Welcome everyone to the finale of my story, Tangled in Skull Island! I hope you are all ready for to see how this conclusion will go!
Finally, the five days that Rapunzel and her friends have waited for so long were over. Angeal had told them the magical bridge that allowed them to enter Skull Island will rise up in only a few more hours, and once that happens, Rapunzel and her friends can finally resume their journey to find where the black rocks lead to. Still, despite the countless dangers & vicious predators they've faced, Rapunzel grew to enjoy Skull Island — and her friends had similar opinions. Being the rough-and-tough type of person, Cassandra greatly enjoyed facing the monsters that inhabit this island, but also knew when to retreat when things were beyond her combat capabilities. Of course, it was mostly thanks to Kong, the Protector of this island, that they and the Iwi have survived this long. Regardless, neither Rapunzel nor her friends could say that they didn't have at least a little fun on Skull Island.
However, unbeknownst to anyone, deep below Skull Island, in the darkest depths of an underground cavern, a monstrous entity has just awakened from its years-long slumber — and it is ready to feed on the blood of the living and bring never-ending darkness to the world above it.
The Protector of Skull Island, Kong, was walking across an open field and carrying the carcass of a Mire Squid that he killed not too long ago. Deciding that this would be a good place to enjoy his 'picnic', Kong sat down and began eating the succulent tentacles of his prey. With such a large carcass present, it wasn't long before Leafwings and Psychovulture to start circling in the sky above him, waiting for the giant primate to finish his meal and hopefully leave some leftovers for them. Kong ignores their presence and uproots a nearby tree which he begins eating, adding some vegetation to supplement his diet. However, as Kong was eating his meal, he suddenly felt something very wrong that caused him to momentarily stop eating. There weren't many creatures on Skull Island to give the giant ape such a reaction, save a gigantic Skullcrawler. But even so, Kong instinctively knew that whatever he was sensing right now was no Skullcrawler. In fact, the presence that he was feeling felt even worse than that of Ramarak, the alpha Skullcrawler.
Looking around his surrounding, Kong narrowed his eyes & growled softly, not liking this disturbing presence.
Meanwhile, over to the Iwi village, Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Cassandra, Lance, Shorty, Hook-Foot, Maximus and Fidella were preparing to leave the island. They have gathered the supplies and resources (such as exotic fruit) that the Iwi offered them on their caravan. The heroes were standing at the entrance of the Iwi village.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality and generosity. We will never forget this." Rapunzel smiled as waved at the Iwi people who were standing at the other end of the entrance. The did not say a word, but they did bow their heads in acknowledgment and smiled as their way of saying farewell to the princess and her friends.
With that, Rapunzel & her friends turned and began leaving the Iwi Village. Angeal and Jim offered to accompany them in order to safely escort them through the hostile jungle. Angeal, Lance, Hook-Foot, and Shorty were riding on Jim's back (who was gentle pushing the caravan forward with his horns), Eugene and Rapunzel (& Pascal) were riding on Maximus', and Cassandra was riding Fidella. As they were traversing the jungle, they made sure to keep an eye out for any hidden predators. If there was anything their experience with the local wildlife on this island has thought them, it is that looks can indeed be deceiving.
"I'm not gonna lie you guys, I really had a swell time on this island." Rapunzel said with a smile.
"Yeah. Unless, y'know, you count all the monsters that tried to eat us." Lance reminded.
"Lance, we've spent 5 days on this island, and look where we are now: Still alive and in once piece." Eugene stated confidently.
"Well, that's mostly thanks to the giant monkey." Lance muttered.
"For the last time, Kong's an ape, not a monkey." Cassandra sighed in annoyance. Even after telling him who-knows how many times, Lance still couldn't tell the difference between a monkey and an ape. Than again, Eugene can barely tell the difference between a frog and a chameleon.
As they were conversing, the heroes & heroins noticed a gigantic turtle in the distance that was at least 12 meters tall. It had a rock-like shell, giving it the appearance of a statue, with several palm trees growing from the top of its shell. This creature was known as a Magma Turtle, and fortunately for Rapunzel & her friends, it was also one of the few peaceful herbivores that reside on Skull Island. They watched as the Magma Turtle munched on a tree, not paying any attention to them whatsoever.
"Glad to see another vegetarian on this island." Lance sighed in relief.
"It's called a Magma Turtle." Angeal said, catching everyone's attention. "It is one of the only creatures on this island that doesn't have any natural predators. Not even Skullcrawlers will try to eat it."
"Let me guess, because it has a hard shell?" Cassandra asked curtly.
"That, and also because it has molten lava for blood."
"Wait. That giant turtle over there has lava for blood?" Eugene exclaimed in surprise before looking back at the Magma Turtle, as did the others. "And here I thought the wildlife on this island couldn't get any weirder."
All of the sudden, the sky above them began to darken and strong winds started blowing through the jungle.
"Looks like a storm's brewing." Cassandra commented, noticing the once pleasant weather starting to change into a hostile one. "We better hurry."
"Brrr. It's getting pretty cold." Rapunzel said as she shivered due to the sudden winds.
Just then, a powerful earthquake suddenly shook the ground beneath them, startling the traveling party.
"Wow!" Cassandra yelped as she tried not to fall off. Fidella quickly regained her balance once the earthquake stopped.
"Was that an earthquake?" Hook-Foot asked, also startled.
"I... I guess so." Rapunzel said uneasily.
Angeal, however, was having a very bad feeling about this. The combination of a storm brewing and an earthquake suddenly occurring didn't sit well for him for some reason. The earthquake just now felt less like a natural occurrence, and more like something beneath the ground was trying to break out. Something massive.
Elsewhere, Kong had arrived at a rather isolated hill. Having sensed the disturbing presence, the giant ape was able to track it down to this specific area. Pressing his foot against the ground, Kong realized that the bedrock underneath this hill was hollow — hollow enough for something large like himself to live underground. Narrowing his eyes, the Protector of Skull Island let out a mighty & thunderous roar, daring whatever creature was underneath the ground to come out and face him if it dares!
Like Rapunzel & her friends, Kong also noticed the ominous storm slowly forming above, eliminating all sunlight and darkening the island's skies in the process. This storm was effectively turning day into night. Lightning bolts began raining down and striking in various places, coupled with loud thunder and howling winds. But the noises the storm produced paled in comparison when a very loud, high-pitched screech suddenly came from underneath the summit of the hill — albeit muffled due to originating from a source that was deep underground.
Upon hearing this, Kong instinctively took a few steps back, sensing that he was about to have a intense fight on his hands.
Just then, the hilltop began cracking and breaking apart... before a gigantic bat-like creature that may very well have originated in Hell itself bursted from the top of the hill and screeched loudly to announce its presence! Kong watched in shock as the giant demonic bat that was nearly the same size as himself exploded out of the earth and spread its nightmarish wings! The bat-like monster had rough brown skin, with the only fur present on its chest and back. Its head was comparatively small with jagged horns in place of ears and a mouth filled with sharp teeth not unlike that of a vampire bat. Like normal bats, this monstrosity possessed a pair of large shredded wings that were adorned with sharp, bone-like protrusions. It also had a very long, spiky tail. Its eyes were glossed-over & white, and filled with nothing except a strong desire for violence & conquest!
This giant demonic bat was none other than Camazotz!
Because he cannot stand sunlight, and thus cannot be active whenever the sun is visible, Camazotz was forced to hibernate in an underground cavern beneath Skull Island, waiting many years for this very day. Now that Skull Island has been completely engulfed by this superstorm, granting him perpetual darkness, Camazotz is free to wreck havoc!
But of course, the Protector of Skull Island will not allow this monster of darkness to do as it pleases. With a thunderous roar, Kong began beating his chest with his fists! It was a loud & clear message that if Camazotz wished to take over and rule Skull Island, he will have to go through him!
Camazotz was more than happy to oblige...
Without any warning, the giant bat opened its mouth & unleashed a supersonic scream directly at Kong! The giant ape covered his ears with his hands and roared in pain as the extremely high frequency of the sound-waves made his ears bleed! With a strong flap from his tattered wings, Camazotz took to the air and flew directly at Kong, talons first! Before the Protector of Skull Island could comprehend what was happening, Camazotz buried his talons in Kong's shoulders, causing him even more agony! Having a firm grip on his prey, the demonic bat continued flapping his wings — and in an astonishing display of strength, started flying upwards into the dark sky with Kong!
Despite the hostile storm growing more intense every passing minute, the heroes & heroins paid little attention to it and continued to march onward. After walking for almost 2 hours through the dense jungle, Rapunzel and her friends finally came to the very same beach they arrived five days ago. Much to their joy & relief, the gigantic magical bridge that brought them to Skull Island was now present. None of them have ever felt so much joy & satisfaction as they do at this very moment. They can finally leave this island and resume their quest of finding where the black rocks lead!
"Finally. We can get out of this nightmare place." Eugene sighed in relief.
"Well, to be fair, Skull Island wasn't all that bad. I mean, we met some pretty friendly people, and then there's Kong." Rapunzel said, trying to not to make it sound a bit more positive.
"Yeah. Nevermind all the other bloodthirsty monsters that wanted to eat us." Cassandra snarked with cynicism.
"Come on, Cass. You can't tell me that you didn't at least have a little fun. You, the tough as nails handmaid." Rapunzel smirked.
"Oh, using my pride against me, are you?" Cassandra couldn't help but smirk back at the princess.
"Well, friends, it has been welcoming having you all here. But alas, we must bid each other farewell now." Angeal said with a smile.
"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Rapunzel asked, surprised to hear this.
"I'm afraid not, Rapunzel." Angeal said solemnly. "My duty is here. On this island."
"Well, good luck, then." Eugene said. "Hopefully you'll-"
Eugene's sentence was cut short when he and everyone else suddenly heard the unmistakable roar of Kong, even amidst the sound of thunder. For a moment, they all wondered what the giant ape was doing to make such a roar. They assumed he was probably fighting a Skullcrawler or some other predator of Skull Island like the Sirenjaw.
"Look over there!" Rapunzel suddenly cried out and pointed to the sky with her finger.
Turning to where the princess pointed, the faces of the heroes & heroins were filled with shock and horror as they saw (what appeared to be) a giant bat-like creature flying high in the air with a struggling Kong in its clutches. From their perspective, the two monsters appeared small which told them that Kong & this new monster were quite a long distance away. Their hearts skipped a beat when the bat-like monster suddenly dropped Kong from what was probably an 800-foot height! Even from such a long distance, they could hear Kong's loud cries as he fell to the ground, followed by an even louder thud sound once he landed!
"What the heck is that thing!?" Eugene cried out, watching the bat-like monster fly downwards to where Kong landed.
"I...I am unsure." For once, even Angeal was at a loss for words. "Even in my many years on Skull Island, I have never heard any mention of this monster. But it appears to want Kong dead."
"That thing just dropped Kong from an unimaginable height! Of course it wants him dead!" Cassandra cried out.
"We have to help him!" Rapunzel exclaimed. Pascal, who was on her shoulder, quickly agreed with her
"No, Rapunzel. We waited 5 days for this bridge to re-appear. If we don't go now, we might not get another chance." Cassandra stated, giving her friend a sympathetic look.
"But we can't just leave him!" The princess cried out, understandably hurt by this statement.
"You friend speaks the truth, Rapunzel." Angeal said. "The pattern of when & where this bridge surfaces in unpredictable. It may sink back into the ocean if you do not go now."
The young princess found herself torn between two sides. After everything Kong did for them, she can't let him die like that. But at the same time, she & her friends must resume their journey to find the source of the black rocks before something else goes wrong. It was frustrating. Rapunzel felt guilt washing over here, just like how she felt when she broke her promise to Varian, which prompted him to go down the dark path. She began thinking to herself: why did she even want to come to Skull Island in first place?
"I'm such an idiot." She thought to herself. Hating herself for this whole mess she started. "Why did I even want to come here? Why am I such a screw up?"
In her self-loathing, Angeal's wise words came to mind. He told her how the harshness of life can corrupt even the purest souls. How life and freedom can bring unexpected consequences and force people to make decisions they never thought they were capable. Than, almost like a miracle, Rapunzel took a long deep breath and silently made up her mind.
"I'm going to save Kong." The golden-haired princess declared. Her tone was calm but firm & left no room for argument. "Whatever happens next, I'm going to take full responsibility and accept the consequences of my actions."
The others looked at each other for a moment, not quite sure what to say. After long & uncomfortable silence, Cassandra took a deep breath and sighed. She approached Rapunzel and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're not going to save Kong, Raps." She stated.
"Cassandra, I-" Rapunzel tried to protest but ceased when her friend raised a hand.
"Because we're going to save Kong." Cassandra finished, giving her friend a reassuring smile.
The others soon adopted the same confident looks on their faces, including Angeal and Jim. No matter what happens, her friends will stay by her side. Seeing this, Rapunzel smiled happily.
"Thank you." She softly said.
Despite being dropped by Camazotz from a significant height & receiving serious damage, Kong managed to recover. Even still, this was a new kind of pain for the Protector of Skull Island as he had never fought a flying opponent before. Sure, he has had a few skirmishes with Psychovultures from time to time, but they were little more than a nuisance. Camazotz, on the other hand, was in a league of his own. If anything, Camazotz was an even greater threat than the alpha Skullcrawler, Ramarak!
Like a hungry hawk, Camazotz swooped downwards with incredible speed, eager to sink his fangs & talons in the giant ape's flesh. But as soon as he came within range, in an incredible display of reflexes, Kong quickly turned around & delivered backhanded fist that connected to the side of Camazotz's head, knocking the hellish bat out of the air & onto the ground! As soon as his foe was on the ground, Kong wasted no time in grabbing Camazotz by the horns and smashing his head against the ground with full force!
The giant bat quickly broke free from Kong's hold and once again took to the air. But this time, instead of his talons, Camazotz wrapped his long, spike-covered tail around Kong's left arm. Just like before, the demonic bat started flying upwards with the giant ape in his grip. This time, Camazotz was planning to drop his opponent from an even greater height and see if he will survive that. But the Protector of Skull Island had no intention of letting Camazotz repeat this same move. In his desperation, Kong decided to put his canine teeth to good use by biting giant bat's tail with his strong jaws!
Camazotz screeched in pain and immediately unwrapped his tail from Kong's arm, allowing him to fall to the ground. Since they were nowhere near the same height they were when Camazotz first dropped him, the fall did no damage to the giant primate whatsoever. Before Kong had a chance to recover & stand up, Camazotz landed on him and pinned him against the ground. Conquest was only one of Camazotz's goals. The giant bat also sought the atomic-rich blood of other kaiju on which to feed — and the blood of this giant primate was just what he needed to satisfy his thirst.
Pinning Kong's left arm with his right forelimb wing, the bat-like monster opened his mouth to reveal countless sharp teeth. Much like vampire bats, Camazotz possessed heat-seeking senses near his nose which allowed him to see where the blood flowed closest to the surface. From Camazotz's point-of-view, the world was dark-purple while the shape of Kong was glowing bright orange like a torch in the darkness. Determining that the jugular was where Kong's blood flowed closest to the surface, Camazotz aimed to bite there. The Protector of Skull Island quickly grabbed Camazotz by the neck with his free hand, struggling with all his might to keep the demonic bat's jaws at bay!
As Camazotz was trying to sink his teeth in Kong's throat & taste his blood, a arrow suddenly came flying out of nowhere and struck the giant bat near the eye. While certainly no enough to harm him in the slightest, the arrow did cause evil beast screech in surprise & turn to see to whoever was bold enough to interrupt his would-be meal. It didn't take long for Camazotz to spot the heat signatures of nine figures nearby. Six of the orange-glowing figures were very small, two were slightly larger, and one was significantly larger than all of the others.
These were, of course, Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene, Lance, Hook-Foot, Angeal, Maximus, Fidella & Jim.
"Say, did I mention I'm also scared of bats?" Lance gulped in dread now that the giant bat had turned its attention to them. "They're my biggest fear right after spiders."
Now that the heroes got good look at him, Camazotz was even more terrifying when seen this close. Lance & Hook-Foot were beginning to regret their decision to help the giant ape, even though they knew it was the right thing to do. Even the normally fearless Cassandra felt a good sense of terror as she stared into the pupiless eyes of this demonic monster.
"Okay Blondie, we got his attention. Now what?" Eugene asked, hoping that Rapunzel has an idea on how they can survive what's to come.
"Heh. To be honest Eugene, I didn't really think this through." The golden-haired princess chuckled nervously. For all her bravery and heroism, Rapunzel can be a bit of a ditz sometimes.
"I suggest we run. Now." Cassandra gulped.
Rapunzel & her friends were wise to heed Cassandra's order as Camazotz let out a furious roar, folded his winged forelimbs & began charging at the heroes on all fours like a black panther! The heroes quickly took off in different directions in hopes of confusing their giant pursuer, but this plan did not faze the beast as Camazotz immediately singled out Cassandra as the one he will devour first.
"Oh, come on! Why me?!" Cassandra exclaimed half in annoyance that she was now the prey, and half in terror for the same reason.
No matter how fast she could run, however, Camazotz easily caught up to her & was ready to devour the handmaiden. But just as the giant demonic bat opened its tooth-filled maw to gobble up Cassandra, as if by miracle, a bolt of lightening suddenly struck down directly in front of Camazotz's face, briefly blinding him & forcing him to cease his pursuit. Disoriented, the giant bat screeched in pain as his vision was heavily affected by the sudden flash of light, giving the handmaiden a chance to escape him.
As soon as the demonic bat finished recovering, Kong suddenly appeared behind him & placed Camazotz in a choke hold by wrapping his right arm around the beast's neck and wrapping his left arm around the left wing.
"Cass, are you alright?" Rapunzel ran over to her friend as Cassandra dropped down on one knee to catch her breath after her near-death experience.
"I'm fine, Raps. But thanks anyway." The handmaiden smiled, appreciating her friend's concern for her. "I'm lucky that lightening bolt struck where it did, otherwise I would have been a goner."
Rapunzel also thought about that, and then realized something. "Cass, you were carrying a sword."
"Yeah. And...?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow, wondering where her friend was going with this.
"Swords are made of metal, and metal attracts lightening." Rapunzel explained, putting together in her mind what actually happened. At that moment, a brilliant idea came to the young princess's mind, prompting a bright smile to form on her face. "Cass, I think I know how to beat that giant bat!"
Try as he might, Camazotz was unable to escape Kong's mighty choke hold. Gritting his teeth, the Protector of Skull Island tightened his grip on the demonic bat, attempting to either strangle him or break his neck. Desperate to free himself, Camazotz unleashed another supersonic scream! The Protector of Skull Island roared & struggled to maintain his grip on his nightmarish foe, even as his eardrums were suffering excruciating pain! Eugene, Lance, Hook-Foot and Angeal were forced to cover their ears, while Maximus buried his head in the ground like an ostrich to escape the ear-splitting sound. Eventually, even Kong gave in to the pain & released Camazotz from his grip, who immediately took to the sky afterwards.
"Ow! That noise was murder to my eardrums." Eugene hissed, rubbing his ears to ease the pain. He turned to his friends. "Are you guys alright?"
"What?" Lance asked rather loudly.
"Are you in pain?"
"What?" Hook-Foot asked, also rather loudly.
"Sorry, what was that?" Eugene cupped his hand to his ear. "I can't hear you guys!"
Due to Camazotz's deafening screech, the four men were temporarily tone deaf and all they could hear at the moment was a high pitched noise in their heads.
Meanwhile, Rapunzel (with Pascal on her shoulder) and Cassandra were racing towards a nearby stone pine tree that was 20 meters in height. Removing her beads, Rapunzel freed her golden hair to its full length of 21 meters, and used it like a climbing rope as she threw it upwards & wrapped a particularly large branch with it. She tugged slightly to make sure the branch won't break — and after she was certain that it won't, she pressed her feet against the trunk of the tree & began climbing it. Rapunzel also carried Cassandra's sword, her frying pan and a rope with her.
"Good luck, Raps. And please hurry. I don't know for how long Kong can keep that thing at bay." Cassandra said, glancing back at the battle between the two giant beasts.
Kong roared & beat his chest as the giant demonic bat hovered over him, flapping his wings to stay airborne. Screeching back at his opponent, Camazotz swooped downwards with extreme speed and readied his sharp talons. Seeing this, Kong pulled his arm back & prepared to punch the fast-approaching bat. As soon as Camazotz came within range, Kong threw his fist forward! But instead of being hit by it like before, Camazotz managed to catch Kong's fist with his talons, absorbing the kinetic energy & surprising the great ape! Not finished yet, the giant bat wrapped its long tail around Kong's arm before flapping his wings & taking to the air while still holding Kong's arm with his tail & talons. Then, deliberately, Camazotz (still holding Kong) began flying low over the ground which resulted in the giant ape getting dragged through the dirt. Wherever Camazotz went, Kong would follow through the ground itself, leaving a trail of disturbed ground!
This went on for nearly a minute before the giant bat finally released Kong's arm! The great ape came to a halt after being dragged through the ground for long enough.
Meanwhile, Rapunzel finally reached the top of the tree. Once she was there, the princess tied the sword & frying pan at the top of the stone pine tree with the rope. "Let's hope this works, Pascal." She told her chameleon friend on her shoulder, who nodded. With that, Rapunzel (and Pascal) used her long hair like a vine to swing down to the ground, where Cassandra was waiting.
The two ladies watched intently, looking up at the raging storm with hope. If this plan fails, Kong may not survive his battle with the giant nightmarish bat. But luck appeared to be on their side, because no more than 2 minutes after Rapunzel placed the metal objects on top of the tree, several bolts of lightening began striking near the tree. "Yes! It's working!" Rapunzel exclaimed in joy. After a few more seconds of patience, not one, but two bolts of lightening directly struck the top of the tree, setting it on fire!
"Yes!" Both Rapunzel & Cassandra exclaimed in joy, happy that their plan worked. Wasting no time, they quickly turned & began running towards the giant primate.
Kong got up and placed a hand on his head, feeling dazed from the rough 'ride' Camazotz gave him. "Kong!" The familiar voice of Rapunzel prompted the giant ape to look down and spot the two women heading his way. Rapunzel & Cassandra stopped near Kong's feet and called out to him.
"Kong! Look over there!" Cassandra yelled & pointed at burning tree that her friend set ablaze.
"Use that tree, Kong! Use it to beat the bat monster!" Rapunzel shouted, hoping the giant primate understood what they said.
Fortunately, Kong understood their words & gestures perfectly well. Giving the two women a quick nod, Kong took off running, determined to reach the blazing tree before Camazotz pounce on him! While Rapunzel, Pascal & Cassandra were glad that Kong understood them, a loud screech from above prompted them to look up at the stormy sky. Much to their horror, Camazotz made U turn & was now racing towards Kong with frightening speed!
"Hurry, Kong! He's gaining on you!" Rapunzel called out.
Thankfully, despite the demonic bat's superior speed when flying, Kong managed to reach the tree in time. Grabbing it by the base, Kong effortlessly uprooted the burning tree. As soon as the giant primate had the blazing weapon in his hands, he immediately turned around & pointed the burning end of the tree at the approaching Camazotz! As soon as Kong did this, the monstrous bat screeched in shock, and, due to his loss of momentum & inability to stop himself because he was flying too fast, crashed into the ground! The Protector of Skull Island was surprised by this reaction, but he didn't have time to ponder why Camazotz reacted this way to the fire & pressed the advantage he now had!
Before the giant bat had time to recover, Kong placed his right foot on Camazotz's chest and pinned him to the ground. Then, while still holding the burning tree in one hand, Kong proceeded to relentlessly pummel the evil beast with his free fist. When Camazotz tried to retaliate, Kong simply brought the burning tree close to his face, which disorientated & triggered some kind of fear response from the demonic bat.
"Yeah! Kick his butt, Kong!" Rapunzel was gleefully pumping her fist as she & her friends watched in delight as Kong mercilessly continued to beat the living snot out of Camazotz!
"So that was your idea, huh? I gotta say Blondie, I would have never thought of that." Eugene smiled & crossed his arms. Rapunzel & Cassandra had basically given Kong the prefect weapon to fight this lover of darkness.
"Cassandra, what did you say the number one rule of combat was?" Rapunzel asked.
"Turn your enemy's strength into a weakness." Cassandra answered with a smile.
"And one thing I know about bats is that they can't stand light." Rapunzel added with confident smile of her own.
"Especially vampire bats." Cassandra finished.
Both Rapunzel & Cassandra knew that vampire bats had unique heat-sensing organs that allow them to see thermal energy. Camazotz was more or less a giant vampire bat — and just like his smaller relatives, he also shared this heat-seeing ability. But this usually useful ability was now a massive weakness thanks to the weapon Kong had. The intense heat of the burning tree was blinding & disorientating to Camazotz, as all he could see was pure red. No images, no shapes, no forms. It was nothing but red from Camazotz's point-of-view.
With a bellowing roar, Kong brought his fist down on Camazotz's chest with all his might, knocking the air out the beast's lungs! With that final blow, the demonic bat stopped struggling & became motionless. Not willing to take any chances, Kong grabbed one of Camazotz's horns and proceeded to drag the giant bat toward the crater from which he emerged. Once there, Kong dropped the burning tree and held Camazotz by the neck, dangling him directly over the hole he emerged from. In a last-ditch effort to break free, Camazotz attempted to unleash a supersonic scream. But Kong simply tightened his grip on the monster bat's throat, disallowing him to breath, let lone so scream.
Kong gave Camazotz a fierce glare, and his message was clear: 'Never come back, or else...'. With that, the Protector of Skull Island pulled back his arm and a delivered devastating punch to the bat-like kaiju's head, breaking his left horn and sending him falling into the crater back to the underground cavern! And just for good measure, Kong also tossed the burning tree into the crater.
With Camazotz's bid for supremacy stopped and the island saved, Kong let out a bellowing roar and beat his chest to proclaim his victory! Not long after the giant bat was defeated, the hostile storm slowly began to subside as the dark clouds dispersed & disappeared, allowing the sun to shine its warm light on Skull Island once more.
Rapunzel & her friends looked at Kong with bright smiles on their faces.
"Yeah! We did it!" Eugene pumped his fist. "We sent that overgrown flying rat packing!"
"Well, to be fair, Kong's the one who did most of the work." Rapunzel specified.
"Of course, Raps and I are the ones who helped Kong beat that monster." Cassandra added with pride.
"Yeah, but we helped, too..." Lance said, trying to sound like he & the guys did something relevant.
"Sure you did! You did an awesome job running around and trying not to get eaten." Cassandra smirked & crossed her arms.
"Hey! You were almost eaten yourself, Ms. Lady-in-Waiting!" Lance huffed.
"What was that, Lance?" Cassandra suddenly adopted a threatening look & cracked her knuckles.
"Nothing! Nothing!" Lance quickly held up his hands and whistled to himself in feign ignorance.
"That's what I thought." Cassandra smirked.
"Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm in the mood of getting off this island. What do you all say?" Eugene asked.
"Heh. I don't think there's much debate on that, Eugene." Rapunzel giggled.
...
Some time later, Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra, Pascal, Maximus, Fidella, Lance, Hook-Foot, Angeal & Jim returned to the beach where they left their caravan. To their relief, the caravan was still there, and 'guarded' by Shorty. Although, 'guarded' would be an understatement as Shorty was sleeping on top of the caravan without a care in the world. But more importantly, the 1-kilometre wide magical bridge that connected to Skull Island to the outside world was still present.
"Whew. I'm glad the bridge is still here." Rapunzel sighed in relief.
"And Shorty's doing a great job watching over our caravan." Cassandra sarcastically quipped, eyeing the still-asleep Shorty.
"I cannot thank you enough for aiding Kong in battle, Rapunzel. We will forever be in your debt." Angeal smiled as he & Jim gave the princess light bows.
"Thank you. Are you sure you don't wanna come along?" The golden-haired princess asked.
"Trust me. I am more than happy where I am." Angeal assured her with a friendly smile.
Suddenly, the group felt tremors as the ground beneath them shook. The sound of trees breaking prompted Rapunzel & her friends to look behind and see Kong approaching them! Once he was no more than 18 meters from them, Kong stopped & bent down on one knee. Without hesitation, Rapunzel (with Pascal on her shoulder) approached giant primate, looking up at him with awe & admiration.
"Hey there, big guy!" She cheerfully yelled & waved up at him. "I know this might seem abrupt, but my friends and I are leaving. We're on a mission to find something. I wish I could stay a little longer, but I have to go now."
The Protector of Skull Island then did something remarkable. Placing the fingers of his right hand near his lips Kong moved his hand forward and a bit down in the direction of Rapunzel. The princess and her friends were surprised by what they saw — Kong just signed 'Thank you'. Even Angeal and Jim were impressed to see this, as they were never even aware that Kong knew sign language.
"Did Kong just say 'Thank you'?" Eugene asked in surprise.
"Yes. Yes, he did." Cassandra confirmed, equally-surprised.
"Heh. You're welcome, big guy." Rapunzel smiled & waved goodbye at Kong. With that, she turned and joined her friends aboard the caravan. Jim gave Maximus & Fidella a warm smile and a respectful bow. The two horses respectively bowed their heads at the Sker Buffalo in return, before they turned & started pulling the caravan towards the bridge.
Kong, Angeal, & Jim silently watched as Rapunzel and friends left Skull Island altogether.
Five hours later, the heroes & heroins continued moving across the magical bridge. Despite the long journey ahead of them, they were happy to leave Skull Island. However, the same could not be said for Rapunzel as she looked at her feet in uneasiness. Eugene, who was sitting next to her, noticed his girlfriend's uneasy look.
"Something on your mind, Blondie?" He asked gently.
Sighing, Rapunzel looked at him. "Eugene, I know when we return we'll continue following those black rocks to see where they lead because it's my destiny. But what do you think your destiny is gonna be someday?"
"Well, aside from hopefully marrying you in the future, I guess I never really thought about that?" Eugene stated, not quite sure. "Is that a problem?"
"No. It's just..." Taking a deep breath, she sighed & continued. "A few days ago, Angeal told me about Kong's destiny."
"Really? And what's that?" Eugene asked, getting intrigued.
"He said that Kong's destiny is to fight a monster. A monster who's power has never been matched before, and who has existed for many eons." Rapunzel said softly, recalling what Angeal told her. "I though the black rocks being my destiny was terrifying, but Kong's destiny is so much worse."
Flashback; 3 days ago
After explaining to Rapunzel how freedom & life are far more demanding than she had realized and explaining the consequences & harshness of life, Angeal placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "You have to be strong Rapunzel. God will be watching you."
This, in turn, caused Rapunzel to smile back at him. "Thank you, Angeal. This really made my day — or night, in this case."
"Since we're all alone now, I think I should inform you on something." Angeal said as he looked around.
"What's that?" Rapunzel now asked in confusion.
"Come, I'll show you." Angeal said as he wandered off, prompting Rapunzel to follow him
...
After a minute or two, Angeal & Rapunzel arrived at entrance of a particularly large cave. Angeal lit up a wooden torch in order to see, before he and Rapunzel entered the cave. The cave was quite large, and all Rapunzel could hear was the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling & hitting the ground, and the occasional cricket chirps.
"You should know Rapunzel, not many of the Iwi like coming to this particular cave." Angeal said as he walked.
"Is it forbidden to come here?" She asked.
"Not quite. This cave contains something the Iwi people do not wish to speak of — or even know about."
Eventually, Angeal & Rapunzel reached their destination. They arrived at a massive cave wall that was covered by old cave paintings depicting different creatures. "We are here." Angeal declared, bringing his torch close to the wall so he and Rapunzel can get better look at the cave paintings.
"What are these?" Rapunzel asked, looking at the cave paintings in fascination.
"Creatures that share our world. We call them Titans or kaiju. Strange beasts that have existed for many millennia." Angeal stated.
Hearing this, Rapunzel looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean by 'We'?"
Sighing, Angeal decided to explain. "I come from a kingdom called Monarch. Our kingdom has had a long connection with these creatures, and it has been our prime duty to study and learn from them. These creatures have been created by God countless eons ago, and many of them slumber all over the world even as we speak."
"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Rapunzel asked, slightly offended that Angeal kept this secret from her & her friends.
"I'm sorry, but it was necessary. There are people out there who will do anything to find the Titans and exploit them for their own benefit. I had to be sure I can trust you, and now I am." Angeal said with a smile.
While still a little bummed, Rapunzel understood his reasoning & he was very much justified in not telling them this earlier. After all, she herself may need to learn who to trust, and who not to trust.
With that out of the way, the princess turned to look at the cave paintings. The first painting that caught her attention depicted a butterfly (or moth) that was being worshiped by people. It was a fairly benevolent depiction. But the same could not be said for the next cave painting, which depicted (what appeared to be) a giant bird with backward-facing horns and bat-like wings. Unlike with the butterfly, the people appeared to be fighting this creature with spears & other primitive weapons. As unnerving as this cave painting was, the next one sent chills down Rapunzel's spine. The next cave painting depicted a dragon with three heads on long necks, spewing (what appeared to be) lightening from its mouths and surrounded by countless human skulls.
By looking at this painting, Rapunzel could tell that this creature was bad news.
"Come, there is more up ahead." Angeal said and walked deeper into the cave. After seeing these cave paintings, the golden-haired princess felt a little hesitant, but her curiosity was too aroused to head back now.
After traveling a little further, Rapunzel & Angeal came across another cave painting. Rapunzel's eyes widened once she saw this new cave painting & what it was depicting. Unlike the other cave paintings, this one depicted a giant gorilla (no doubt Kong) battling a giant bipedal lizard with spikes on its back that also appeared to be spewing fire from its mouth. It didn't take long for the golden-haired princess to put 2 and 2 together.
"Kong is gonna battle that thing?" Rapunzel asked, looking at cave painting with a mix of fascination & worry.
"Indeed. This is a prophecy of a mighty battle that has yet to come. The creature that Kong will battle is a monster who's power has never been matched before, and who has existed for many eons. People refer to this creature as 'The King of Monsters'." Angeal stated.
Hearing this, Rapunzel felt a strong sense of anxiety. With such a title, she could only imagine what this 'King of Monsters' was like.
"Of course, Kong will grow much bigger when he faces the King of Monsters." Angeal suddenly stated.
"Wait, what?" Rapunzel whipped her head around to look at him, completely caught off guard by his statement.
"Sorry, I forgot to mention. Kong is not fully grown; he's currently an adolescent — a teenager. While he is much older than any of us at the moment, Kong's species age extremely slowly. Equivalent to human years, Kong would be 16 or 17 years in age." Angeal explained
Rapunzel's eyes widened & her mouth hung open upon hearing this. All this time, she assumed that Kong was a grown adult. But hearing that he was actually a teenager & had many years to grow, it made her wonder: just how big will Kong get? At 31 meters, he was already huge. The idea that he can grow even bigger than he already is was beyond mind-blowing. Then again, if Kong's destiny is to fight this powerful monster, then he will need all the advantages he can get.
"One more thing, the King of Monsters does have a name, but the Iwi do not wish to speak of it." Angeal said. "They fear his power, and what he is capable of."
As ominous as this creature sounded, Rapunzel knew her curiosity would not be satisfied until she heard this. Hesitantly, she decided to ask. "What's his name?"
Angeal took a long pause before breathing deeply & turning to face the princess. Then, he spoke...
"Godzilla."
I hope you all enjoyed this crossover story between Tangled and the King Kong series from the Monsterverse. For those who are unaware, Camazotz is an original kaiju that appeared in the comic Kingdom Kong, where he fought Kong for supremacy over Skull Island (just like in my story). I can't help but wonder if Camazotz was inspired by Bagorah, another bat kaiju that fought Godzilla in the Dark Horse Comics.
Also, for those who have read Kingdom Kong, you may be wonder why Camazotz didn't have his minions to help him. Well, in my story, Camazotz was much younger than he was in said comic (hence why both of his horns were intact and why he was the same size as Kong).
As you may have guessed, this story took place in the middle of season 2 of the Tangled: The Series, well before the finale when Cassandra was manipulated by Zhan Tiri into betraying her friends.
Note: Despite what you read above, ostriches do NOT bury their heads in the ground when they feel threatened. If they did, they would have survived about as long as the dodo birds. Just wanted to make that clear.