Rwby Skull Island
Chap 3
"Is everybody ready?" I shouted to the group that was assigned to follow us deeper into the island. And it was not a small group. It consisted of at least a couple hundred scientists, soldiers, huntsmen and various other people. While not ideal, it was better than what Ironwoods and the others initially proposed. And that was sending roughly ninety percent of the entire expedition in at once.
"And do you all remember what we said?" Cayden added.
"Yeah, yeah. We-" Yang began but was silenced when Ilona aimed her gun at her head.
"No bullshit. This isn't child's play or one of your pathetic power fantasies. Once there, if you get separated, you're on your own. We won't send for anyone to find you." She reminded.
'Do you think that is taking it a bit far?' Neo signed to me.
'Where is Roman?' I thought as I haven't seen him since we left port. "It would be a waste of resources and time. Not to mention, you'd most likely be dead by the time we find you. That is, if there is anything left of your body to find."
'Oh.' She signed with her wide-eyed expression showing she now understands why.
"Let's go." Cayden shouted before turning to the gates that were supposed to keep the dangers away. Nodding to the teams by the gates, they cleared the debris and wood that was covering the small hole that would allow us through. Stepping through the hole, we were greeted to the bridge that connected the shore to the rest of the island. And beneath it, a drop that would kill anyone who falls down.
"Wow." Ruby and some of the scientists exclaimed seeing the bridge but instantly became nervous when they saw the pit beneath it.
"Don't look down." Caitali warned with a smirk as some immediately looked down and back up upon seeing the drop. This gave the rest of us a small laugh as we started to make our way across the bridge.
"Don't worry. The bridge will hold all of us easily. Could probably fit a couple of tanks." I said noticing the uncertainty some of them had as they eyed the bridge and wondered if it could support them.
"If you say so." An Atlas soldier said as he and the rest finally started going across the bridge. Not knowing, or needing to know that it wasn't a bridge but in fact what the natives used to transport their sacrifices/offerings to Kong.
Once across, we stopped to admire the jungle a bit as despite the dangers it contained, it was still remarkably beautiful. Though that was quickly stopped when we were brought back to reality when we heard a loud roar in the distance again. Sighing, we continued forward into the jungle. Raising our guns and keeping an eye out, we moved through the jungle. Over the trees and roots that easily dwarfed in size that one's back home. Soon, we came upon an opening that allowed us to see a river nearby.
"A river. That's good." A Vale scientist said while jotting down some notes.
"That's not good." Cayden corrected.
"Why?" Glynda asked.
"The closer you get to water. The bigger the things get." I explained.
"That reminds me." Winer said getting our attention. "Where exactly are you taking us?"
"Um... Wow. Hadn't thought of that." I said realizing we never chose a location.
"So, you haven't thought of everything." Wiess smugly said but we just ignored her. Turning to the others we began to discuss on where we could take them.
"Well?" Ozpin asked getting impatient.
"There is a temple about three days out from here." I answered.
"Three days. Is there a faster route to this temple?" Ironwoods asked.
"Actually, while the temple is three days out, it will take longer considering the routes we have to take and how we take them. Plus, the fact that we are only going to be traveling when there is light out..." I began but was cut off.
"How long?" Ironwoods asked.
"To the temple and back, about eight days. That is if you all listen to us exactly, which we all know you won't, and no interruptions from the natives of the island that would throw us off course. But we know that is a high possibility. Meaning it could take up to two weeks to get to the temple and back here." Ilona clarified.
"Are there any other landmarks we could visit that are closer as I don't think we prepared for a fourteen-day trip?" A Mistral scientist asked.
"Not really. There is one that we know of. However, it is on the other side of the island." I answered.
"Well, we didn't come here to see nothing. If we ration, we could make it there and back in time. Let us continue." Ironwoods said annoyed.
'Rationing won't be a problem. Most of you will die.' I thought aggravated at how they all fail to realize the dangers they were in.
Moving forward, we continued to the jungle before sliding down a hill that took us closer to the river we saw earlier. After about a half hour, we reached the river. Looking around, we saw a part where we could safely cross. Moving there, we made our way across the river before entering the jungle again. After that, nothing much of note happened. Aside from the occasional screeching of animals in the sky on another part of the island, not much happened. Though, a common feeling was felt throughout the entire group. Two to be precise. One was that we were constantly being watch while the other was the feeling that we were encroaching on someone else's territory. But what got many others attention currently was the large number of bugs that were currently bothering most of us.
"Ugh, some many bugs. Didn't anyone bring mosquito repellent?" Blake asked after trying to swat a big that landed on her arm. Only to fail miserably.
"Yes, I..." A Vacuo researcher began but I cut her off.
"You don't want to do that." I warned.
"Why? So, you can see us get eaten alive by bugs?" Yang asked irritated as she tried to swat some bugs that tried to bite her.
"No. It's not that. The scent of the bug spray will attract some dangerous predators." Caitali explained.
"How so?" Ruby asked.
"You know how bloodhounds have excellent sense of smell. Well, these predators have an even better sense of smell." I explained.
"Well, just to have deal with them the old fashion way." An Atlas soldier said before firing off a few rounds killing a few bugs.
"Conserve your ammo." Cayden shouted at him with a roar coming from deeper in the island got everyone's attention. "You're going to need it."
"You know Arc," Weiss said getting my attention. "You keep saying we need this or be wary of that, yet never telling us what it is?"
"And you said earlier that the natives of the island could interfere with our travel to the temple. But I thought you killed all the natives already?" Ironwoods added. Sighing, I relented and decided to tell them. Not like they are going to believe me either way.
"Fine. We did kill the natives but those were not the ones I was talking about. The predators we just told you about are. And they are-" I began but was but if by Winter and Glynda.
"DEAR OUM!" The gasped in clear horror.
"What is it?" Ozpin asked curious and concerned. Moving over to them, we saw what caused them to gasp.
It was the boneyard.
"Oum, it's a bleeding bone yard." A Mistral soldier said in horror at seeing all the bones and skeletons.
"They've been ripped limb from limb." A Vale scientist said examining some of the bones. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I saw Neo with wide and curious eyes.
'What's this?' She signed while holding up a "necklace."
Said necklace had a shrunken skull along with many longer and sharper bones next to each skull. Taking it from her hands, memories began to flash before my very eyes. Each one of when I was here on this cursed island the first time. From being a naïve preteen hoping to prove himself to his family to becoming an emotionally scarred person with the knowledge that monsters exist.
"What is that Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked curious.
"Your final warning to leave this expedition." I answered as I gripped the necklace tightly in anger.
"We said what is it? Not give us another warning." Ironwoods said irritated.
"Remember those natives we killed earlier?" Ilona asked.
"Yes. Kind of hard to forget that." Weiss answered.
"Well, this necklace is what they would put on any person they chose to sacrifice. Whether it's one of them or an intruder like us. And these bones are the fates of those unfortunate enough to wear one of these necklaces." I explained before tossing down the necklace in frustration. Feeling someone grab my hand, I looked over and saw Pyrrha grab my hand in comfort. Looking into her eyes, while they did not hold the same amount of care or concern as before this entire trip started, they still showed some. Gripping her hand tightly, I gave her a nod before letting out a breath. It was useless to hang onto the memories anyway.
"HEY! I found something!" Blake shouted getting our attention. Looking over to her, we saw her standing on a small rock hill.
"What did you find Blake?" Winter asked. Only to be shocked again when we saw gigantic trees torn down as if something giant walked through them in a rush.
"That something big went this way." She answered in fear and wonder at what could have caused it.
"Should we follow it?" A researcher from Mistral asked nervously.
"If you want to go to an early grave, by all means." Cayden answered earning a glare from some others.
"Come on. We're wasting daylight and we don't know how far until the next suitable spot to camp at." Caitali said as she moved past all of us and moved past the broken trees. Following her lead, we walked past the trees while ignoring Ironwoods and the others arguing on why we should follow the path of broken trees.
Walking along the narrow edge, we continued towards where the temple was. But we soon had to divert our path to another one when we saw both the trail blocked off by rocks and the fact that the sun was starting to set. Looking around, we saw a spot where we could set up for the night. But it was on top of a rock wall that we need to climb. Holstering my gun, I began to climb to the top of the rock wall.
"Why do we need to climb this wall?" Yang asked as she began to climb up as well.
"Is it to avoid flooding?" A Vale scientist asked worried.
"Despite the heavy rainfalls that frequently plague this island, it never actually floods. Well, only in certain areas does it have a chance to flood but we are miles away from the nearest spot." I answered as we reached the top.
"Then what is the reason Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"Multiple reasons. But let's just say, it gives us the more time to react in case something does try to attack us. Climbing will alert us and we have less directions we need to keep watch on." I explained while helping Neo up.
"That is smart. But I have to ask this, are we able to set up a fire?" Winter asked.
"No. While it doesn't get cold here at night, the warmth from the fire will attract unwanted guests quicker than Nora seeing a pancake sale." I answered.
"Then how will we see in the dark?" Ironwoods asked.
"We got some lanterns that would suffice in light and not attract unwanted guests and ward off the bugs." Cayden answered as he pulled out a couple of eclectic lanterns.
"Can we set them up now? I'm done being a buffet for the bugs." Blake asked as she swatted yet another one that landed on her.
One Hour Later
'Till hell and back. Fitting.' I thought as I recalled some movies where they say you haven't experienced hardships until you have gone through hell and come out alive. If that was the case, then me, Ilona, Caitali and Cayden sure do fit that description. Hearring some footsteps, I looked up from my seat to see Neo approaching before sitting down next to me.
'For some people who sure want us to follow the rules, like heading to sleep, you don't follow it.' Sh signed with a smirk.
"That's because it's hard for me to sleep. Not to mention, we need someone to remain on constant look out." I explained.
"Look out from what?" Pyrrha asked walking towards us. Next to her was Blake.
"You all really want to know?" I asked.
"Yes. Jaune, while I don't fully condone what you did to try and stop this expedition, I want to understand. Please. Tell us." Pyrrha said sitting down next to me.
"Okay then. Open your ears." I told them.
"Our ears are open-" Blake began but I cut her off.
"Sorry. I should have said that better. What I should have said is listen closely now." I corrected.
"What are we listening for?" Blake asked as her cat ears slightly twitched a bit.
"Just listen." I said smiling. After a moment, a faint sound was heard.
'Birds?' Neo signed confused.
"What did she say jaune?" Pyrrha asked confused by Neo hand gestures.
"She said birds. Do you agree you both hear birds?" I answered before asking.
"Birds I never heard before. But yes." Blake answered with Pyrrha nodding along with Neo.
"Well, you're all wrong. It may sound like a bird. But that is a fucking spider. Might be a bit hard to believe, but that is what it is. A spider that is easily taller than some buildings back on Remnant with its legs capable of spearing right through a person with aura." I told them.
"That can't be. It must be some kind of bird that we have never seen or heard before." Pyrrha said nervously.
"Take a look then and tell me what you see." I said pointing into the distance away from us. They followed my finger and saw a creature walking along the trees in the distance. And after a moment, the same sound came again. This time making it clear that the sound was coming from it. "We weren't kidding when we said this is an island lost in time and that even Oum himself is afraid of this island."
"How do we even beat that thing?" Blake asked worried.
"It's actually fairly easy to beat that creature. But I will tell you all in the morning. We're getting up early to maximize daylight." I told them.
"Right. Well good night." Blake said before leaving and returning to her team.
"Good night Jaune." Pyrrha said giving me a quick hug before heading back to the others as well.
'I don't think it will be a good night. With the knowledge that exists. And if that exists, what else can exist in this island.' Neo signed before leaving as well.
'You have no idea Neo.' I thought as another roar echoed across the island. This time being a dying skull crawler. And it sounded close. Which meant Kong was close as well.
Note:
King-Of-Gods & memefarius: Yeah, she was just really biased. Great friend but really biased when it came to anything relating to Rwby.
BlazingVictini09: Yes, most of the cast will be killed off. Possibly starting next chapter.
Gamelover41592: It will be the 2005 Peter Jackson King Kong Skull Island. However, there will be elements from some other versions. Such as the skull crawlers from Kong: Skull Island. And the Temple that was in the game. Though, the temple is more to have a destination rather than a significant part of the story.
HalosZealotDemon: This version of Kong will be the Monsterverse version but fully grown. Meaning an Adult Kong like in Godzilla vs Kong (2021)
Next chapter: Velociraptors and Long Necks.