#lmk lin

Jin and Lin would probably not even notice that they're driving you up the wall because of their high libidos and arguing, is only when they look down and see that you're not moving they'd check in on you before calling the hospital claiming you might've been in a coma.

Praises/Degradations slipping from both their mouths as they just go to town on your body, leaving marks and hickeys as they cuss each other out, whilst you're just here taking their hard poundings as you're down there screaming about in bliss.

Body bridge is their go to position because it's much more easier than the other complicated ones, and because they were trying to prove who can fuck you the longest/hardest.

But when you wake up and realize what exactly happened of course you'll punish them. By either forcing them to do chores or fucking them till they pass out from both exhaustion and soreness.

They also strangely love when you do take control and force them into doing things they don't normally (or would) do. And even fight for who can win over your praises. Which they knew would piss you off and fuck them even harder to make sure they got another message.

Heaven had requested help as their archives were becoming a hazard, and with the permission of the Guardians of Knowledge, Chi Yue, Ao Bing, Syntax, Mei, MK, Red Son, Old Beng, Tudi, Lin, Tang and several others were seated at desks in the Cloud, methodically working through several larger stacks of papers and scrolls. Under the watchful eyes of Wu Long and Chang Hao, who were also making sure everyone was getting enough to drink and eat when they took breaks.

He glanced over, watching as Chi Yue’s fingers flew swift and sure, across the keyboard of the laptop computer in front of her, eyes scanning the document and recording the contents faithfully as she worked through the latest stacks of papers and documents that were being digitised.

He, Tudi, and Old Beng were amongst the slower typers of the group, whereas Lin, Mei, MK and Red Son were amongst the faster typers. Chi Yue, Syntax and Tang were three of the four fastest typers, the fourth being a young fox demoness. Ao Bing would estimate that at least sixty five percent of the currently completed work so far was from those four alone. And judging by the look on the Guandian’s faces as they looked over their list of boxes from the heavenly archives, they weren’t even a quarter of the way done with the task.

“A fresh pot, young Prince?” Wu Long asked quietly as he passed Ao Bing’s table with fresh refreshments for everyone.

“Please,” Ao Bing nodded, knowing it would be a long time before their task was done.

He was proven right when Lin arrived, guiding Yin and Jin, both in their full Demon forms, as the twins carried two large boxes each, and seemed to be sweating and struggling under their weight.

“More back log?” Mei asked as Yin and Jin were given a moment to rest and both all but drowned themselves in their drinks.

“This isn’t even all of it.” Lin said, checking things on her clipboard and listening to something on her headset. “Heaven’s entire archive is billions of years old at this point, and they never started the process of digitalising everything when computers and the internet became a thing. White you’re here typing up the newer documentation, Lady Minglou, Sandy and Spindrax are helping Nezha and his brothers with scanning and uploading the oldest documentation in the other room.”

“Does that mean we’ll have the unpleasant company of the General soon?” the fox demoness asked, sounding annoyed at the very idea.

“Oh no, dear lady.” Chang Hao assured. “The General has been forbade from leaving Heaven until he has finished his share of the paper work from several meetings, by himself.”

Chi Yue did not hide the smile at that news, nor did Red Son.

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

“Go on in and get settled dear, I’ll have Lin bring you the tea.” The cat demoness smiled, waving him towards the closed room where the cats were.

“Thank you.” Syntax smiled and headed in.

A few minutes later, Lin entered with a tray, carrying the requested pot of tea and a plate of toasted sandwiches, shaped like cat faces, to find Princess, the tripod ginger cat sitting on Syntax’s table, enjoying head scratches as Syntax checked his emails.

“Mrs. Fenshi insisted you needed food as well as tea, and I’m not about to argue with her.” Lin said when Syntax blinked at the added food order.

“Thank her for me?” Syntax asked and offered her a small disk. “The upgrades and virus software you asked for.”

“Thank you. And if you have time tonight, we need to speak again.” She smiled and tucked the disk into her pocket for later.

“Not tonight.” Syntax said, shaking his head. “I’m visiting Nana, tomorrow is my free day.”

“Tomorrow then. Enjoy your day with the cats.” Lin smiled.

“I will,” Syntax nodded with a smile as the horn of the tuk-tuk sounded outside as MK drove by, due to it being market week, it was likely the boy had no deliveries for the day, as the streets would be blocked off for market stalls until the evening.

The morning went by slowly, spent designing a layout and working on a few smaller project designs for his personal use, all while taking breaks to pet and fuss over the cats and kittens that came over and demanded his attention, which he happily gave. By the afternoon, Lin had joined him with her own laptop and was busy working away while brother brothers spent their lunch break with the cats and kittens, enjoying the chance to cuddle and play with the cats before getting back to work.

With his work done, Syntax set his laptop and tablet aside to instead focus on the cats, gently petting each one and playing with the toys with them while enjoying a few snacks and good tea for the rest of the day, though he did notice that while he seemed relaxed and calm, Lin had become tense and frustrated.

“Everything ok, Lin?” he asked.

“It will be, when I finally figure out how to find this damned part for a client.” Lin said, “Why are computer motherboard parts so hard to find?”

“Because they are all very different and never manufactured to spec unless you get them on commission.” Syntax said, “What are you after, I might be able to help?”

Lin pushed him a yellow post-it note with the information details and he looked at it for a moment. It was clear whoever this client was wanted the very best and long lasting system, but that meant that they’d need to buy parts from all across China for the best of the best equipment. “Hm, have you tried looking at the Northern Market?” 

“Does the north do shipments on fast track?” Lin asked and Syntax thought for a moment.

“Last order I put in took twenty nine days to deliver. Regular shipments can be anywhere from four to six months.” He said. “But that was on a computer harddrive, not motherboard parts.” He admitted.

“That fast?” Lin asked. “The fastest I find is forty days with Northern Parts and services and it costs a miniature fortune.”

“Never get anything through them, Lin. They’re a con wrapped up in a corporate packaging with pretty bows.” Syntax said as he rebooted his laptop and typed in a few things before showing her the site he used for his parts.

“Northern Tech, Systems and Parts?” Lin asked, looking at the site and reading their profile.

“Best place in all the North to buy anything related to computers, systems, technology and the like. All of my stuff has at least one replacement part from them.” Syntax nodded, “I think the only thing I have that doesn’t have their parts in it is my phone, because it’s the only thing not compatible with their tech.”

“Why can’t I find them when I search for them?” Lin asked.

“What browser are you using?” He questioned.

“Megacity Pro Search.” Lin answered. The same browser Syntax and most of the city used simply because it was world wide.

“Go into the settings and make sure the regional lock and switch the shopping regions to internasional.” Syntax said. “The whole browser got a system wide refresh last week, so some settings are back to default.”

Lin clicked a few things and retyped her search, then smiled. “Have I mentioned lately that you are one of my favourite people?”

“Only everytime your brothers break stuff.” Syntax chuckled. “Speaking of your brothers, are they allowed their stuff back?”

“If they say please.” Lin nodded.

“Got it.” He nodded and went back to playing with the cats, both of them unaware that their interaction had been witnessed by someone else, through the eyes of a small drone hidden away in the upper most corner of the ceiling.

“He doesn’t look like much.” Huntsman said, watching the live feed from the drone.

“Neither does the Monkie Boy at first glance.” Goliath remarked, “he looks small and easy to beat, yet he took down the Bull prince and Demon Bull King by himself.”

Huntsman gave a huff but said nothing more on the matter, instead focusing on what Lin was doing. Their Queen had searched the few precious scrolls and books they’d managed to salvage from the ruins of their home, and found the means to harvest the energy from other demons to infuse with their drones, making them bigger, stronger and able to carry her venom rather than Huntsman or Goliath’s.

It would take a lot of work, and a lot of careful study to manage what they needed, but if they could master that delicate balance of magic and technology, the Spider Clan could rise up and remind the world they were still a force to be reckoned with and finally make the demands to have their home’s ruination looked into properly.

But that would come later, right now they needed to make sure they had the means to take those steps and the best way to do that was to make sure that Lin was making good on her task. And if that meant keeping an eye on her through a spy drone, well, Lin could forgive them their caution. She’d done well so far, finding the very best parts and equipment for them and using Yin and Jin to run messages between herself at them throughout the night and most of the morning, but for the last six hours, she’d been stuck trying to find the motherboard parts. 

It seemed that this man was something of a techy himself, both from what they’d seen from the drone’s live feed and had given Lin a means to locate the parts she needed sooner. A point in his favour, along with the fact that the felines seemed to like him and had no issues climbing on and over the man as if he were just another part of the furniture.

“Syntax?”

“Yes Mrs. Fenshi?”

“I’m sorry to bother you dear, but one of the cat’s knocked it over.” 

They watched as the feline demoness brought over a card reader device from her countertop, it looked undamaged, but the screen was unfocused and warped. Syntax looked at it, hooking it up to his laptop with a spare cable and checking something for a few minutes.

“Well, good news is it’s fixable, bad news is, it’ll take about a half an hour to fix. Can you manage without it for about that long?” The man asked.

“I can, but are you sure you can fix it?” The demoness asked.

Syntax nodded. “It's the older model, so it’s an easy fix. I’ll just need an order of chunky wedges and a toasted kitty burger afterwards.” He said, “And if you can, try and keep anyone from bothering me for that time?”

“Of course dear. Just make sure you don’t overdo it.” the cat demoness pleaded.

“I won’t.” Syntax nodded. “Lin?”

“I’m busy working, I have no idea what you are doing.” Lin said. “We’ll talk about business when we talk tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Syntax bid and adjusted his laptop so it looked like he was working on it rather than the card reader, smiling as one of the cats jumped up and loafed on the edge of the table, blocking any view of his hands should anyone come inside.

The drone’s placement allowed them to see what was happening, and what they saw shocked them. 

The man pulled out two large power banks from his bag and set them in his lap, then, with a deep breath to focus himself, he put his hands over the device for a moment before a greenish seal formed under the device, casting a strange glow over his fingers as he set to work.

“Magic?” Goliath asked.

“Technological Magic.” Huntsman corrected, watching the human slowly pull the device apart and seamlessly set to work not using his hands and tools, but magic, a type that was very rare outside of the northern region, so rare in fact it was considered a specialty.

Slowly, using his fingers like tools, Syntax pushed and pulled the tiny device’s insides apart, gradually rebuilding it while carefully replacing the damaged parts with magic replacements, blending the elements to form the needed intricate parts and carefully weaving modern technology with ancient magic as if it were a natural mixture. It was a slow process, it had to be, if the man rushed this and made even the smallest mistake, it could backfire horribly, but it seemed that Syntax was well trained in his magic and well versed in this method of repairing things, slowly taking time to check and recheck his work until he was sure of its success before, after twenty seven minutes, he let the device weave itself back together and sagged a little in his seat.

The cat that was loafed beside him meowed and reached out with a paw, bapping his nose.

“I’m alright, I’m alright, you little fluff ball.” Syntax assured, reaching up to pet the cat.

“Need me to get that order for you?” Lin asked him.

“Nah, just… need a minute.” He assured her with a soft huff.

If this was the man Lin was planning to ask help on their behalf, not only would it be a huge help in their technological needs, but also mean that the need to order so many parts would be vastly reduced. They continued to watch the scene, watching as Mrs. Fenshi brought in the requested order, and how after eating Syntax seemed to be back to his ‘normal’ self from what they’d seen before of him playing with the cats and working on his own personal projects.

Until his watch gave a sharp ping sound and he packed up his laptop and tablet, fussed the cats one last time before leaving the Cat Cafe wave a wave to Mrs. Fenshi as he went.

“Should we follow him?” Goliath asked.

“No. Not until we know if he is the one Lin is planning to ask to help us. But we will be telling Our Queen about him regardless.” Huntsman assured. Someone with this kind of power would not only be a valuable friend, but also a powerful ally.

“You had an encounter with the Spider Queen?” Monkey King repeated as MK sat with his back against a rock, trying to stay calm as the little monkeys combed through his hair and picked at his clothes in an attempt to try and calm his still pounding heart.

“She snatched my Dad and Pa from the market pretending to be a vegetable vendor. I thought I could handle it but- I guess I still need to work on internalizing the panic and fear in the moment and having the breakdown later… I’m just not good with spiders.” MK admitted with a slight shudder.

“You’re an arachnophobe?” Monkey King questioned, sitting beside his young successor. “I would never have guessed.”

“It's a childhood trauma.” MK admitted, carefully steadying a smaller monkey in his lap. “It's also the biggest reason Dad and Pa had me homeschooled, and if not for all the therapy I had as a kid, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation right now. I’d be curled up in my bed still, trying not to have a mental breakdown.”

“What happened, if I may ask?” The Monkey King asked, offering the boy a slice of an apple.

“I’m not too sure on the whole details, but I remember one day in school I was grabbed from behind, tied up with webbing by one of the Silkworm kids and thrown into a closet-like space as an ‘offering’ to the Spider Ghost that haunted the School. It wasn’t real and I know that now, but when you’re five years old, and knew to the school, and how cruel kids can be you don’t think about that when you’re struggling to get out of webbing in a small space where there are lots of spiderwebs and little spiders.” MK explained, pausing his story to eat the apple slice he’d been offered. “What I didn’t know at the time and didn’t learn until a few years later was that it was all premeditated by a group of slightly older boys in the school who didn’t like me.”

“Why didn’t they like you?” Monkey King questioned, sharing the rest of the apple slices with the monkeys, youngest to eldest.

“I was friends with a lot of the girls in glass, mostly because I didn’t mind trading my cookie for a fruit snack or my juice carton for a milk one instead. And I also did really well in my classes, so they may have hated me for that.” He admitted, and smiled when the littlest monkey decided the best place to be at that very moment was sat up on his shoulder. “What I also didn’t know was that locking me in the closet wasn’t the only thing they had in mind for me.”

“I’m almost worried to ask. If you're still this worked up over the Spider Queen it must have been bad.” the Monkey King said, chuckling at the little monkey’s behaviour. It was good to see the children were learning to trust MK, and that the boy had no problem letting the children climb and ride around on his shoulders, as long as they didn’t fight with each other while on his shoulders or head.

“It doesn’t seem so bad now that I’m older, but being only five years old at the time and still kinda new to the whole social thing, I didn’t understand what was happening. While I was locked in that little space with no windows or any way out, tied up and unable to move, one of the boys used his magic, some kind of illusionary type from what my dad told me later, and made the image of a giant spider appear in the room, to further sell the idea I was gonna be eaten. I remember I screamed, but then I blacked out and when I woke up, I was in the hospital with Pa at my bedside and Dad talking to a lawyer.”

“Stars above and soil below, what did they do to you?” The Monkey King asked.

“I have no idea. I wasn’t hurt, just unconscious. According to Pa, the school cameras showed a really bright flash of light from down the hallway and then when everything came back into focus, all the boys were laying on the floor, screaming and frantically trying to get away from something the cameras couldn't see and then the teachers came and unlocked the closet to find me passed out and unresponsive so they called in the emergency services and it was a whole big investigation into the matter.” MK explained smiling when the mother of the littlest monkey came over and gently tugged her now sleepy cub from their chosen nest and set about grooming them. “They tried to talk my dad into letting me stay in school, even offered to let me go through their whole system for free, from current year to my end of education in their collage program, but dad and pa said no and since then I was homeschooled, the school had to pay for my enrollment in online classes and the boys who did it had to go to disciplinary schools while their parents paid out to cover my medical bills, and my therapy.” 

“Did it help?” Monkey King questioned.

“Kind of.” MK admitted, “I only really freak out when I see an actual spider now, rather then when I see webbing or hear someone mentioning spiders. But when I do see a spider I freeze up a little, and need to either get away from it, or usually my pa or dad catch it and take it outside.”

“Sorry to say bud, but that’s not gonna help in a fight against the Spider Queen and her Clanmates.” Monkey King said, “So, we’ll have to work on your response to seeing her again. But that can be a tomorrow thing.” He assured his successor with a smile. “For now, head home and make sure your pa and dad are ok, tomorrow, we’ll talk more about this and come up with some ways to help you face her, just in case she pops up again with Huntsman or Goliath.”

“Who?”

“Her clansmen. I’ll tell you about them tomorrow, for now, go home and get some rest.” Monkey King said again and gently ruffled the boy’s hair. “When you come back tomorrow, we’ll talk, train and then we’ll talk about the Spider Clan and their story.”

“Okay.” MK nodded, and after making sure none of the little monkey’s were clinging to him still, he shifted into his bird form, taking a moment to steady himself before taking off towards home.

By the evening, Lin had sent confirmations for all the parts she’d found, with only two of those items needing to be ordered through ‘special’ channels. And after a hot meal, Huntsman and Goliath informed the Queen of what they had seen through the eye of the drone that had followed Lin.

A human with such abilities was a blessing to any Clan, and the fact the Demon Bull Family hadn’t picked him up yet spoke of just how well this particular human had done to hide his abilities. And with good reason, such magic as his would not only cut costs down, but also greatly increase the life expectancy of any and all technological creations made by double or even triple the standard. The North had been the only safe place for them because it was a place of advanced technological progress, so to find out one such person lived in Megapolis and that Yin and Jin knew and kept their mouths shut about it was proof of a deeper understanding between them and him.

If this human could help them, the nagging worry about her mount mech’s age, the increasing chance of it failing as well as the technology they use now failing and falling apart would be all but remedies for the next few years. If this human helped them with their current project, it would allow the Queen and Huntsman to focus more of their own plans wholeheartedly.

But therein lay the catch to it all.

If.

It was clear that this human was aware of just how valuable his particular ability was, to the point he didn’t openly advertise it and those who did know also kept their mouths shut about it in respect to the man. Mrs. Fenshi had gone to the lengths of saying that the Cafe was being used for a very important conversation between Lin, the man and a third party to keep people out while the man was fixing her cardreader. Lin pretended not to know what the man was doing while she actively blocked any view of him from where she was sitting while the man made further efforts to hide what he was doing behind his laptop.

This man was aware of how sought out his skills were, and he either didn’t wish to be caught using them and drawing attention to himself or he had suffered already at the hands of someone’s cruelty and now protected himself by keeping his abilities to himself and a few trusted people. If the Queen was to earn his trust and aid to bring her and her clan into this man’s favour, their contact had to be handled with care, with delicacy and most importantly, with as much honesty as they could afford.

“Your orders, My Queen?” Huntsman asked as he and Goliath bowed before her.

“For now, I have none.” She admitted. “This man hides for a reason, I will not subject him to stalking as we were so long ago. No, this matter must be handled delicately. If Lin choses to introduce us, we shall speak to him more, if not, we shall seek a means to contact him ourselves.” She expressed and waved them both away.

“Yes My Queen.” They both responded before leaving her to think.

“A key?” Red Son repeated his mother’s statement.

“It seems this treasure your father found requires a specific key to unlock it. Our other methods have failed, and so we require a more modern approach.” His mother explained. “Can you do it?”

“I’d need to see the lock and do a few tests on it first, but yes, a Key should be relatively simple to make, assuming you don’t mind the expense of the metals needed to craft one?” he explained, already looking through his shelves and equipment to find the tools he’d need for the job.

“What would you need?” She questioned.

“Depends on the lock itself, if it’s as old as you say, then possibly something celestial or perhaps ancient demonic. I’d need to see the lock first to know that answer.” Red Son admitted and she waved him to follow her.

His Father was there already, and while clearly angered by the delay, said nothing as he set about inspecting the lock on the strange box he’d uncovered. A simple five point keyhole greeted him and after making a note of its size and measurements, he began using his tools to take measurements of the lock itself and the box itself, making notes as he worked until he went to insert what looked like a lockpick tool into the lock, to check the number of teeth the Key he’d be making needed-

And was suddenly flung backwards and ended up against the wall by the door. 

“Are you hurt?” His Mother asked.

“No.” He assured, dusting himself off and moved back to the box. “What was- wait…”

“What is it?” His Father questioned.

“The lock changed,” he said.

“What?” His Mother asked and moved to see what he was talking about.

“It was a five point keyhole before, now it's a trigram pattern,” Red Son said showing her the notes she’s watched him make not a few moments ago. “Is this some kind of puzzle lock?”

“It can’t be, puzzle locks have riddles to uncover the key on the box itself. This one had no such riddle of inscriptions.” his Mother said, looking at the box again.

“Hm. just a moment.” Red Son bid and after picking a different tool from his coat he steady himself and began to check the keyhole again, sure enough as he brought the tool to check the teeth inlays again, the lock tried to push him back and right before his and his mothers’ eyes the lock shifted and changed yet again, becoming an entirely new shape. “It's a skeleton lock.” 

“You’re sure?” His Mother asked.

“Yes, the measurements for the keyhole stay the same, but the shape and tooth patterns change every time something other than the correct key is brought close to the hole.” Red Son said. “Whatever is inside must be either very powerful or very rare.”

“Can you still craft a key?” His Father asked.

Red Son thought for a moment, “I could try crafting a skeleton key, but that would take more time than just a simple key.” He offered.

“How much longer?” His Father asked, his voice heavy with impatience and anger.

No point in lying and making him angrier. “Two weeks.”

“Two-”

“My Love.” His Mother soothed with gentleness. “Trust our son to know better than to waste time with things needlessly. It was after all, his efforts and brilliance that freed you from beneath that mountain. Do you doubt his skills in crafting something as simple as a key to unlock any door?”

“No.” His Father huffed. “Forgive me, I- I am not in my calmest mind.”

“Go and rest, my love, you are still adjusting.” His Mother bid and his Father left the room, hsi heavy steps shaking the ground.

His Mother looked at him as he gathered his tools again. “You are sure only two weeks?”

“I am, Mother. I’ll have the Bull Clones bring my meals to me so that you and father can have meal time to yourselves.” He said and went back to his lab.

She didn’t stop him, nor argue. Partly because she knew it would not help, and also because she could not blame her son for this distance. He’d spent years of his life dedicated to freeing his father, and now he was free, there was a disconnect between them all, hurts, grief, pains and mourning the time they’d missed made bonding hard.

Red Son didn’t know his place anymore, now that his father was back, he wanted to give his parents the time to be together without him, but he was also suddenly very aware of how little his and his father could bond, as despite everything, the time spent apart had robbed them both of the closeness they once shared. He wasn’t a small child any more, and his father was still suffering bouts of pain from being trapped in a limbo between death and living under that mountain for so long.

It would take a long time for them to begin walking on the path to being close as they once were again, but they were trying, navigating the ruined steps of relearning each other slowly and carefully one say at a time. And thankfully, they had the luxury of longevity, allowing them to take as much time as they needed to rebuild and reforge their bonds as a family.

They would heal and eventually, the Demon Bull Family would be united again.

Syntax sighed as he adjusted his glasses, ready to go over the oversized stack of papermail he’d retrieved from his post box that morning, just in case somewhere amongst the junk mail and pamphlets was something interesting.

Junk mail went into the shredder, newsletters were read over then also shredded if they were not of interest, the ones that were would be neatly folded and placed aside to be properly read over later, any important paperwork was set on his keyboard to be read, organized and sorted away properly.

That was usually it, but it seemed this month, he’d somehow picked up a few extras. Handwritten letters, six of them closed in pastel pink envelopes and all with the same heavy perfume scent coming from them and all of which were quickly shredded and forgotten. The seventh letter may have been different, it was addressed to him and was in a simple white envelope, redirected from his Nana’s old apartment to him, but upon opening the letter, Syntax found that the words have been distorted and warped into an unreadable mess and thus, whatever had been written was unreadable and with no return address to write back to, it also went into the shredder.

If it had been truly important it would have come to him via an email or a phone call.

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

Part 2 of Into the Spider Web.

Here we have a look at how the Spider Clan learnt about Syntax's magic, a glimpse at the Demon Bull Family and my own personal thoughts on why MK is afraid of spiders.