Chapter 1 - Kong

Reporters swarmed liked vultures, surrounding Kong. Flashes and clicks echoed through the busy streets, as well as the excited murmurs of a whole city block. Everyone was intent on seeing this beast, their own morbid curiosity getting the best of them. A few officers were posing in front of the fallen ape, pretending to have taken part in bringing him down. They smiled, their fat bellies swelling with glee. That's all they did...they stood there and looked pretty for the press. Never mind the beautiful life lost that day. No one cared. No one stood there because they were sad, but because they wanted to make sure "it" was dead.

One reporter looked up to the sky, scanning the Empire State Building with his gray eyes, hat brimming the sun away from his face.

"Why'd he do that? Go all the way up there and get himself cornered? The ape must've known what was coming!"

Another reporter, holding on tightly to his camera and smoking a cigarette, immediately answered.

"He's just a dumb animal. Doesn't know nothing. What's it matter anyway? The airplanes got 'em."

They all stared dumbfounded, but a portly man began breaking through the masses. His eyes filled with dread and final realization. He looked down and commented back.

"It wasn't the airplanes...it was beauty killed the beast..."

Carl Denham couldn't help but be upset. He lost everything; his promised life, his friends' trust, his only love in the world...film. He turned quickly, stampeding through the crowd once more. Pulling his hat down, he disappeared behind the bundle of bodies.

Moments after Carl faded into the streets of New York, the reunited couple emerged from the entrance of the colossal hotel. Ann and Jack went unnoticed, all the focus being on her fallen companion. She rested her body against Jack's and tried to keep herself from fainting. The whole night flooded into her mind, finally taking it's toll on her.

"Why...Kong..."

She parted the crowd weakly, Jack whispering 'excuse us' and 'make way, please' as they came through. Ann fell upon her friend's arm, clinging onto it just as desperately as she had only a while earlier. Jack quickly fell to her aid, grasping her arms and lifting her slightly. He knew he had to get her away, and she knew she had to leave as well. The pain was too intense; the loss was too great. How could she stand next to something that only just held her? Something that was no longer breathing or beating his chest or fighting for her life and approval? What could she do but look? Look on in awe just as everyone else had.

"I'm...so sorry."

Jack picked her up into his arms and carried her away. That was all she could say. There was nothing else to say; there weren't any words. There never would be enough to say and no matter what she said could ever heal her anguish. Jack was there. He was her knight-in-shining-armor. But that wouldn't change anything. It's too far from him to save that piece of her which left with the King of Skull Island.

-------------------

"Please. It's more important than anything I've ever asked anyone in my life! I need you to do this." said Jack, bellowing angrily at the authority.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Driscoll..."

"It's Jack. You know me, Frank."

Frank was the guard at the Museum of Natural History. He and Jack used to be friends, but after Jack became successful, their friendship slowly drifted apart.

"...Jack. I don't have the power to do that. There's just no way I can get the museum to do this for you, never mind how much it costs..."

"How much?"

"Too much."

"How. Much."

"C'mon, I don't know the exact figures! I just know it'll be a pretty penny for you to put that damn ape's bones in a museum."

"Jesus Christ! I can't rely on you for anything, can I?"

"I guess not, Driscoll. I mean, really, did you even think about the government? They're either still searching for clues, or burying that thing in the ground, or burning it, probably."

"You know that's not true, he's too valuable to just bu..."

"That last part was a joke. I guess I'm not very good at being subtle...The point is, you won't get it. No matter what you offer."

"How do you know? Look...I'm asking you a favor, one which you still owe me. Please. Help me."

"I can't..."

Jack broke away from him, turning and exiting the revolving doors with a blank and certain emotion displayed on his face. He breathed out, the air catching it and blowing it into the frozen day.

'This can't be it...' he thought, feeling defeated. 'He was right; I'll never have the money."

He walked away, slumping over and holding his head down in shame. He failed at what he needed to do.

------

Back inside the museum, a man in a brown suit and a snap-brim fedora turned to watch Jack leave. He casually played with his beard after overhearing their slightly heated conversation. He nodded to himself, fighting the urge go after him. He knew what he had to do.

------

That Night

Ann sat in a chair, reading one of her lover's plays once again, "Isolation". The fire in the brick fireplace lighted her gorgeous features, basking her in orange glory. She jumped up as Jack came through the door. Ann had begun to stay with Jack, leaving behind her old residence in hopes of finding a better life. She always reminded herself that despite the sadness, she had found it.

Jack held up an envelope, which was thin with little in it. He handed it to Ann, setting down his coat and his hat. Without question, she looked down at the words which covered the front. It read, "Ms. Darrow". Not Ann, but Ms. Darrow.

"There's no address or name or anything...I found it lying in front of the door."

"Well..."

She surveyed the envelope, though not specifically look for anything.

"It must be important."

She pulled the flap out from it's tucked position. She reached in and pulled out a small, rectanglular piece of paper. A check. Her eyes widened with amazement.

"Jack!" she said nearly screaming, "It's a check!"

"What?"

He stared at it disbelievingly, just as taken back as Ann had been.

"Who would have done this...?"

She pulled out the remaining folded up piece of paper. She pulled back each fold. It was a letter. It was brief, but important:

"Dear Ms. Darrow,

Please, use this money to save Kong. I know it means a great deal that he is assured to be remembered. I know now what I've done, and none of this is worth it. Accept the money as only a fraction of what I wish I could pay you. A tragedy such as this deserves nothing less.

And Jack, I'm sorry, buddy. You were a true friend, and I threw it away. I'm sorry.

Sincerely,

Carl Denham."

A tear fell from Ann's cheek and splashed onto the paper. It was not poetry, but it was perfect to her. And that's all that mattered.

"He has a heart afterall..." she breathed out in a whisper.

"I guess so."

Jack found himself smiling, and about Carl, no less.

------

After Jack presented the check to the government, they promised him that he would be put in his rightful place after they finished with him. And they did, 4 months later than expected, but they kept their promise. The bones were set in a display case, not put back together. The skull was the most prominent feature of the evolutionary gold-mine. Ann kissed Jack's cheek softly, muttering her thanks and happiness. The two of them looked down at the caption below, not knowing where it had come from. Jack was about to read it aloud, before he was cut off by an unseen visitor.

"A king of the world which escaped time. "Kong" was a mighty beast, ended by the power of beauty."

Jack smiled warmly.

"I hope you like it. I'm no writer." said Carl Denham, that beard of his scruffier than ever.

"No one could have done better than that."

"Whatever you say, Ms. Darrow."

Jack and Ann turned to him.

"Hello, Carl."

He nodded, smirking at them and laughing inwardly at them being together.

"Goodbye, Jack."

And with that, he left them standing in a moment of bliss. He left them floating on clouds, with no despair to be found. Just like it should be. This would be the last meeting between Carl and the couple, leaving them to remember him kindly at last.