many of them hurrying a gurney to the closest ambulance.

Tang could only catch a glimpse of the patient, but he saw their hoodie. Tang almost threw up when he saw him. It was Allan. Allan, who now had a severed leg. The bloody end of his leg dripped red liquid down onto the ground, with the jagged bone jutting out the end.

"Allan!" Tang yelled out, running up to the gurney. He was held back by the other paramedics, their words becoming jumbled as he only focused on Allan.

The rest of him didn't look much better from what Tang could see. Many scrapes and bruises covered his arms and legs, with debris covering his entire body. His eyes were glassed over with his matted hair falling on top of them. But he still had a heartbeat, even if it was a faint one.

Tang could have sworn he saw those eyes look towards him, but then the ambulance doors were closed before he could do anything else, the vehicle speeding off after they backed Tang away from getting hit.

All Tang could do was watch as they drove away, with another paramedic guiding him to a place to sit down. He had asked where the ambulance would drop off Allan so he could see him, but he was denied as he wasn't a guardian or family member.

So he walked away, back through the now dark sidewalk, and on his way home. His steps were sluggish, moving slowly as his mind went blank.

His body moved on its own as he walked into the building, up the many flights of stairs, and took out his keys to unlock his apartment.

He locked the door immeadietly after he got inside, taking off his shoes and throwing them at the wall. His other things got lost in the rubble...

Yeah, go and worry about your precious sketch book and comics as Allan is in the hospital.

Tang grimaced and looked at his apartment, everything tidy and stacked together in organized piles from his morning spree.

You were a hassle yet again. Always being dragged along because of your own incompetence.

Everything in his apartment seemed wrong. Too clean, too tidy, too nice for someone like Tang.

If you weren't there, maybe Allan would have made it to the storage room.

He didn't like the look of the room.

He could have been safe instead of carrying your weak ass around that library.

He walked up his coffee table, a vase with a single flower, and two stacks of books and papers on top of the brittle table.

He might have made it out alive if you didn't have him die-

He violently grabbed the glass vase and threw it against an empty wall.

*CRASH*

Glass scatters everywhere, some of the pieces embedding into his flimsy walls. Some even nicked Tang, but he didn't notice yet. The water from it coated the wall in a dark color.

It's your fault.

His heartbeat pounded through his ears. He took the pile papers next, ripping his useless scribbles up repeatedly until they became only scraps. His shoulder throbs with pain.

He's injured, and it's your fault.

He runs to his books after, taking handfuls and throwing them in every which way. Some hit picture frames, scattering even more glass, while some hit his other piles, causing them to tip and fall over with books, clothes, and other trinkets.

He's dead because of YOU.

"SHUT, UP!" Tang yelled. He swung his hand down onto the coffee table with startling accuracy. A sickening crunch resounded through his apartment. He could feel his tears run hot against his face.

He gasped.

The coffee table was now split in two, the impact of his hand steaming from small embers on the splintered wood. His eyes widened as he looked to his balled up hand. It had a faint orange hue.

But as Tang blinked, it was gone. Yet, when he looked back at the table, it was still steaming, just now simmering down to a small smoke.

Now, only his labored breathing could be heard as he stood still in the middle of his apartment. He could only stare at the destruction he had caused.

Now this looks perfect.

He smacked his own forehead, dragging his hand down his face. He wiped his eyes as a small breeze blew through the apartment. Maybe one of the windows got dislodged from his episode.

Tang sighed heavily before stepping carefully around the mess he made, flopping onto the ragged couch that somehow survived. His phone jumped up from his added weight before hitting the glass covered floor.

Oh, yeah. I threw it there this morning when it died...

Tang sighed slightly before picking his phone off the floor, dusting off tiny glass shards, and pressing the power button. Nothing came up. He grumbled before trekking over to his bedroom and plugging it into the charger.

He threw his glasses on his bedside table before falling face first onto his bed. The blurred shapes of his room comforted him as he rolled onto his back.

His eyes felt droopy as the colors around blurred even more. They shifted and coerced into a soft sunset orange-

*BANG, BANG, BANG*

"Tang! You better open this door RIGHT NOW!"

Tang sat up quickly, breathing fast as the knocking continued. He scrambled up and out of his bed before running to the front door, careful not to step on anymore scraps on his messy floor.

He opened the door right before his guest could harshly knock yet again. He almost had to dodge the pink fist coming his way before it pulled back suddenly.

Pigsy on all his glory stood outside Tangs door with a very peeved look on his face. Tang doesn't know if he could handle being berated for whatever he had apparently done to Pigsy after everything today.

But to his surprise, Pigsy's expression quickly turned to one of deep concern as he looked Tang up and down. "What is it, Pigsy?" Tang asked in a scratchy voice.

Pigsy didn't respond for a good minute. But when he did, almost nothing could stop that man's wrath as he started to stomp into Tang's apartment. "What the hell happened to you, Tang?! Everyone has been texting and calling you, and you never picked up! And now you look like total shit with your outfit in complete shambles! We couldn't reach you through anything, and I had to come up her myself-"

Tang hurridly pulled Pigsy back from his apartment carpet, with Pigsy now fully aware of the new "decor" he had recently put in.

Pigsy was seemingly about to go on another rant after a brief glance at his apartment, but Tang quickly hushed him. "Please, Pigsy. I don't think I can handle anything else happening today. I feel like absolute shit, I got stuck under a building for hours, and all I want right now is some peace and quiet. I promise to talk to you about this tomorrow, but for now, just give me a day, please."

Pigsy seemed conflicted at this, looking at Tang, and then past him at his apartment a few times. He eventually sighs in defeat but quickly puts up some gusto. "Tomorrow. Come by tomorrow in the morning, and you'll tell me everything. If I don't see you by noon, I'll go here and drag you there myself."

Tang just smiles at Pigsy; it's a bit strained but still genuine. "Thank you." Tang says softly. Pigsy just nodded, looking sadly at Tang as he closed the door.

Tang leaned onto the door, making sure that Pigsy's footsteps were actually leaving before letting out a breath of relief.

When he finally made it back to his bed, Tang was convinced he could drop in a heartbeat if he fell onto his bed right now.

But of course, he never got the chanceas his phone came alight and buzzed like over and over after it finally powered back on. He startled a bit, sighed, and then picked up his phone before sitting at the edge of his bed.

His phone had been blowing up with messages, missed calls, and... ads about textbook sales? Tang quickly saved the ad for later before looking through his call list.

Through his cracked phone screen, he just huffed when he saw about 26 missed calls.

Most of them were from Pigsy, with 6 from Sandy, three from Mei, and one from Mk. He hesitated a second before opening his texts. He winced as he saw there were over 40 unread messages.

Some were from the group chat, most of the first ones being pictures of Mk after the library fight holding up cheese tea a block from the library...

Tang scrolled past the pictures and instead looked for his name in any of the unread texts. He found out he was only mentioned after Mk specified where he had his most recent fight.

🌟 The Gang 🌟

8:08 PM

Mk: Yeah! It wss a HUGE guy witha a weird lookin sword this time

Pigsy: you sure you're doing ok kid?

Mk: yes im fine

Mk: the ppace we fought is in way worse shape thogh

Mei: Mk's right. When I went to pick him up, the place had been rly totaled! With the ceiling completely destroyed 'nd the walls left in complete shambles!

Sandy: Was everyone involved okay???

Mei: don't worry sm Sandy

Mei: Mk saw everyone head to the DA shelter, and they all came out fine afterwards

Mk: yeah at least the guy I fought had some sense not to aim for the flor

Pigsy: they had an entire shelter ready? Where did you even fight, kid?

Mk: it was at the Metrapolis Library

Mk: im so sad too because I can't get anymore comics from that place for awhile

Pigsy: Wait, isn't that where Tang started working a day ago?

Mei: oh yeah! I didn't see him come out of the DA shelter tho

Sandy: has anyone contacted him since yesterday?

8:09 PM

Pigsy: everyone try calling him

8:11 PM

Sandy: Tang hasn't responded to my texts or calls

Mk: i ended up having to call after texting him so many times nd he didn't pick up

Mei: he hasn't responded to me either

Pigsy: I'll keep calling him to see if he'll pick up

8:17 PM

Pigsy: he hasn't responded even once

Mk: does anyone know where he is?

Sandy: maybe someone should go to his apartment?

Mei: he has his own apartment????

Pigsy: I'm going up there to see him. I'll tell you guys if he responds or if he's even there

Tang turned off his phone after reading the last text. He could only sigh at the messages before moving to turn off all his lights, sweep most of the scattered glass to the sides, and close the open window.

When he finally got to fall onto his bed again, all he could think about was Allan. If he was okay, if he was alive, and if he could find a way to find him again.

Well, he should try that tomorrow after Pigsy's. I could try to ask about his name in any of the nearby hospitals... maybe if I... try enough of them...

And then Tang succumbed to his exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep as his world went black.

Previous | Next | Start

[fanficlerontheroof]

tang: i made you a nice cup of coffee!!💞

pigsy: tang this tastes like shit-

tang: i made you a cup of coffee:)

pigsy: and is this even coffee??

tang: cup. i got you a cup.

pigsy:

tang: dont say it.

pigsy: this is a bowl.

[xen-void]

SPOILERS FOR LMK SEASON 4

Dang Tang, You in a bad mood?

[angelcake10023]

“What are you gonna do about it?” 🍵

A messy comic for the Curious MK au. Tang realizing he messed up after giving up MK to Wukong, but he might’ve realized this a bit too late…

ITS RESCUE TIME

[summerdoddles]

The fear of being abandoned (1/?)

(still thinking of an au name)

also MK villan design (wip)

[minniiaa]

The Heart Pirates love Nickleback and have that shit bumping through the surround sound you know they have installed in the Polar Tang.

Law has tried to ban it because he runs to his room every time Far Away comes on and he cries over his dead family.

He loses (unsurprisingly) even though this is his fucking ship and has to endure Shachi and Penguin popping off to Rockstar on a daily basis while he contemplates drowning himself.

[spoofyleaf]

He’s journeying to the west!

For better quality click the image! This took a little over 8 hours to make :”)

[briar-oses]

tang bo, lovesick like a maiden, his chin propped up on his palm, talking about chung myung: *sighs* he's just so.. you know?

tang jopyung:

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍

[zerohirrotries]

[justletmereadmycomics]

What if,,,

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 44

Pigsy flushing the three pure ones down the toilet:

I can see why Laozi wants nothing to do with their group lol.

We're back with yet another chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest where our favorite monks get to encounter monks who are somehow even less fortunate then them. So let's get into it shall we?

So the gang has been traveling for a while without incident when they suddenly hear an ear piercing cry. Tripitaka is startled by the noise but not enough to fall off his horse thankfully. The gang makes their guesses on what the noise could be, with Sandy placing his bet on landslide, while Pigsy bets on thunder, and Tripitaka decides to stick with his guess of men shouting or horses neighing. They then send out Monkey to find out what the noise was to settle their bets.

So Monkey investigates and finds that Tripitaka is the winner of that little bet, it is indeed a bunch of men making the noise. More specifically a bunch of monks who are hauling building supplies up a cliff. At first Monkey just assumes they are working to repair a monastery or something and wasn't able to hire anyone however that theory goes out the window as soon as he see's two Daoist's approach. For as soon as the Daoist's approach the group of monks they start freaking out and pulling the cart even harder. When he see's this Monkey realizes that he's heard about this city before, a place where Daoism is revered and Bhuddism is harshly penalized.

Monkey decides to get a better picture of the situation before making his report to his manager, less Tripitaka call him incompetent. So monkey disguises himself as a Daoist in order to integrate himself with them. So Monkey introduces himself as a humble Daoist here to beg for some vegetarian food. The Daoist's cheerfully inform him that there is no need to beg for food here, since Daoism is revered by even the King in this nation, which is called the Cart Slow Kingdom. And with a little prompting from Monkey the Daoist's give us the whole kingdom's backstory.

The backstory in question is that twenty years ago there was a huge drout and although the kingdom came together to pray to the heavens for relief it was hopeless. However just as all hope was lost three immortal Daoist's stopped by who go by the names Tiger Strength Immortal, Deer Strength Immortal and Goat Strength Immortal. These three immortal's were able to summon rain for the kingdom. They also posses some other abilities like changing water into oil and changing stone into gold. The king was so impressed by them that he made all Daoists his royal kin.

Monkey asks if he would be able to meet these immortal master's of theirs and the Daoists say it would be no trouble at all, and they will gladly introduce him after they finish their business out here. This official business being a roll call of all the bhuddist monk slaves. So Monkey takes the opportunity to ask what that is all about and receives the second half of the Kingdom's backstory. Which basically just amounts to the Monk's failing to summon any rain, so when the Daoist immortals came and fixed everything instead, all the Monks in the city were enslaved, with the Monastery's being wrecked.

So Monkey turns on the waterworks and says how terrible it is, after all he came to this city hoping to find his long lost uncle who became a monk. The Daoist's are willing to let Monkey do the roll call for them to see if his uncle is one of the monk's they have, and if he is, they will let Monkey take him with him. Of course as soon as Monkey shows up in his Daoist disguise the Monk's freak out and say that they are all here and working hard. Which Monkey of course finds hilarious because he's a jerk, and in order to have some more fun with them he tells them he is actually here looking for his relative. Which of course has all the monks crowding around him hoping they are it.

Once Monkey is done laughing at all the poor monks expense he gets down to business and asks them for their side of the story. Which pretty much just aligns with what he already heard from the Daoist's. We also learn some new information though, such as they are currently building an abbey for the Three Pure Ones with the plan to make the king youthful for ten thousand years. We also learn that the monks can't just run away because the king has their pictures displayed everywhere and a large reward offered if they ever try.

When Monkey casually say's they could all just die as a solution, the monks say that a lot of them have died, there used to be two thousand of them, and they are the last five hundred left. However every time they try and kill themselves the heaven's interfere, which Monkey finds unreasonable of the heavens. Turns out the gods aren't all cruel though, since they have been giving these monks a ray of hope in the forms of dreams telling them they just have to wait for the arrival of the Tang Monk and his Disciple the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who will relieve them all of their torment.

Luckily Monkey is easily flattered and doesn't mind that heaven is just throwing the responsibility of all these monks onto him. I swear heaven is just trying to turn Sun Wukong into their errand boy by having all these issues pile up and just waiting for Sun Wukong to stop by and fix it for them, but I digress. So Monkey goes back to the Daoist's and is all like 'well what do you know- they all happen to be my relatives, I come from a big family. Soooooo we'll just all be on our way now.' The Daoist's unsurprisingly kick up a fuss about this, they can't just free all their slaves! Just think of the paper work! So Monkey decides to spare them any trouble and just takes out his rod and kills the both of them.

The monks upon witnessing this start freaking out because they are totally going to be the ones blamed for this. Monkey tries to tell them it's fine since he's the Great Sage they've heard so much about. However the monks aren't going to fall for that one! After all they've heard from the Star of Venus that the Great Sage is a hideous and scary looking monster! Monkey is both annoyed and pleased by this description so he decides to have a bit of fun with them. He's all like 'You're right, I'm not him, I just work for the guy- and hey look behind you isn't that him?' And once they all turn to look he jump scares them by reverting to his original form.

Now that the Monks know he is the real Sun Wukong, they take to following him around like little ducklings. Which gets old pretty quickly for Monkey. So he gives them all some magical protection in the form of his hairs that will transform into a clone of him upon the monks calling for 'Great Sage, Equal to Heaven' so they'll all scram. And indeed most of them do take off with their new protection, to wait to hear from Monkey who'll tell them when he resolves the situation so he can get his hairs back. A few of them stick around to help out though, which is nice of them.

Meanwhile Tripitaka has gotten bored waiting for Monkey to come back and has apparently scrounged up enough courage to come looking for him. Well done Tripitaka, I'm so proud of you. Anyways Monkey finally takes the opportunity to brief Tripitaka on the situation. The monks who stuck around also lead them to the last remaining Monastery in the city, which hasn't been torn down because it was built by the command of the previous king and still has his image inside.

So while Monkey tries to decide how to handle this situation, they all have a meal together before heading off to bed. Monkey however is feeling rather restless, so when he hears the sound of a gong in the distance he decides to investigate. He finds that the noise was coming from the new Three Pure One's abbey that the monks told him about earlier, and finds that they are all currently in the middle of a big ceremony. And Monkey who has never seen a heavenly themed banquet he didn't want to crash, decides that how he went wrong last time, was that he party crashed alone.

So Monkey returns to the Monastery to wake up Pigsy and Sandy to have them party crash with him. Obviously they don't wake Tripitaka though, because Tripitaka is a bit of a narc. Anyways Sandy isn't to happy about being woken up at who knows what AM, but Pigsy is on board as soon as he hears there will be food. Anyways the three disciples sneak out like any self respecting teenagers would do and make their way to the abby. In order to enjoy themselves properly however the other party guests have got to go. So Monkey whips up a violent windstorm inside, which the Three Immortals decide to take as a sign that they should probably call it quits there for the night.

Now that everyone is gone, they can properly indulge themselves, at least that's what Pigsy thinks before Monkey tries to whack him for it. Monkey thinks that they should still be a bit cautious of getting caught, so he asks about the statues of the Three Pure Ones. Pigsy explains that the statues are of: The Celestial Worthy of Commencement, The Daoist Lord of Numinous Treasures, and our good old Laozi. Monkey suggests that they disguise themselves as these three pure ones in order to blend in. Pigsy has no problems with this and immediately shoves Laozi off his seat in order to take his spot for himself. Right as Pigsy begins to dig in once again, Monkey stops him and tells him to properly dispose of the statues. And luckily Monkey happens to know the perfect place, and tells Pigsy to send them into the door down the hall on the right.Once Pigsy finds carries all the statues to the door, only to find that said room is the bathroom. Pigsy has a good laugh about this, before throwing the three idols into the toilet and rejoins the others.

After that the three indulge themselves into eating the abby out of house and home. Apparently Monkey doesn't really care for cooked food though, so he just has some fruit and hangs out. Meanwhile a young Daoist returns to the banquet hall in order to pick up his hand bell that he had left behind, only to hear the sound of breathing. This frightens the kid, so he tries to scramble out of the hall, only to slip and fall which of course causes Pigsy to burst out laughing. This frightens the young Daoist even more, so he immediately goes to fetch the Three Immortal Masters. And with that we end this chapter.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, object transformation, distance reduction and vanishing in a flash of light. Demon Kill Count: 9+ Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1008 God's Defeated: 22 + Unknown number Defeats: 5 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law, looting corpses, trading counterfeit goods, criminal threat, animal abuse, Assisting or Instigating Escape and Damage to Religious Property Cry Count: 7 + 3 fake cries Mountains Trapped Under: 4

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka and the Tang Monk Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization and Heart Sutra. Cry Count: 21 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 31 Paralyzed by fear: 5 Bandit Problems: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 6 Falling Off Horses: 8

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, flight, Magic of Water Restriction, Singing, and Sword Dancing. Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 2

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater, cloud soaring, size enhancement and CPR Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 2 Kidnapped by Demons: 3 Human Kill Count: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 3 Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, arson, defamation and Damage to Religious Property

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater and Cloud soaring. Demon Kill Count: Unknown number of minions. Kidnapped by Demons: 2 Human Kill Count: 1 Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, desecration of a human corpse, and Damage to Religious Property

[justanotherblogger]

A World Without Him

Chapter 7

(TW some violence, a collapsing building, and someone having a panic attack)

Tang was back there. Again. The void with the voices, the hands, the dragging, the scraping, the orange.

He was tired at this point. Of every night he spent getting dragged over and over just for someone sick amusement if he had to guess.

Maybe this was his punishment for something in his past life. To take his sanity and break it bit by bit until he couldn't take the sight of this place anymore.

But this time was also different.

Only silence met his ears as he floated. Nothing grabbing, glowing, or whispering in his ears. A sense of foreboding welled up in his chest.

Then he heard sounds. It wasn't anything like the previous encounters he had with this place. Only continuous buzzing reached his ears instead of the usual incomprehensible whispers.

Tang closed his eyes, hoping someone would let him stay away from whatever was making that noise. And as he said previously, he's never been that lucky.

The buzzing suddenly became violent as Tang was pushed upwards by a strong force. He could barely breathe as he clawed at whatever was dragging him up before realizing... they were cicadas. Bright orange cicadas.

Thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of cicadas were swarmed together. They were buzzing and flying around him like a barrier as that thing kept pulling him up.

Tang could hear small whispers coming from them, and he wasn't sure if he was even alive right now as the cicadas landed on his scarf. The whispers loud and clear.

'Stay' 'Don't leave' 'You have to stay here' 'Danger' 'You can't go' 'Danger' 'Somethings coming' 'You won't be able to handle it' 'Stop struggling' 'Danger' 'DANger' 'DANGER'-

'JUST. STAY. HERE.'

The cicadas started to glow, almost radioactive before blinding Tang until everything was just a nice, bright, neon orange.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up in a cold sweat had become a reoccurring thing for Tang as he sat up violently, taking in harbored breaths.

He smacked a palm to his head, rubbing his temple before throwing himself back onto the bed. He had woken up before his alarm again.

So, he had decided to pull himself together and start getting ready. It would give him more time to pack extra snacks for him and Allan, which was a good bonus in Tang's opinion.

When he finally had a plan in motion, he pulled himself up and out of bed. He lazily walked through his small apartment, taking his brush from the bedside table to the bathroom.

And then he sat on the toilet seat while he brushed his hair, not styling it in any way before putting the brush down and taking up a toothbrush.

Now, with his mouth tingling from the toothpaste, Tang went to his fridge to look for something good for today.

He settled for some apple slices, watermelon, and some jumbo blueberrie boxes he had found for 40% off. He threw them into some plastic containers before fixing up a small bagel with green tea to drink later for lunch.

It's about 6:08 AM now, and he's fully ready for work. Which he needs to be at in a couple of hours. And the walk is only 15 minutes...

So he decided to busy himself with menial tasks he never got around to doing, like piling his books by genre and author or rearranging his closet of knick knacks from over the years. Anything to keep his mind and hands busy.

He was waist deep in the closet when his alarm suddenly went off next to his ear, making him jump and smack his phone with a good amount of force. "Owwwww," Tang whined as he picked up his newly cracked and dead phone.

He cursed as he tried all the buttons, nothing turned on, then walked to his couch, and threw it on the cushions. He sat himself right next to it as he stared up to the ceiling again.

He laid there only seconds before sighing heavily and popping himself back up, grabbing his messanger bag and walking out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The walk to the library was uneventful; it was plain, even. Nothing caught his attention, and everything seemed eerily calm with only one or two people out and about like him.

It was probably because he left earlier than usual, but Tang still had a bad feeling.

Maybe it was because of the lack of commentary his thoughts usually made. No snark comments or observations popped into his brain like they usually did for the past weeks.

He's glad they're gone, to be honest. He thought he was going insane for the first few round of them, and this probably means he's getting over whatever he was stuck with.

The library slowly came into sight as he continued to walk. He was almost right on time as he unlocked the doors, letting himself in with his badge.

He walked steadily to his desk, throwing his messanger bag to the side and plopping himself in his chair, mentally readying himself to start opening up the library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allan came about 10 minutes later, surprised at Tang arriving before him and even starting to power up the library's computers.

"Hah! Nice to see you up and early!" Allan greeted him as he went towards the back to put away his backpack and jacket.

Tang snorted before answering. "Heh, not by choice for your information." He jested, followed by a quick laugh from Allan.

Allan came back fairly quickly, walking up to the front of Tang's desk. "So, what are we doing today?" He asked.

"It's about the same, just without the overwhelming decor and crowds of children like yesterday," Tang replied, getting up from his spot to start looking for the carts.

Which... he forgot where they were located. He internally sighed before looking back to Allan. "Do you remember where the carts are?" He asked in a grated tone.

Allan just laughed at Tang's crappy memory and gestured to follow him through the shelves.

After they got the carts and put up the assigned books, not much else was left for them to do. Nothing was missing, broken, or in need of reorganizing.

Tang was fine with this as he just pulled out some books from his messanger bag to read, but Allan became restless. He kept pacing through the library, seemingly in need of something to do.

When he finally sat down next to Tang after wearing himself out, Tang thought of a way to help. "Hey, Allan?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Allan answered, a bit absent-mindedly. "Do you like Monkey King?" "Monkey King? Well, uh, yeah, I like to read a bit of fiction based around him." Allan said quickly, seemingly not ready for the question.

Tang smirked before pulling another book out of his bag. "I have an extra book here called Monkey Cop: the Scarlet Tape. It's a mystery/action comic based on Monkey King as a cop, solving crime. It is a bit bloody, but it has amazing art and a good storyline. This is the first from the series, and I can bring the next editions if you like it."

Allan seemed a bit hesitant, staring at the comic for a hood second. Tang huffed, amused, before speaking again. "It's not like we have anything else to do, kid. And besides, I've been waiting for someone else to get into this series for a while so I can rant about theories with them."

Allan sighed before taking the book out of Tang's hand and opening up to the first page. "Okay, okay. I'll read this. It does seem interesting, but if it turns out trash, never recommend me a book again." Allan half joked.

Tang laughed at his declaration, turning back to his own book. "Sure, but I promise it's good."

Time passed by as the duo just read in each other's company, Tang having to pause and bookmark a couple of times to answer questions or check out books.

Allan started reading out of boredom but eventually seemed really invested, mu.bling theories and audibly gasping at some scenes. Tang took it as a win before reading a passage from his own book again.

About an hour and a half had passed before Allan closed the comic dramatically, slamming it on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

Tang calmly closed his own book before looking back to Allan. "Sooo~ what did'ya think?"

"That book is a freaking rollercoaster. Like, the police captain being in cahoots with the criminal undercity was wild." Allan finally answered.

"Haha, yeah. I was so shocked when I first found out. I'm just glad he isn't immeadietly offed in future chapters." Allan twisted his head to Tang. "Wait, he doesn't get killed from being revealed? I thought for sure he would be dead by the next book."

"Heh, nah. He goes through his own character arc, too. I can bring the rest of the current series if you're interested." Tang offers. "Really?! Oh my gosh, thank you!! I just need to find out how Monkey King finds the real culprit behind the Scarlet tape murders!"

He has lots of energy, just like Mk. Tang thought. He chuckled to himself as Allan continued to ramble to him about Monky Cop, adding his theories and opinions about the series here and there.

"And what even happened to the junior officer they lost during the scuffle from chapter 17?! She just disappears, and no one talks about it?!"

Tang replied with the same amount of enthusiasm. "That's what I've been saying! She barely gets referenced in the future books, but she seems to have so many questions and mysteries around her. Apparently, she wasn't even registered at the station-"

BEEEEEP, BEEEEEP, BEEEEP-

An alarm sounded from Allan's phone, shutting down the conversation. Other alarms also sounded throughout the library, echoing through the quiet halls.

Allan quickly checks his phone as his smile drops. "Crap, it's a DA alert." Tang frowns at that. "Another demon attack already?"

"Yeah, apparently." Allan huffed out, shaking slightly as he and Tang stood up together. "Of course now we have to go through the DA protocols." Tang sighed before turning on the library intercom.

"Okay, everyone. A demon attack has been spotted in the city. We advise everyone to follow the yellow arrows stuck everywhere in the library. It'll lead to stairs going down to a reinforced storage-"

The ground suddenly shakes beneath Tang and Allan, causing some books to fall off shelves and the intercom to shut off. "Please go fast!" Yelled Allan as he took Tang's arm and started to quickly maneuver through the books.

Key word tried, as another, more violent shake toppled over the shelves, blocking their way. "Ugh, we need to go the scenic route through the back sections!" Tang shouted, letting Allan drag him again.

They twisted and turned between the layout, trying to get to the room quickly through the enormous building. Small shakes continued, shoving more books to the floor and making the old building creak with every tremor.

"Go left!" Tang yelled out directions as he knew these back sections of the library well. Dust and small debris landed on them from the displacement of the old and unused spaces.

Suddenly, a large tremor came again, knocking even more shelves down with it, some cracking into pieces. Tang and Allan also lost their balance, falling to the floor with a large thud.

"Aw, shit." Tang groaned as he propped himself onto his elbows. Allan was in better shape, just landing onto his back and sitting up right after.

"We have to go now!" Allan yelled, panicking as he grabbed Tang's arm again, ready to sprint off.

But Tang doesn't move from his spot. "Don't. Move." Tang orders Allan, pulling him down to Tang's level. "What are you doing!? We need to run-" "It's almost here. We won't make it time." Tang interrupts, quickly looking over the walls and ceiling.

Allan just stares at him before protesting. "What are you even-"

*BANG*

The loud sound shocked Allan into silence as he looked to the source. A giant hole was suddenly in the library ceiling, with debris falling into the lobby.

Then he noticed what caused the hole. A giant gray demon, at least 8 feet tall, holding a massive sword, fighting against a kid with a red staff.

"Is that...?" Allan trailed off, staring at the standoff between the Monkey kid and that demon. "We need to hide." Tang suddenly whispered as he dragged Allan behind a toppled bookcase.

They can only wait as the fight continued in the library. The gray demon had a knack for dodging Mk's staff, directing sharp slashes afterward when Mk was vulnerable. All those attacks only sliced walls or bookshelves in half, though, luckily missing Allan and Tang.

Then Mk seemed to direct the demons' attacks upwards, probably so they didn't hit any more of the library. However, the ceiling started to crumble from the constant sword strikes, eventually causing one side to start collapsing.

Bigger and bigger pieces of drywall started to surround Tang and Allan. The walls start to crack with the ceiling falling in chunks. "We can't stay here!" Allan shouts, trying to stand up but stopping his efforts after a chunk nearly misses his head.

"Then what are we supposed to do!?" Tang shouts, still in his crouched position behind the acrumbled bookshelf. The rumbling got worse and worse as more pieces started to fall.

"I don't know, but we have to do something!" Allan shouts as he stands up. "We have to go back to the entrance!"

"What!?" Tang shouts, alarmed. "But that's in their fighting path! We might get hit with all those extra ceiling bits crashing down, or worse!"

Allan doesn't say anything in response, just staring at the exit. Tang can't focus, only taking in panicked breaths. But, what can they do? They don't have any protection or powers to get through that. It'll take a miracle to survive!

Tang looks up at the cracked ceiling that's slowly caving in closer and closer. But, if they stay here...

Another sword slash hits the wall above them, having it crack at an alarming degree.

He looks back to Allan. "If we do this, we have to go right now!" Allan's eyes widen before shifting to a look of determination.

Allan grabs Tang's arm again before bolting, trying his best to dodge the falling debris and attacks from the fight in the middle. Him and Tang gained small cuts and bruises from the rocks they couldn't dodge, one certain chunk hitting Tang straight in the shoulder, but they kept running.

They jumped through the splintered frames and piles pieces of wall, ducking under odd stick-outs from the walls or collapsed building. His glasses got cracked from being snagged when ducking under debris, but they still had to keep running. To make it back to the entrance.

When the light from the open doors reached their vision, Tang almost cried in relief. It was still a good bit away, but it was in their sights!

They kept running, even when their legs felt like they would fall off at any moment, when they felt like they were going off fumes.

The entrance was almost 20 feet away now. A small rumble from an attack, cracked pieces of the building falling down, the splinyered bookshelf frames blocking their way.

He was almost there. They were almost there! Tang couldn't believe it, but it was right in front of him-

'Stop.'

Tang faltered slightly, tripping over a piece of drywall, but recovered quickly.

'Stop running' 'There's danger!' You have to stop'

Oh great, now they're back and trying to get me killed-

'STOP' 'YOU HAVE TO STOP' 'HE'LL KILL YOU' 'STOP NOW' 'STAY THERE' 'STOP RUNNING' 'STOP STOP STOP STOP-'

Tang jerked his arm away from Allan, stopping in his tracks and reaching to his head. Allan ran a good few feet ahead of him before stopping and turning back to yell. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Suddenly, the ceiling had been struck a final time, sending most of it to the floors below. Tang stared in horror as he saw it fall near the entrance. "ALLAN-"

But he was too late. Allan started to run again, but he was too far away from the entrance to get out in time. Rubble filled Tang's vision before he could see what happened.

"Allan!" Tang shouted as he tried to run towards the entrance. But the next part of the ceiling suddenly collapsed, sending straight for where he was.

Tang could only try to take refuge in the dark corners of the library, against the wall holding his head in his hands.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, pumping erratically as he took uneven breaths. He knew he was shaking as tears rolled down his face.

Tang didn't know how long he was in that position for, only focusing on his breathing and trying to avoid the falling pieces of ceiling...

Wait. His breathing slowly steadied as he came to realize everything was silent. No rumbling, no breaken glass or large thuds from falling debris, no sounds of a fight or falling books.

He slowly raised his head to his surroundings. He was completely encased in broken bookshelves and broken pieces from the walls and ceiling. Slivers of light shine through the holes to his small area of refuge.

He was almost completely unharmed, except for the throbbing pain in his left shoulder and head. All he could hear from outside honking horns and a strong breeze flowing through the wreckage.

Tang just put his head back into his arms, letting tears roll down in this complete silence. He really didn't know what he did to deserve this.

Previous | Next | Start

[fivepercentgodsandearths]

Peace

Reach Out to your local body of Gods and Earths in City/State or even country.

[allblognojam]

a doodle compilation because my wrist is sprained so I’ve been benched from drawing

[kayla47]

Can we take a moment to congratulate Alice, April & Ned on their performances in tonight’s episode. They all had lines and delivered them well. This scene felt very natural, well done 💕💕

[summerdoddles]

Mei is not okay and Dads tries their best (2/?)

(the final name is ForeverChaosAu)

some funny sketches from the au

moments before disaster