I have an announcement to make: From now on, with each chapter I will also be giving some bios and profiles on the creatures that inhabit Skull Island.
Leafwing:
These small flying creatures are part of the pterosaur family, and thus they are NOT birds, but are in fact more closely related to reptiles such as crocodiles. Having a wingspan of only 5 feet, they may not seem like much of a threat, but make NO mistake; a single Leafwing is strong enough to carry a full-grown man, and their proboscis contain an anesthetic agent that (when injected into prey) reduces the victim's sensitivity to pain. The said victim will feel no pain even when the Leafwings begin eating it alive. But despite this, Leafwings are mostly scavengers that live off the kills of other predators, such as Skullcrawlers.
Psychovulture:
Like the LeafWings, Psychovultures are NOT bats, but are in fact reptiles. These terrifying aerial predators are quite feared... for good reasons: Psychovultures have a unique ability to shoot Electrical Blasts from their mouths that are used for both defense and to kill prey. Psychovultures also posses thermal-vision, allowing them to see hot-blooded prey from miles away, making Psychovulture especially deadly at night. But the main reason the Psychovultures are given such a name is because of what they eat: Psychovultures love eating poisonous Puffer Fish that are native to the waters of Skull Island. The poison of said puffer fish does not kill them, but actually puts them in a state of psychopathy. In this temporary psychopathic state, the Psychovultures become even more dangerous and aggressive, leading them to hunt down and kill any creature they encounter, including their own kind. For the Psychovulture, it seems that to kill (without eating at all) is sustenance enough.
The heores/heroines were still deep within the island's lush jungle, along with the mysterious man named Angeal.
"Thank you for saving us, Angeal." Rapunzel said happily with a soft smile.
"You are quite welcome, my Lady." Angeal said with gentle smile of his own, causing Rapunzel to giggle at his gentlemanly ways.
"What were those things, anyway?" Eugene now asked.
"They are creatures from a forgotten time that have now made this island their home." Angeal explained.
"And what's you're story with this island?" Cassandra asked, rising an eyebrow and folding her arms, not sure if they should trust this mysterious man.
"I was, and still am, a priest. I travel the world, going from place to place to offer confessions and hope to those who have lost faith." He explained. "I sailed through the seas to spread hope to those how deserve it. But my ship was struck by a raging storm, and I washed ashore on this island."
"Simple as that?" Cassandra asked, still folding her arms.
"Your skepticism is understandable." Angeal confirms, still maintaining his smile. "Now, may I ask for your names?"
"Sure! I'm Rapunzel," The princess pointed at herself before turning to her chameleon friend. "This is Pascal," She then turned to her other friends "That's Eugene, Cassandra, Lance, Maximus, Fidella, Hook-Foot and Shorty!"
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you all." Angeal said calmly as he bowed his head at them. "Come, there is a village up-ahead, they will help you."
"Yeah, that's nice and all, but we're leaving." Cassandra said as she quickly went past Angeal, followed by her friends.
"If I may ask, did you come here via gigantic bridge that in the middle of the ocean?" He asked calmly.
Everyone quickly turned to him, and gave Angeal looks of surprise.
"Yes. Yes, we had." Rapunzel confirmed. "Why?"
Angeal sighed before continuing. "Then that will not be an option. The bridge has most likely submerged by now, and will not resurface for at least five days."
"Yeah, Angeal. That's funny, who knew priests can be so hilarious?" Eugene laughed, thinking Angeal was joking, but quickly stopped when he noticed Angeal giving him the same look without so much as a smirk. "You're serious?!"
"Well then, only one way to find out." Cassandra stated with a confident smirk.
Some time later, the heroes/heroins, along with Angeal, had returned to the beach, only to discover...
"What?!" Cassandra exclaimed in shock and disbelief.
The bridge had disappeared. The same gigantic bridge that lead them to this island had disappeared just like Angeal said it would. Only their caravan was left on the beach.
"Are you kidding me?!" Eugene exclaimed in disbelief, as he looked at the sea overhead in shock. "How are we suppose to get off this island?"
"Relax," Lance said coolly. "We'll just built ourselves a raft and get out of here. Simple as that."
"I'm afraid it's not as simply as you say it is." Angeal said as he walked up to them. "This island is filled with large and dangerous creatures that will kill you at first sight. You won't have enough time to built a raft before the creatures find you. Those flying creatures you faced are only the tip of the iceberg."
Looks of discomfort and horror filled the rest of the heroes/heroins as Angeal went on.
"It is best we go to the village and rest there until the bridge returns. I will lead you through an area of the island where there are fewer predators, and my partner, Jim, is waiting there for me."
Cassandra sighed as she folded her arms, she really didn't trust this guy, but what other choice do they have? Those Leafwings were quite the trouble, and who knows if they would have survived an assault from those Psychovultures.
"Alright, lead on, Angeal!" Eugene said with a smile.
With that, Angeal simply smiled and turned, and began heading towards the direction of the of the Iwi village.
After some time of walking, Angeal and the heroes/heroins entered a Bamboo Forest, with bamboo trees everywhere and almost no other plant in sight.
"Sure hope there's no predators here." Eugene said as he looked around to make sure. "Not that I wouldn't me able to handle them, mind you."
"Come on, Eugene, there's no predator that's gonna sneak up on us in a forest like this." Rapunzel stated casually, not as wary as most of her other friends.
"Please don't let your guard down, Rapunzel." Angeal told her as he continued walking without looking back. "Most of the creatures of this island are very unique; They seem to be... a combination of plant and animal."
"Wait, you mean like half-animal and half-plant hybrids?" Eugene asked in surprise.
"Precisely."
Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra and everyone else now looked in surprise. Not expecting something like that to be possible. Then again, with all the strange things they had witnessed and done, the idea of animal-plant hybrids wasn't that far off.
As they continued walking through the forest, Rapunzel noticed one of the bamboo trees slightly move on its own.
"Hey, Eugene, look at that." Rapunzel said - also catching Pascal's attention - as she stopped and pointed at the bamboo tree.
Eugene stopped and turned, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Look at what?"
"That bamboo tree, it moved on its own." Rapunzel said, still looking at the same bamboo tree in surprise.
"You're just imagining things, Raps." Cassandra said. "A place like this can do that to you sometimes."
"I'm not sure, Cass." Rapunzel said uneasily. "I could have sworn it moved."
"Come on, let's get a move on." Eugene said as he, and the rest, continued moving on. Though Rapunzel couldn't help but get this strange feeling, like they were all being watched.
As Rapunzel continued moving, Pascal - still on her shoulder - looked back to make sure there's no danger around.
But then... much to his utter shock and disbelief, one of the bamboo trees suddenly pulled itself from the ground, ending in a sharp point, like a spear. Slowly looking up, Pascal's face became consumed with even more shock and horror at what he was now seeing.
Thinking fast, Pascal quickly turned and grabbed Rapunzel's hair before pulling as hard as he could, causing Rapunzel to jolt in surprise and fall backwards, landing on her back. Just then, the bamboo tree shot downwards with lightning speed, digging its sharp point into the ground, between Rapunzel's feet! If Pascal hadn't pulled her away just now, Rapunzel would have been impaled by the 'bamboo tree'!
This quickly caught the attention of the group as they turned and saw a bamboo tree close to Rapunzel who was laying on the ground, also looking at the 'bamboo tree' in shock.
Then, everyone began hearing a low growl from above. Slowly turning up, everyone paled in shock and horror at what they were now seeing. The 'bamboo tree' that nearly impaled Rapunzel was no tree at all... it was a leg... of a gigantic spider-like arachnid that was towering over them, with its large body barely hidden by the forest canopy. The arachnid's eight legs were extremely long and looked just like bamboo trees to help it stay hidden, and ambush prey. The incredibly long, thin legs made it look similar to the known arachnid 'Daddy LongLegs', and it even had a similar name: 'Mother LongLegs'.
"G-G-G-G-Giant spider!?" Lance exclaimed out loud. Being arachnophobic, this was now quite possibly Lance's worst nightmare.
Knowing it has been spotted, the Mother LongLegs quickly raised another one of its long legs and lunged it at Eugene, intending to impale him with its sharp tip! Thinking fast, the former thief quickly jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the arachnid's sharp leg as it sank into the dirt. Soon, the Mother LongLegs went completely on the offensive and started aiming its sharp legs at all of the heroes/heroins!
"Watch out!" Cassandra exclaimed as she jumped out of the way to avoid an incoming leg! Maximus and Fidella also jumped out of the way when another sharp leg came at them! Eugene did a back-flip to evade another leg that attempted to skewer him!
Rapunzel fearfully looked up, only to realize that the Mother LongLegs' body was directly above her. The giant arachnid lowered its abdomen, and suddenly released three muscular tendrils from its underbelly! Rapunzel had no time to react as the sticky tendrils grabbed her by the shoulders and left leg, and quickly began pulling her up - toward the Mother LongLegs' stomach!
"Rapunzel!" Eugene exclaimed as he quickly ran and jumped to catch his love! But he was too late, Rapunzel was already hoisted more than five meters off the ground, and Eugene nearly grabbed her foot before gravity pulled him down!
Rapunzel looked up, to see the horrifying eight-eyed face of the Mother LongLegs as it began snapping its crab-like pincers at her! Pascal, who was still on Rapunzel's shoulder, even tried biting one of the tendrils, hoping to release his friend, but it was no use.
Angeal calmly, and casually, side-stepped and easily avoided a leg that narrowly missed him. Then, grabbing something in his suit, Angeal pulled a very sharp Claymore Sword! With a mighty swing, Angeal cuts the Mother LongLegs' leg in half with with his sword!
"Cut it off at the legs!" Angeal exclaimed.
Following his example, Cassandra quickly pulled her sword and sliced another one of the monster arachnid's legs! Lance (despite his fear of spiders) did the same, followed by Hook-Foot!
This quickly caused the Mother LongLegs to nearly topple and fall down, but it managed to maintain its balance with its remaining long legs!
Eugene, however, was still looking up in fear and worry as the Mother LongLegs was still pulling Rapunzel up, determined to at least have the young princess for a meal.
"Lance, give me a sword!" Eugene exclaimed. With some hesitation, Lance threw his sword at Eugene, which he caught it. "Hold on, Rapunzel." With that, Eugene quickly threw the sword (spinning) at the giant arachnid like a boomerang - slicing all of the Mother LongLegs' tendrils at once, and causing Rapunzel (and Pascal) to fall to the ground (screaming)!
Luckily though, Eugene managed to catch her in his arms just in time!
At this point, Angeal pulled a crossbow and aimed it up at the giant arachnid, before firing a single arrow - and striking the Mother LongLegs right in one of its eyes. The giant arachnid screeched loudly in pain as it began thrashing its body wildly and stamping its long legs blindly!
"Go! Now, while it's distracted!" Angeal exclaimed as turned and began running, followed closely by the others!
A few minutes later, the heroes/heroins and Angeal were able to escape the Bamboo Forest, and the raging Mother LongLegs.
"Thank you so much Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she hugged and kissed him on the cheek for saving her life.
"No need for thanks. It's just what I do." Eugene said, smiling proudly.
Rapunzel then felt her hair being pulled, and looked to see Pascal on her shoulder with his forelimbs folded and tapping a foot, as if saying 'What about me?'
"Of course, how could I forget about my bravest chameleon ever? Come here, you..." Rapunzel hugged Pascal against her left cheek, causing the chameleon to squeal in satisfaction.
"Okay, Angeal," Eugene began as he walked up to him. "First off: WHAT... And second: WAS THAT?!"
"As I said before, this island is full of dangerous creatures." Angeal said, putting away his claymore sword and crossbow.
"And how long was it going to be until you showed us your weapons?" Cassandra asked, folding her arms and eyeing him suspiciously.
"Well, sometimes one cannot be sure who to trust." Angeal said calmly as he looked at her. "One must be prepared for anything, because even the prettiest flowers can hide a deadly wasp."
"That's at least one thing we have in common..." Cassandra whispered quietly to herself, still not trusting him.
"You didn't tell us that there are giant spiders on this island!" Lance exclaimed, his voice was mixed with both annoyance and fear, but mostly fear.
"Those 'giant spiders' are nothing if we encounter the real monsters of this island." Angeal said, now with a-now serious look and grim tone. Succeeding in putting even more fear on Strongbow and the rest.
"What are the real monsters?" Hook-Foot asked worriedly.
"They are beasts without mercy, without remorse. All they know is to kill, devour and destroy." Angeal said with his serious look and grim tone. "I call them... 'Skullcrawlers'."
"Skullcrawlers, huh? That's neat." Eugene remarked.
"Come, I will explain all about them in the village." Angeal said as he turned and began moving.
"I still don't trust him." Cassandra said.
"I know, Cass." Rapunzel said, turning to her. "But he's the only person who knows this island best, and you saw what happened back there." She pointed back with her thumb.
"Looks like we're gonna have to stay more alert than usual while we're on this island." Eugene said, now knowing that even creatures as tall as 7 meters can remain perfectly hidden.
"Yeah...! Like do what I do: play dead!" Shorty said before laying down, pretending to be dead.
"Oh brother..." Eugene sighed in annoyance.
...
After some time of walking, the group eventually came to a swampy grassland, with large puddles of water and even larger ponds around them.
"My partner is here. He's waiting for me." Angeal said with a smile.
"I can't wait to meet this Jim guy!" Rapunzel squealed, being as friendly as usual.
Eventually, the group stopped at a very large pond of water. Then, Angeal whistled loudly, as if calling for someone to come.
"Well..." Cassandra asked impatiently.
"Wait for it..." Angeal said.
Suddenly, something began moving in the water... Something began emerging from the water. Everyone's eyes (expect Angeal) widened in absolute shock as their mouths were left hanging open. Emerging from the large pond, was a gigantic water buffalo! Although the creature resembled an abnormally large water buffalo, it also had many differences: Most notably, its incredibly large horns were forked into three branches, and most of its body appeared to be covered with green algae. This herbivore stood about 13 meters tall, and had an interesting name: Sker Buffalo.
"What is that?!" Cassandra asked, completely shocked and astounded, as the Sker Buffalo stopped in front of them. Even the two horses, Maximus and Fidella, could only look up in shock at the gigantic buffalo.
"That would be my partner, Jim." Angeal said with a smile. The others were now even more shocked to discover that Jim was in fact a gigantic buffalo all this time.
The Sker Buffalo, named Jim, slowly walked up to the others, and observed them for a moment - before bowing his head in a respectful manner.
"Oh, a gentleman, huh?" Rapunzel giggled, admiring the Sker Buffalo's polite, respectful and gentlemanly welcome.
"Come, the village is not much farther from here." Angeal said as Jim lowered his head, allowing for his partner to climb on top of his back.
"I gotta try this!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she also climbed on the Sker Buffalo.
"Sorry Max, I'm going with Blondie on this one." Eugene said, before joining Rapunzel.
"I'm going, too!" Hook-Foot said, gabbing Shorty before going up the giant buffalo as well.
"I'm not missing this." Cassandra said, getting excited by the idea of riding something this big, and putting her distrust aside for a bit.
Maximus himself looked a bit jealous, but was quick to put it aside. The Sker Buffalo turned to him, and gave both him and Fidella a warm, friendly smile, to which they smiled back at him (albeit a little awkward in Maximus' case).
"Now, to the village." Angeal said as Jim got up and began moving with Maximus and Fidella.
...
After some few more hours of traveling, the heroes reached a rainforest area of Skull Island, where they stumbled upon an abandoned temple. Once they were there, Jim stopped and Angeal climbed down from his back.
"What's he doing now?" Cassandra asked impatiently.
But shortly after she asked that, people painted in gray and green to blend in exactly like the background, suddenly revealed themselves as they approached them. The heroes/heroins were never once aware or notice the tribe people near them, making them gasp in surprise when they see them. Cassandra nearly reached for her sword until Angeal lifted his hands.
"Everyone, please do not make any actions that would be 'unhealthy'." Angeal calmly said. The tribes people looked at him for a moment before bowing their heads, Angeal smiled and turned to the heroes. "It's alright. We can pass."
The heroes looked completely surprised as Jim began moving forward.
...
Angel and Jim have lead the heroes/heroins to the Iwi village, which was completely surrounded by large, wooden walls with sharp spikes on the outside, to prevent the deadly predators from reaching the village and the people inside. The heroes and heroins looked in amazement to see the tribe men, women and children and their homes, which were also made of wood. Most of the them wore red clothes and were only partially clothed, and most had yellow paint markings on their bodies.
"Everyone, welcome the Iwi village." Angeal said as the heroes got off of Jim and looked at the village and it's people in surprise and amazement.
"Wow!" Rapunzel gasped as she looked at the Iwi people in amazement.
The people themselves were relatively calm and quiet, in fact, they never spoke whatsoever. The group began to split up and look around the village. Rapunzel introduced herself to some of the people.
"Hi, I'm Rapunzel!" The young princess said cheerfully as she grinned happily. However, the people said nothing and looked at her blankly, much to Rapunzel's confusion. "Um... can you talk?"
"They can talk, Rapunzel." Angeal said as he approached her. "They just prefer not to."
Eugene and Lance were examining the giant wall that protects the Iwi.
"I gotta say, this wall is even better than the one in Corona!" Eugene said in amazement. "Not only is it bigger but it also has spikes on the other side as extra defense! When we get home, we have got to do something like this!" He said as he knocked on the wall to test it. But just as he did that, some of the Iwi warriors suddenly pointed their sharp spears at him. "Is it something I said?" Eugene asked, trying to hide his fear.
"Eugene, please don't knock on the walls like that." Angeal called out. "These walls are built to keep out the predators. But everything locks together from this side. Take out one post and an entire section of the wall goes down."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Eugene grinned sheepishly as the warriors lowered their weapons.
"If you're done antagonizing them, you can come here and check this out." Cassandra called out to Eugene.
After that little thing was over, Angeal lead the heroes and heroins to an extremely large, empty ship that crashed here many years ago. While on the outside it looked nothing interesting, the inside was where truly shined. The group looked in awe at all the various paintings on the walls of the inside of the ship.
"Well this just got a lot more interesting." Eugene muttered as he looked at the different paintings.
"This is where the Iwi honor the last of their saviors:" Angeal pointed at a particular painting that resembled a bipedal gorilla. "Kong."
Rapunzel and the others looked at the painting in amazement, but then got a realization what (or rather, who) they were looking at. The image of bipedal ape quickly made them come to a conclusion.
"We know that creature..." Rapunzel said.
This, in turn, sparked surprise from Angeal as he turned to her. "You do?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Yes. Several months ago, our kingdom was attacked by some creatures, and then a giant, brown ape came out of nowhere and saved us." Rapunzel explained. She and the rest of her friends finally pieced the puzzle together and realized it. The giant ape that came to Corona and fought those monsters was Kong! He must have entered Corona thanks to the same magical bridge that also allowed them to cross over to Skull Island!
"Well, that's convenient." Eugene muttered.
"And those creatures that attacked us must have been the Skullcrawlers." Cassandra said.
"I see..." Angeal muttered. "It's as I feared, that same magical bridge can also be a problem. You were lucky that Kong was able to take care of the problem back then. For you see, this bridge is how the Skullcrawlers came to Skull Island in the first place."
The heroes/heroins looked at Angeal in surprise.
"This island was once a paradise for Kong's species." He began. "Until the day the Skullcrawlers came, thanks to that bridge, and began destroying and laying waste to everything. Kong's race fought them viciously for many years, and the casualties on both sides began to rise. The Iwi were refugees, fleeing from another tribe. by the time they arrived on Skull Island, only two of Kong's race survived the battle, and those two were Kong's parents. All the others were slaughtered, but many Skullcrawlers still remained."
The heroes looked shocked, horrified and even amazed by this. The Skullcrawlers were truly monsters, and they felt a great sense of relief that those few Skullcrawlers that exited Skull Island have been dealt with thanks to Kong himself. If the Skullcrawlers were to escape Skull Island and invade the outside world, they would not be able to be stopped, and would destroy, devour and dominate whatever stood in their path! The mere idea of the Skulcrawlers successfully escaping Skull Island was extremely terrifying.
"What happened to Kong's parents." Rapunzel asked.
"They died saving Kong from the Skullcrawlers, and Kong himself was forced to watch the monsters kill his parents right in front of his very eyes at such a young age." Angeal said sadly as he lowered his head.
The heroes now looked completely horrified. This was especial for Rapunzel, as she could understand and sympathize with the pain the great ape had suffered. She could also now understand why her own father was so overprotective and unwilling to let her out of his sight. How Kong's own father fought to the death and sacrificed his life so his son may live, it made her feel deep sympathy for both her father and Kong. And not only was Kong orphaned, but he was also the last of his kind, with no others like him to interact with, something Rapunzel can also sympathize with. Having spent 18 years in a tower and used by Gothal for her own, selfish reasons, and having never interacted with another human being, Rapunzel could understand the loneliness that Kong was experiencing.
But she wasn't alone, even Cassandra, who was normally as though as nails, could not help but pity and feel sorry for Kong, as he was like her, in a way, an orphan. But in her case, she was adopted by the Captain of the Royal Guards, who became her adoptive father, but Kong never had such an experience. The same went for Eugene, Hook-Foot, Pascal, Maximus and Fidella, as they felt deeply sorry for Kong and his loss.
Kong was not a savage beast... He was an orphan who suffered a horrible tragedy and was forced to take the responsibilities of an adult at a very young age.
Mother LongLegs:
Despite its spider-like appearance, it is currently unclear if these gigantic arachnids are truly spiders (Araneae) or if they are more closely related to harvestmen (Opiliones). The Mother LongLegs is an all-female, self-reproducing species that is unlike any arachnid seen on Earth, they are a unique natural hybrid of flora and fauna, having actual traces of bamboo fused within their DNA. This makes them the perfect predators for the north-side of Skull Island, that is filled with bamboo trees. When the Mother LongLegs is standing still, the bamboo trunks conceal it perfectly, turning an entire bamboo forest into a silent death trap. The long legs of the arachnid end in sharp points, designed to impale and skewer unsuspecting prey, something that would make Vlad the Impaler proud. Even more gruesome, the Mother LongLegs absorbs the vital nutrients and bodily fluids of its impaled prey through its long legs, like a milkshake through a straw. These creatures are not just man-eaters, they DRINK their prey. Another way of feeding is via the three muscular tendrils that Mother LongLegs unleash, ensnaring prey and lifting it high off the ground to be swallowed by its open stomach.
Sker Buffalo:
The Sker Buffalo is a super-biological bovid that is largely amphibious in its grazing patterns. Although closely related to the Asian water buffalo, the Sker Buffalo differs in more than a few ways: Aside from its larger size, the Sker Buffalo's back and flank are fused with hard bony structures and dense green foliage. Much like the Mother LongLegs, the Sker Buffalo is a unique natural fusion of plant and animal. Sustaining this flora-fauna biology is pulmonary heart divided into four chambers, two of which pump blood through the musculature system, and two of which pump highly oxygenated chlorophyll to the plant life growing on its back. The Sker Buffalo can be submerged underwater for days, with only its plant-filled back residing above the water, providing the herbivore with camouflage. Although mostly docile, the Sker Buffalo can be extremely dangerous if threatened or provoked, its large horns are a deadly defense weapon against most predators, and despite its large size, the Sker Buffalo can run at speeds that rival that of horses.