(Author's Note: I'm going to be brutally honest right now because I'm sick of seeing this: When I see Guest "reviews" badgering me day after day to update instead of leaving actual comments and critique about the content of the story, it makes me want to stop writing. And this chapter would have been written and posted far sooner if you'd kept that crap to yourself.

As well, they're trying to badger me about it in the Review section of the story. Newsflash Sherlock, the Review sections of stories posted to this website are NOT for childish badgering of authors to "update." That's not a review, nor is it a true comment or any form of critique. It's a pathetic and childish demand which you have absolutely zero right to throw at me. Not a single author on this website exists to write the stories they want to tell on YOUR schedule.

I write for fun and as a hobby when I'm inspired and, far more importantly, when I have time in my day to do so. I work a full-time job. I have several smaller side jobs. I have a family. I have a social life. And I have a host of other duties and responsibilities in my day to day life to take care of other than writing fanfiction.

If you cannot or will not respect this and want to insist on badgering me to "update," do me and everyone else who looks forward to reading my work a favor... Go Away.

The people who actually use the Review section as intended by leaving me genuine comments, as well as constructive feedback and criticism about my writing, are the people I want to hear from and interact with. I don't want to see your impatience and immaturity manifesting itself in the Reviews. It doesn't belong there, nor is it welcome.

Thank you.)

The whirring of helicopter blades filled the skies. So much so, in fact, that even the pilots with their headsets could barely hear one another. Kong's weight demanded literally dozens of of them flying in perfect formation at all times while keeping constant communication so as not to hit each other.

"This is insane, Nathan!" Doctor Andrews yelled into her mic.

"I know!" He yelled back.

Doctor Serizawa, Doctor Chen, Mark, Maia, Joe, and Ford were all crammed into one of the choppers with each other holding onto the sides and to each other for balance due to the turbulence.

Kong, meanwhile, rested peacefully on a net held between all the helicopters.

After almost an hour and a half of flying over the Antarctic ice, they finally reached their destination. A massive cave entrance with the inner cave walls lined with technological supports, strings of lights, and scanners and monitors everywhere. Outside lining a semi-circular cliff face which the cave rested within were three or four massive buildings built into the ice. One of which had a helicopter landing pad on it.

The helicopter with the team landed and everyone hopped out ducking their heads and covering their ears as the other helicopters carrying Kong rolled in behind them. Hovering over the center of the opening of the cave, they all lowered Kong to the ice and severed the cable lines. One by one they turned around to return to the naval ships from whence they came while the team dashed through the stairs and halls to reach a higher platform so Kong would see them.

The snap of the cables did the trick. Kong's eyes opened and looked left and right.

What is this?

He sat up slowly before taking a handful of the strange white powder and holding it up to sniff it.

It almost smells like water. But it is not water.

He opened his mouth and shoveled the snow inside.

Wait. It IS water.

Kong shoveled more snow into his mouth for several long moments to enjoy the first drink of pure water he'd had in what felt like an eternity since leaving the island.

Ah... That was good.

Kong's eyes suddenly narrowed and he released a low growl.

Wait. Where is the other?

He quickly stood up and looked around. But there was no sign.

He is not here?

He continued scanning the area before his eyes fell upon the upper platform where Jia and the others stood watching him.

They are all here?

He approached slowly which got Doctor Lind to swallow a lump in his throat.

Kong looked at Jia as she stepped forward and pointed to the Cave entrance.

Home. She signed.

Kong looked at the cave with curiosity and incredulity in equal measure before looking at Jia again.

It is paradise at the end. A beautiful place. She signed.

Kong sat down and began signing back, much to the extreme joy of Doctor Andrews who followed and translated the conversation for everyone.

Why is home in a rock? Kong signed.

The rock is just here. There is more inside. Jia replied.

Home is the island.

Jia hesitated and looked back at Doctor Andrews who gave her a reassuring nod and a gesture to keep going.

Home is gone. Swallowed by storms. There is a new home. She signed.

I do not want new home. I want my home.

Jia's face dropped and her eyes started welling up.

I miss home too. She began as her first tear fell. But there is a new home. A beautiful home. We must go to it.

Kong's lips tightened and he glanced at the cave with visible irritation. He sat up and walked over to inspect the entrance. And looking into the dark depths of its expanses with only these tiny lights to guide a path ahead, he huffed through his nose and went back to sit and sign with Jia.

How can beauty be found in rock?

Jia turned around and looked at Doctor Andrews who stood up straight and ran off only to return a moment later carrying a geode. She handed it to Jia and signed for her to use it as an example. Jia looked up at Doctor Andrews, tears still staining her face, and the Doctor's smile slowly faded as she leaned down and put her forehead to Jia's for comfort.

Jia walked up to the edge of the platform and held the geode up for Kong to see as he leaned in closer.

This is pretty. It's in the rock. She signed after putting the geode down.

It is pretty. But can it be so pretty down there? Kong signed while using his head to motion towards the cave.

Yes. Was all Jia could manage.

"Nathan. This isn't working. Kong's not convinced about the story we came up with." Doctor Andrews said worriedly.

"Tell him there's more of his family down there." He replied.

"Nathan! We don't know that! If we say that's what's down there but Kong doesn't find them what do you think he'll do?" She barked.

"We have no choice!" He barked right back, catching her, and some of the others, off guard.

"If he doesn't go in there and reach the Hollow Earth then humanity's done, Ilene!" He yelled.

"Then maybe it's best we let it happen!" She screamed back at him which promptly silenced any rebuttal he had planned.

She got right up in his face, backing him into the wall.

"You want us to lie to a Titan." She growled through grit teeth. "You want us to dangle "family" in front of him like some 1920's carrot-stick negotiation trick. The more I listen to you, the more I think you've abandoned what humanity you had left after your brother died!" She screamed.

More than a few mouths fell open at that point. And Jia watched in silence with Kong lowering his head to try and see what was happening inside.

Doctor Andrews poked his chest, hard.

"I was on board telling him there was a paradise down there. But lying to Kong about the one thing we know he misses most in this world is beyond cruel, Nathan... I thought you were better than that."

Doctor Andrews turned around and walked up to Jia, cupping a hand to her face with a smile and using a thumb to wipe her tear stains away.

Thanks for trying, Jia. I'm proud of you. She signed.

Jia blinked and wiped her face, and Doctor Andrews approached the edge of the platform, looked up at Kong, and started to sign.

I'm sorry.

Kong's head tilted.

We do not know for certain what is inside. But we have reason to believe that a paradise awaits at the end of the tunnel. A beautiful place. A place where other creatures like the ones on your island may yet still exist.

Kong leaned in slowly.

How do you know this?

She took a deep breath.

We don't know. We hope and pray. We want you to be happy. We want you to have a home. A home not shrouded in unending rain and winds where you will never see the light or feel the warmth of the sun again. And we think that's what is inside.

Kong got up onto his forelimbs and hunched down to take a long look at Doctor Andrews as Jia came up and gripped the bottom of her jacket, still holding her Kong doll. He looked between the girls, to the cave, and back to their faces. He looked at the geode on the ground, and back to the cave.

And at last he looked at Doctor Andrews and stood up straight, looming tall like a mountain over her.

Do you promise there are no lies here? That what awaits is Home. And that if I do not like it I may return to the island?

Doctor Andrews smiled and nodded her head, and that was all Kong needed.

He turned to the cave and lurched forward into a classic Gorilla run on his knuckles straight into the cave.

"Let's go! Into the HEAVs!" Doctor Lind shouted.

Everyone piled into the vehicles and shot after Kong who was already thousands of meters ahead by the time they made it inside.

"Damn he can move!" Mark said in wonder.

"What'd you expect, Mark?" Doctor Chen asked teasingly.

"Well... Not that." He replied with a chuckle.

Kong's pace pushed the HEAVs to their limits as they fought to catch up and keep up. The low hanging stalactites and rising stalagmites of the cave forced them to sometimes slow and adjust course so as not to crash. But Kong either burst through them or managed to maneuver over and under them fluidly with far more grace than one would expect of a creature his size.

"Do gorillas always move like that?" Ford asked.

"Not usually. It looks like Kong's picked up a few tricks though." Mark replied.

"Yay for the monkey." Maia commented sarcastically as she pushed a button on a small device in her pocket.

In Hong Kong, her father stood in a large command room surrounded by underlings working frantically at dozens of computer stations all connected to a single massive monitor in front of him.

"Mister Simmons! You have a message!" Shouted one of the underlings.

"Put it on Monitor One." He replied.

It was a single word: Descent. And the corners of his lips curled into a smile.

Inside the HEAVs, the team all held on tight as Kong reached a sheer drop and they all began to follow downwards into a near perfectly vertical dive with Kong now in freefall after losing his grip on the sides.

"What's that?!" Doctor Chen yelled.

"That's the real entrance to the Hollow Earth!" Doctor Lind replied.

Their descent led directly towards a strange glowing, liquid-like light flowing around the edges of the cave. It was almost direct out of a sci-fi film. Some kind of portal or electro-magnetic anomaly.

"Brace yourselves!" Doctor Lind cried as they got closer.

Kong hit the portal first and disappeared within it. And the HEAVs were soon to follow.

Once inside, the sky, if it could be called that, was a wash of dark blues and purples and filled with lights flashing by leaving long streaks in the air behind them. Almost all sound was muddied and muffled out so the team couldn't even hear themselves grunting against the gravity inversion as it slowly took hold. And true to Doctor Lind's word it felt like a weight being attached to and pulling on their intestines.

Beautiful, Kong thought despite his own shock and fear of the situation.

Another portal-looking anomaly floated ahead. And Kong braced himself to hit it while the others all forced their eyes to stay open as they all leaned back in their chairs. Kong hit first, and disappeared. And as the HEAVs struck the darkness within the portal space the world suddenly went bright forcing all of them to close their eyes and look away.

Kong looked down...

What is this?

Below him was a massive, expansive world. A lush world. Green everywhere. But it also had mountains of dark rock and ash with lava flowing freely. Other areas were desolate and dry like a desert. And others were massive expanses of water. It was almost as if the entire world was contained in this space. And although it looked limited in scale at first glance, looking out at the horizon it seemed as if it went on forever.

Is this...

Kong didn't have time to finish the thought as he felt his arm brush the edge of a massive mountain. He tried to grip it. But his hand couldn't close because he was falling too fast. He dug his hands into the rock which started throwing tons upon tons of small bits of rubble out into the air and sent flying towards the HEAVs.

"Hang on!" The pilot shouted.

The HEAV carrying the team rolled left narrowly avoiding the first volley of debris. The second HEAV was not so lucky and saw the left half of the cockpit area struck by one of the rocks. It knocked the HEAV off course and sent it careening down spinning round and round until the pilot managed to straighten out.

Kong's hands finally found a grip right before he would have fallen out into open space once again, and he hung tight to his perch and started plotting a way down while the HEAVs all fell into the open skies with their engines not cooperating with them.

"Come on! Come on!" The pilot growled.

"What's happening?" Maia demanded.

"The engine's dead!"

"Well FIX IT!" She shrieked.

"I'm TRYING!" He barked.

The ground was growing larger and larger in the cockpit view. The trees becoming more and more defined. And the clouds wizzing past clearing the way for them on their descent. And both HEAVs seemed to be suffering from similar issues related to the engines. And both continued falling as each member of the crew braced themselves for what could only be described as a fast, inevitable end.

However, at the last moment, that feeling of free fall seemed to vanish as the HEAVs both felt a sort of sudden turbulence which knocked both the vehicles and their poor occupants for a bit of a loop.

"Holy shit!" Cried the pilot.

Everyone opened their eyes and looked up and saw massive fingers gripping the cockpit window.

Kong had caught them. Now in free fall himself and headed for the ground at a rapid pace, Kong braced himself as his feet hit the ground first and he used the momentum to push forward and roll several times before skidding to a stop on his back. Kong let out a deep breath and set the HEAVs down on either side of himself and slowly sat up rubbing his legs. Even though he'd landed well, they still took a bit of a beating doing so. And he felt it the most in his knees.

Everyone inside the HEAVs were frozen in silence and disbelief and looking between each other.

"We're alive?" Doctor Lind asked.

"Looks that way." Mark replied.

"And we've got Kong to thank." Doctor Lind said while giving Doctor Lind a rather harsh glare which he winced at.

The HEAV pilot continued messing with the controls, and they finally roared to life.

"We're in business!" He shouted.

"'Bout time!" Maia grumbled.

She reached into her other pocket and clicked another button on a small device. And back in Hong Kong her father read a single word on his monitor: Source. And an ear to ear smile crossed his lips.

"Mister Serizawa. Prepare to synthesize the energy source." He called.

Ren, seated near the back of the room, turned to his monitor and opened a program which he left on Standby.

With the HEAVs now back in operational order and floating along easily, Kong made it to his feet and took in a big breath of air.

This place... It's just like the island.

He looked around in all directions in wonder. He then knelt down and picked up a handful of dirt giving it a whiff before letting it fall to the ground.

It even smells like the island.

The trees to his left rustled, and a pair of small deer-like creatures trotted out and looked up at him before continuing on their way and stopping to nibble some grass.

Those are new. But they are friendly.

Kong stood up straight and looked out towards a massive mountain in the distance with a giant light floating above it.

... There.

Kong took off, and the HEAVs quickly followed suit into the heart of the Hollow Earth.

"Congrats Doctor Lind. You're finishing your brother's mission." Maia commented with a smirk.

Doctor Lind smiled uneasily and looked up at Kong as he raced ahead at full speed.