Story: The Mountain of Flowers and Fruits

The only species of talking monkeys have lived on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits for thousands of years. Scientists label them as more advanced than normal apes, but not as advanced as human beings. Everyone who has tried to kick this species off the mountain has failed miserably, with help from the Monkey King himself. His powers made him unstoppable and he could create a tremendous army of monkeys from nothing quicker than he could snap his fingers. The newly implemented government that had political supervision over the region, which included the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, had discovered the inhabitants of the mountain and decided they were a threat to society. They planned to wipe out the entire species, but this would be impossible with Sun Wu Kung's presence. However, something stood in the way of the monkeys' plans to save their village. Their beloved Mountain of Flowers and Fruits that the monkey species had been living on was in fact an active volcano that would erupt in a week's time.

Ape village on the side of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits; anonymous.

Long before, the saint called "The Discerner" bestowed magic powers on the Monkey King, Sun Wu Kung, unlike any other king in the history of their existence. He had the power to transform into any creature and he could make the impossible possible by merely reciting an incantation. One thing he was specifically proud of was if he chewed on a piece of his own hair, spat it into the air and yelled "Transform yourself," a plethora of little monkeys would appear. He also used a floating cloud to get from one destination to another, "somersaulting" across the Earth in a second. "The Discerner" granted these powers to the Monkey King because he was worthy of the saint's time, unlike past kings who have begged for that gift for over thousands of years. But now, the government supervised everything that happened on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits.
After days of fighting the humans, Sun Wu Kung fell into a trap and woke up in a government facility. He tried to make a cloud appear to get him out of the tiny cell, but nothing happened when he recited the incantation. Then, a man with a tiny American flag pinned to his suit opened the door to his cell.
"I heard you reciting an incantation. However, this vault has been designed to restrict your magic."
"What is going on? What am I doing here? I am Sun Wu Kung, the king of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits and I demand you let me go immediately."
The man stepped closer to the Monkey King and told him about the underlying geology of the king's precious Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. He told Sun Wu Kung how the mountain was in fact a volcano that would erupt sometime in the upcoming week.
"We cannot let you and the rest of your kind live on this planet anymore. You have had your chance, but you are a danger to society. This volcano will result in something the government has been trying to accomplish for years." With that, the man in the suit left Sun Wu Kung and didn't return for what seemed like months.
Sun Wu Kung could not let the other apes die and he had to escape the facility, no matter what the cost might be. The king's favorite power that he possessed was being able to make an army of apes appear by pulling out a single hair from his head. He was unsure how this would happen since his powers were useless, but he would find a way. All he needed was to step outside of the facility even for a second to recite the incantation and swarm the building with his army of apes.
Little did the guards protecting his cell know that the king had been practicing martial arts for as long as he had been alive. He stuck his hand through the three bars in the cell door and pulled the guard up against the bars. He grabbed the keys from his belt loop and slipped out the cell before anyone else could spot him. Once Sun Wu Kung was outside of the cell, he somersaulted to the summit of the volcano.
The Monkey King once told someone, "'All the elements are subject to me, and there is no place where I cannot go.'" This was absolutely true. He pulled out a hair on his head and yelled "Transform yourself!" Seconds later, an army of apes stormed the prison where the king was kept and left no survivors. By merely reciting the specific incantation, he sealed the volcano and trapped the lava underneath.
Sun Wu Kung had saved his people once again and appreciated his powers now more than ever. The US Government made a deal to leave the sacred species alone as long as they stayed on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, and so they did.

Author's Note: I based this week's story off of Richard Wilhelm's "The Monkey King" from The Chinese Fairy Book. There are many different chapters that involve various characters and plots, but my story line specifically focuses on Sun Wu Kung's magic powers. The original story ends with Sun Wu Kung having so much power that he decides that he is fit to be Lord of the Heavens. Buddha cast him back to his mountain and put a giant pile of scraps to keep him there. He was released after many years and then served for eternity under a Monk who kept him on a tight leash. I included some characters from the original story and kept most of the settings the same. Sun Wu Kung lived on the side of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits with all his children, family and friends. The name of this mountain sounds like a pleasant place to live, but I wanted to give a modern spin on the original story. The mountain wasn't a volcano in the original, but it added a sense of urgency to my story by including it. I decided to make the government the enemy and to incorporate evolution into it as well. I also made sure to incorporate a quote from the original story. "All the elements are subject to me, and there is no place where I cannot go," caught my eye immediately when I was first reading the story. It is such a powerful statement by the king and I thought it proved relevant in my rendition.

Roger Wilhelm's The Monkey King