Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of either Dragon Ball Super or Kong: Skull Island nor the song in this chapter, only how the story goes. Dragon Ball Super belongs to Akira Toriyama and Kong: Skull Island belongs to Legendary Studios. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: We're gonna finally find out what they're gonna do about Broly's erratic wound and how it messes with his power. Also, I plan to put in an Easter Egg that will foreshadow a future story. Hope you all spot it.
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Chapter Thirteen: Escape Plans
(Cue Broly's Sorrowful Situation from DBS Broly)
The group, Marlow and the Iwis all looked to Broly as he fell down on one knee. Conrad walked over to the Saiyan and whipped out a knife. Cheelai and Lemo were about to intervene when Brooks and Weaver grabbed their arm. Broly looked down at his leg where the wound was and James knew where when the Saiyan used his hand to show where it was. Taking the fabric of Broly's pants, he was able to cut a sizeable hole. Once the wound was exposed, he got a good look at it. The wound on Broly's calf looked as if it were a giant spider web spreading out. Looking to the others he said, "This isn't good."
Cheelai, Lemo, Brooks, Weaver and Marlow all took a look at Broly's injury. Brooks gagged at the sight, Lemo's eyes widened while the girls covered their mouths. Marlow shook his head in worry, "No, no, no, no." Then pointing at it he asked, "So this is what's causing you to go out of control, Broly?"
Broly nodded as the pain stopped. The Iwi elders walked over to view the wound and James moved out of the way. They took a look at the wound before looking amongst themselves. Weaver then asked Marlow, "What are they saying?"
(End of track)
"They say that he's been infected with a rare kind of poison." Marlow said as he fought the urge to vomit, which he was doing surprisingly well. Then he said, "It comes in plant form and a little of it can be found here on the island. I've been told that it grows in the darkest caves of the island. It's said to cause an imbalance within those that have infected."
"An imbalance?" Cheelai asked, thinking about all the times that Broly's power ran amok. Marlow nodded and said, "The Iwis once told me that long ago, a villager had been infected with this stuff and he went made."
"What happened to him?" Slivko asked. Marlow then said, "One of Kong's ancestors had sensed the imbalance and they took care of it." He quickly added, "I won't tell you all the details that they told me."
Everyone grimaced at the news. Cheelai then asked, "That's not gonna happen to Broly is it?"
"It doesn't have to." Marlow said as one of the elders came up to him. The two were silent for a few minutes before Marlow turned back to the group. With a smile he said, "Good news, they can help him."
"How?" Cheelai and Lemo asked at the same time. Marlow then said, "The Iwis have their ways."
Looking to Broly he said, "Think you can make it?"
Broly nodded and stood up to his full height. The Iwis led the way out of the temple and the group followed after them.
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Geras walked along the ridge of a mountain range as he kept a small distance from Jack. Ever since he met the human, Geras thought of bringing him to join his new employers. The sounds of nearby hissing brought Geras away from his thoughts and he could sense that the time was coming. Geras ran along the rocky overlook to make it on time.
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The group had come back into the main part of the village. Cheelai then asked, "How are they gonna help Broly?"
"Oh, don't worry." Marlow said with a slight shake of his head. Then with a swipe of his hand he said, "They have a method that's thousands of years old." But then he shrugged his shoulders as he said, 'Of course, they haven't needed to use it in a long time, though."
The group looked to each other with uncertainty at those words. The group came across a large hut. The elders stopped and turned back to Marlow. Marlow engaged in another in-verbal talks and they took a moment. When they finished, Hank turned to the group and said, "They say that only Broly can go in there."
"What? Why?" Cheelai asked. Marlow then said, "Mostly cause he's the only one who needs treatment. But also, he needs to be in a space that doesn't cause him stress." Then pointing between Lemo and Cheelai he said, "And since you two are his best friends, he worries about you a lot, right?"
Lemo and Cheelai looked to each other and they thought about their recent adventure. Then they thought to just a little while ago when Broly fought against Kong. They knew that Marlow had a point. But it didn't make Cheelai comfortable until she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked back to see Broly looking at her with a smiling face. Then he assured her, "I'll be okay."
His friends wanted to object to it, but they couldn't stop him as the Saiyan started to walk to the hut. Marlow then said, "Don't worry, these guys will take good care of you."
Broly didn't say anything as he walked past him and the Iwis. When he walked into the hut, he was slightly amazed at what he saw. It was mostly spacious except for a cot on the ground. Broly guessed that he was meant to lie down on it. He walked over to the cot and turned around when the Iwi Elders walked in after him. One of them gestured to the cot and Broly followed the silent instructions. When he sat down, another elder walked over to a tea kettle and poured the contents into a cup. As the elder were preparing the cup, another made a deep breath motion with their hands. Broly did as instructed and took a deep breath. The elder came over with the cup while the other started lighting some incense on fire. It smelled like burning roots to Broly as the elder handed him the cup. Broly gently took the cup from the elder and looked down at its contents. The liquid in the cup was black and it was swirling. But as he continued to watch it swirl, Broly's eyes slightly widened when he saw a bit of white appear. The two opposing colors soon became a symbol in the cup, as if balancing each other out. Broly looked to the elders and they both made a motion with their hands telling Broly to drink. Taking another deep breath, Broly raised the cup to his lips and started to drink the stuff. The liquid tasted bitter to Broly, but he continued to drink. The Iwi Elders watched as Broly downed the whole cup and when he finished the Saiyan took a breath of air.
One of the elders took the cup from Broly and they both watched to see what would happen. Broly's vision suddenly became hazy as he could feel the effects of the medicine taking hold. The elders gently helped Broly to lay down on the cot. When his eyes looked up to the top of the hut, they fluttered for a moment before closing. The two elders looked to each other before silently leaving.
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The two elders came out of the hut and silently talked to Marlow again. The others looked to each other and they finished their talk. Marlow turned to the group and he said, "They told me to tell you not to worry. He's resting."
"Well, that's good I suppose." Cheelai said. Then she asked, "So how long will it take?"
"Uh, they did say that he took the entire thing of the medicine." Marlow started. Then with a shrug of his shoulders he said, "It could be at least a little over a day?"
"A day?!" Cheelai, Lemo, Weaver and Brooks all asked at the same time. It slightly startled Marlow and Cheelai said, "We don't have that kind of time."
"She's right." James said as he remembered. Walking up to Marlow he said, "Listen, there's a refueling team coming to the north end of the island in three days." Then pointing to Lemo and Cheelai he said, "Also in that time, they say that some monster from the future will be showing up. So we need to find the rest of our team and get off the island."
"You should come with us." Weaver suggested. Marlow then asked, "To north end of the island?"
The entire group nodded to confirm this. Marlow then started laughing as James smiled and said, "We're gonna get out of here."
But Marlow continued to laugh as he placed a hand on Conrad's cheek while saying, "In three days?"
"Yes." James nodded and they both started to laugh. But Conrad's smile dropped when Marlow lightly slapped it. Everyone was slightly put off by it. Conrad slightly glared at Marlow as he stopped and then said, "You can't get to the north end of the island in three days. It's impossible. There's no way." Then looking to the others he said, "And Broly has to take his time in healing."
"I guess Broly could fly after us." Lemo suggested as he turned away from them. The group looked to him as he reminded while shrugging, "Since, you know, he can do that."
"And for us getting to the north end." Marlow said, making everyone look to him. He turned around and said, "We can't get there on foot. But their might be another way."
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Packard's soldiers waded through a marshland as they continued on their way. Flies buzzed around them as they went by. Cole made a fist with his hand to make the other soldier's and Wood's stop. Ahead, Packard and 17 took a look around to see what was around. Raising his rifle, Packard used the scope to see what was roosting in a tree a few yards from them.
Sitting on a rock, was a bird like creature. It was looking up at the tree, but then turned away. Packard made the scope zoom in on the bird to get a closer look. The bird chittered as it went about its business. Lowering the scope with a scoff, Packard then said, "That is a really ugly bird."
"We can probably get around them." 17 suggested and looked for a way to get around the flock. But Packard didn't feel like going around as he raised the rifle again and aimed at the bird. When Packard had a good aim, he fired. 17's head snapped to the colonel as the shot blew the birds head off. The sound of the gunshot scared off the rest of the screeching flock from the tree.
The soldiers watched as the birds flew off in all directions. The android looked to him and said, "That wasn't necessary. We could have done something that wouldn't involve us making more trouble."
"We need to be getting the Chapman and that means no detours." Colonel Packard said. Then quirking a brow he asked, "Now, are you with us?"
17 huffed before Packard started to lead the way again. The soldiers continued to watch the flock as Reles said as if Chapman were there, "Dear, Billy, this place is completely crazy."
Packard and 17 started to move again and it made those behind them move too. Mills then said, "And monsters exist. Under beds and signing paychecks."
"Come on, man." Reles said and looked to his friend. Mills then pointed out, "It seems like maybe he wants to go and kill that ape instead of getting us off this freaky island?" Then he asked, "Are we even gonna make it?"
"Make what?" Reles asked. Mills then pointed out, "The exfil! We gotta be there in three days."
"We'll make it." Cole reassured, "We're gonna make it."
"Yeah, but, Cole, what happens if Chapman's not-" Reles started to ask. But Cole cut him off by saying, "Hey, the Colonel said that he's there, so he's there."
Then with a motion of his hand, he got the everyone moving again. Reles and Mills looked to each other before carrying on.
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Marlow led the group along the river to where he had his idea sitting. Looking back he said, "Me and Gunpei were getting real close to getting it to work." With a shrug he said, "We were planning on taking off for the open seas, try to get home." He sighed as he told them, "That's when one of the Skullcrawlers got him."
Coming to a stop at the bank, Marlow smiled as he gestured to his solution and said, "There she is."
(Cue Grey Fox track from Kong: Skull Island)
Everyone stood on both sides to see what they were looking at. It looked to be some kind of boat made from different parts of something. The group kept looking at the thing as Conrad commented, "Well, that's lovely."
"I guess it's what we got to work with." Cheelai said, knowing that they didn't have a lot of options. Marlow looked to the both of them and said, "You're darn right."
Marlow walked over to it with the rest following. Once they were on board they took a look around. Slivko looked to Marlow and asked, "Does this thing even float?"
"Me and Gunpei spent six years of our lives building this thing. She's called the Grey Fox." Marlow said as he walked along the side of the make shift boat. With a nod he said, "And she does float."
He walked to the back of the boat and turned a part of it. Looking to the group he told them, "Pulled the engine parts from my P-51 and his old Zero." Then he remembered, "Found a B-29 on the beach one day. That was something."
"You gotta be kidding me." Nieves said as he looked the boat over. Then he commented, "This thing looks like it's been made out of pure tetanus."
"Hey." Cheelai said before slapping Nieves in the shoulder. This drew the groups attention as she scolded, "This is all we've got if we're gonna make the deadline. So you might want to show a little more gratitude."
"She's right." Marlow said as he walked away from the part. Placing a hand on one of the ribs he then said, "I know that she ain't pretty to look at, but it's nothing a couple of extra hands can't be able to fix."
"Eh, we did work on a time machine." Lemo said, looking to Cheelai. Marlow then started to say, "I know that it's a bit too late to ask this," Then looking to the two he asked, "but are you two aliens?"
"Yeah." Lemo and Cheelai nodded. Marlow smiled as he said, "Awesome."
"Let's get to work." Conrad said with a smile. Everyone set out to work by grabbing a tool and listening to orders. While Lemo and the guys got to work on the make shift boat, Cheelai, Weaver and San all stood on the sidelines and observed the village. Weaver prepared another roll of film before taking a picture of a few. Cheelai then got an idea and she took the camera from Weaver. Before Weaver could ask her what she was doing, Cheelai quickly taught one of the Iwis how to work it. Taking three spears, Cheelai handed one to Weaver and another to San. They all stood at attention with the spears and smiled as the villager took the picture. Weaver then directed the villagers to stand together for another photo. When they were all in place she then made a peace sign with her fingers. Cheelai and San both laughed when everyone raised their hands. Weaver then took another photo.
(Cue Kong the Protector track from Kong: Skull Island)
The sound of bellowing came to their ears and the girls looked for the source. Moving to the wall, the sound grew louder. Weaver, Cheelai and San all walked through a hole in the wall and looked about for any signs of danger but could only see the large pikes sticking out from the wall. When they didn't see any, they looked for what was making the noises. That's when they saw the source. A little distance from the wall, a giant buffalo had gotten trapped under a fallen chopper and was struggling to get out. It bellowed in pain as the girls all ran over. Weaver looked to the other two and said, "Come on, we've got to help."
"Right." They both said. They all ran up to the downed buffalo and it gave a bellow of fear. They could see the pain and fear in its eye. Then running up to the tail of the chopper the girls tried to push it off the buffalo. But the metal piece was too heavy for all three of the girls. The buffalo let loose another bellow as they all tried to push. Weaver then tried to urge the buffalo, "Come on, get up!"
"You can do it." Cheelai threw in. They all strained as they continued to push. The buffalo continued to bellow in pain. When the chopper still didn't budge, the girls took a moment to take a breather. But before they could try again, the entire chopper started to lifting up.
Weaver, Cheelai and San all took a step or two back as they looked up to see a figure standing over them. The buffalo rose on its feet and lumbered off as Kong looked down at the girls. He narrowed his eyes at them while tossing the busted chopper to the ground. All three of them were nervous as to what Kong might do. But as Kong continued to glare at the girls, he did think about how they had tried to help. With a huff, Kong glared again and turned to leave. Weaver, Cheelai and San all watched as the Ape Titan left before letting out sighs of relief.
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17, Randa and Packard and his men had finally made it out of the marshlands and were walking on more solid ground. They all walked in a single file line while keeping alert for any form of danger. The sound of a snarling creature made them all look around for the source. As Packard looked to the right, he almost missed something. When he looked back he noticed what it was and pointed with his rifle, "Look."
They all turned to what he was seeing as he said, "Well, would you look at that?"
What they saw was a giant bloody hand print from Kong. 17's eyes widened at the sight. Packard sounded a little happy as he said, "It can bleed."
"Wha…" A soldier said, almost not believing it. Packard then said, "We did that. We hook up with Chapman, get those munitions and we'll be able to finish it off, once and for all."
"But like I keep telling you." 17 argued. Packard rolled his eyes as the android said, "Killing Kong won't bring your men back, and it'll only make things worse for the world."
"We'll just see about that." Packard said before he kept on walking. All the soldiers started to follow after him while 17 and Randa were the only ones who lagged behind. Randa looked at the bloody hand print and said, "Magnificent." Then looking to 17 he said, "Looks like we might just be able to pull it off."
"Don't be so sure about it." 17 said with a glare. The android turned and followed after the soldiers. Randa turned back to the cliff face and the bloody handprint. Cole's sudden appearance startled Randa as he asked, "You know why I carry this instead of an M-16?"
"No, why?" Randa asked while turning to the soldier. Cole told him, "Took it off a farmer fighting for the NVA. He surrendered right after he leveled his village. He was fifty years old. Said that he'd never even seen a gun till we showed up." Cole then gave his own brand of wisdom, "Sometimes, an enemy doesn't exist till you go looking for one."
With nothing more to say, Cole turned to follow the others. But before he was out of earshot Randa asked, "What happens when they show up on your doorstep?"
"I'll still have his gun." Cole said while raising it up into the air. Randa nodded and said, "Best of luck with that, soldier."
Randa took a look at the bloody handprint and raised his injured right hand to it. He found it a little scary that both his hand and Kong's hand were both in the same condition. He looked at his injured hand before quickly turning and following the group.
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Lemo and Slivko were connecting a few wires as some rock music was playing. They had separated the necessary nuts and bolts into piles while they were working. Conrad walked by them as he went over the plan while working with Marlow, "Okay. So, we've got roughly forty-eight hours to make it to the north shore." Looking over to the two he asked, "Slivko, Lemo, do you two know what you're doing back there?"
"Yeah! My pop's a mechanic." Slivko said with a smirk. Lemo then said, "And I've worked on quite a few ships in my time, so give me a little credit."
"Sorry." Conrad said. Marlow then asked about what they were talking about earlier, "Hold the phone there, Churchill." Conrad looked up from what he was doing as Hank asked, "Russia was our ally. And now you're saying that we're at war with them?"
"It's more of a cold war." James pointed out. Not really getting the concept, Marlow asked, "Cold war like they take the summers off?"
James didn't know what to say while Nieves shook his head at the back. Lemo then said, "I think it's more on terms of mostly talking and not actually fighting."
James, Slivko and Nieves all looked to the orange skinned alien with surprised looks while Marlow said, "I guess that would make sense."
"What about the cubs?" Marlow asked, changing the subject, "The Cubs win a World Series yet?"
"I don't really know what that is." Lemo said while not looking up from his work. Slivko then said, "The Cubs?" Then with a shake of his head he said, "Man, they're not even close.
"Were they ever good?" He put in. Marlow then said, "Happens to be my team." Then he asked, "Where are you from?"
"Detroit." Slivko proudly said. Marlow nodded and said, "Okay." Then he slightly mockingly said, "Whoa, yeah, the Tigers."
"If I may ask," Lemo said while glancing up for a moment, "what are you two even talking about?"
"Baseball." Slivko and Hank said at the same time. Marlow then asked Slivko, "Did the Tigers win at all this year?"
"I don't know." Slivko said as he kept working with the wires. Lemo then said, "Hand me one of those."
Slivko then handed what Lemo needed. Marlow then asked, "Where are you from, Lemo?"
"From a galaxy far, far away." Lemo playfully said. This caused Hank to laugh a little. He then muttered, "I'd pick the Cubbies over the Tigers any day."
"Hey, who do you think would win in a fight?" Slivko said as he looked to Hank. Then he put out, "A tiger or a cub?"
This made both Lemo and Conrad look to the soldier as they knew he did it to mess with Hank. Marlow, as if he truly knew better, said, "A tiger would win."
Slivko nodded in agreement before kneeling back down in the hole. Marlow then said, "Yeah, because a cub is just a baby bear. A full-grown tiger can eat a baby bear."
Slivko smiled as he had outsmarted Marlow with this kind of logic. Marlow lightly tapped his head with a tool as he said, "Just gotta think it through."
Marlow started to tighten something on the boat. Nieves then said, "We also put a man on the moon."
"No kidding?" Hank said, looking up from his work. Then he looked up into the sky before asking, "What did they do? Just leave him up there?"
Nieves slightly nodded as he felt annoyed by Hank's naivety. Marlow then asked, "What's he eating?"
"Tang. Spam." Nieves said, just saying what came to mind as he knew different. Marlow nodded before looking back up to the sky. Knowing that they were losing time, Conrad then said, "Come on, we're losing daylight. So we need to keep the chit-chat down to a minimum."
"All right, all right." Lemo said as the four continued to work.
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Jack had walked a good distance from the wreckage, but planned on getting back soon. He jabbed his knife into the trunk of a tree and hung his bag onto it. Then taking his radio out he tried calling to his unit again, "Fox Leader, this is Chapman, over."
He sat down on a log as he listened out for a voice. But the only thing that he heard was static. He tried again, "Fox Leader, this is Chapman, over."
Static was the only thing heard by him. When it didn't seem like anyone would hear, Chapman lowered the radio and gave a sigh. Then he thought of how to start his next letter, "Dear Billy…"
A familiar figure quietly stepped through the trees as he heard Chapman say, "Sometimes, life just punches you in the gut.
"Darn it." He said as he set the radio down on the log. He placed his head in his hands as he thought of how this mission was going and how it was keeping him from his family. But before he could do much thinking, the log under him started to move. He gasped as the log raised up and legs appeared from under it. Quickly jumping off, he turned to see that it wasn't a log, but some kind of giant bug that he had been sitting on.
Geras didn't make a move from the trees, but kept observing the situation. He could hear the faint hiss of a small Skullcrawler as it was following the scent of Chapman's blood. Chapman rolled away from the giant bug but dropped his gun in the process. He looked up to the bug as it trilled at him. Chapman backed away as it came closer to him. Thinking that he could make a mad dash for the gun, Chapman went for it and was able to grab hold of it. Quickly standing he opened fire on the bug. It groaned in pain as it was pelted by the bullets. But when they stopped the bug came forward again. Chapman stood at the ready when suddenly the bug went on the defensive and retracted its head back in. The bug turned away from Chapman while Geras looked behind Chapman. That's when Chapman also knew that there was something there.
Slowly turning around, Chapman took shallow breaths to see what had scared the bug off. His eyes widened when he saw a giant lizard like monster behind him. The Skullcrawler leapt with a snarl and opened its jaws wide, thinking that Chapman would be an easy meal. But a fist of sand connected with the beast's left cheek. The blow sent the Skullcrawler tumbling away. It started to get up as Chapman looked to his rescuer. Then he asked in confusion, "Geras?"
"Jack Chapman." Geras said as he glanced back to the soldier. Then he reminded, "Did I tell you not to wander too far from your crash site?"
"You did." Chapman said, starting to regret not taking Geras' advice. He was about to apologize when he saw the monster on its feet and shouted, "Watch out!"
The Skullcrawler made another leap, but Geras acted quicker by making a hammer made of sand and bashed the beast in the face in an uppercut motion. The Skullcrawler shrieked in pain as it was sent over the two's heads and landed with a thud. When it got back up and came at them again, Geras held up his hand and the monster froze in place, surprising Jack. Geras then said, "We need to get out of here."
"But-" Chapman started to say as he looked to his bag that was behind the monster. But Geras then said, "It won't stay frozen for long. We need to be out of here when it starts moving again." Then he assured, "And your things will be alright."
Knowing that Geras was right, Chapman turned and started to run off. But before he followed him, Geras looked back the Skullcrawler before using his talents. Quickly using his magic, he summoned a dead monkey before using his magic to create a sand replica of Chapman. Using his powers over sand, Geras caused the monkey's body to bleed and directed the blood through the sand to the replica. Noticing Chapman's dog tags on the ground, Geras quickly moved picked them up and placed them over the replica's neck. Then he summoned one of the dead soldier's skulls through his magic as well and placed it within the replica's head. When he felt satisfied with his work, Geras created a small sand tornado that whisked him from the Skullcrawler.
The Skullcrawler's time freeze stopped and it bit down on the sand replica in one go, making the monkey blood splatter everywhere. It instantly knew that it was sand that it had swallowed and tried to cough it up. When it felt that it had got a good amount out of its system, the Skullcrawler left the area.
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Chapman had run a good distance from where the Skullcrawler had attacked him and would have kept running had sand not started to blow everywhere. He covered his face as he looked up into the sky to see Geras descending upon him. When the warrior had set down, Chapman then said, "I don't know how to think you for saving my life."
"Though while your gratitude is appreciated," Geras said, "it was you humans say, "it was no big"."
"Who says that?" Jack asked. Geras then said with a shake of his head, "Not important." Then he said, "But your friends will be at the wreckage by this time tomorrow."
Turning to the direction of the crash he said, "It would be best if we headed back."
"I guess that we should." Chapman agreed. As they started walking, Jack asked, "So, who exactly are you? And why are you on this island?"
"Though while I am not at liberty to give you the full details about my mission." Geras stated, making Chapman feel as if he were some kind of agent. Geras then said, "I'm here to save the future."
"Save the future?" Jack asked and quirked a brow. Geras nodded and said, "I did try to warn your commander of this mission back at the base in Vietnam. But I guess his pride was telling him to serve."
"Well, we are soldiers." Chapman pointed out. Geras then said, "And there is nothing wrong with that. But I did tell him to be careful of those he trusts, and look where it's gotten you and your team."
Chapman knew that Geras had a point and then asked, "Do you know about those four people who were with Randa?"
"I do." Geras said. Then he lied, "They come from a dystopian future in which creatures such as the lizards and the giant ape run amok."
Jack was shocked by what Geras was saying. Then he asked, "What can I do to help?"
"Though while your commander will try to avenge the deaths of your fallen comrades," Geras started. He shook his head as he revealed, "his planned assault will not do anything against the one he seeks to destroy."
"The ape?" Jack guessed. Geras nodded and then said, "But luckily, my employers from the future are sending our own monster to destroy the ape and every threat to humanity on this island."
"When does it get here?" Jack asked. Geras then revealed, "In about two days, give or take."
"Do we warn the Colonel about his plan?" Chapman then asked, really wanting to know how to help. Geras shook his head and then warned, "No. The Colonel will go through his plan and it is already recorded into history. We must not alter the past too much."
Chapman knew that that made at least a little sense. Then he asked, "Is saving me going to alter the future?"
Geras stopped in his tracks before turning to Chapman. Placing a hand on the soldier's shoulder he said, "If it does, it will be to a better future." He smiled as he said, "One in which your family will rejoice."
Chapman smiled at the thought of seeing his family again and felt even happier knowing that they could have a bright future. Then putting on a serious face he said, "Then let's get back to the Sea Stallion."
The soldier started to walk again while Geras walked from behind. The warrior of time smiled while saying, "That's a good soldier."
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The rest of the day quickly faded as night soon came over the village. And even though the day was done, the sky started to dance with lights. While the rest of the village settled down to sleep, the group and Marlow retreated to where they would be staying for the night. It was some kind of boathouse that had washed up on the island sometime ago. As he walked by, Slivko started a record player and a rock song started to play. Nieves stood behind Marlow as the older man started to shave. Without looking away from what he was doing, Marlow asked, "What kind of music is that?
"What ever happened to swing? Benny Goodman?" He added while Slivko fiddled with a spear. Slivko smiled as he said, "You're like a time-traveler, man." He continued to play with it as he said, "I'm tellin' you, this is the new sound. And it's awesome."
"Hey! Take it easy with that thing." Lemo said as he and Cheelai was walking by. Slivko stopped playing with it as his friend walked in. The orange skinned alien looked at the wall of tally marks and then said to Marlow, "Man, I'm willing to bet that being here wasn't all that great."
"It had its ups and downs." Marlow said as he continued to shave. Then with a slight glare he said, "I don't know if I'm gonna like whoever's under this beard."
"I really hope that thing you call a boat can get us upriver in thirty-six hours." Nieves commented as he walked around the older man. Cheelai and Marlow both looked to the scientist. Nieves sounded a little too paranoid as he said, "Because if we miss that window, we're, literally, up a creek."
"Maybe it would have helped if you actually worked on it." Cheelai commented from the corner. Nieves looked to her and said, "Excuse me, I did help."
"No you didn't." Marlow, Slivko, Lemo and Cheelai all said at the same time. Cheelai then said, "You were sitting at the bow with your thumbs up your butt."
"Yeah, well, I didn't see you doing any of the work either." Nieves shot back. Slivko then threw in, "At least she's not being a sad sack like you."
They all looked to the soldier with wide eyes and three of the five were impressed. Lemo looked to Cheelai as she looked away, worried about Broly.
Brooks handed San his notebook and she flipped through it as he said, "When I first wrote that paper on the Hollow Earth theory, the whole committee laughed out loud."
"Not Randa." San guessed. Brooks nodded and then said, "The one guy in the crowd who actually took me seriously." Then talking about the four he said, "And now I've got people who say that my theory is correct."
"It must be an exciting day for you." San said with a smile. Brooks chuckled and said, "Yeah. It kind of is."
Then with a shrug he said, "Then I thought that Randa was crazy when he said that the earth was full of monsters."
San slightly laughed at that.
Marlow was nearly finished with his shave as he said to the four, "I can't tell when I'm talking or when I'm not talking."
"You're talking." Nieves said. Marlow then asked, "Am I?"
"Yes." Nieves nodded. Marlow then repeated, "I'm talking?"
"Yes." Nieves said with another nod. The two kept talking with each other while Slivko continued to play around with the spear when Conrad walked into the room. He walked over to where Weaver stared out into the sky as it continued to dance. Her camera stood on a stand and it was facing up into the sky. Conrad then asked her, "Isn't it odd how the most dangerous places are always the most beautiful?"
"Mmm." Weaver nodded. Then she said, "I'm trying to take a long-exposure photograph," She was a little bummed out when she said, "but my flashlight broke."
"Oh. Um…" James looked down to the lighter in his hand. He ignited it and then offered, "Try this."
"Thank you." Weaver said while taking the lighter from him. She held the lighter up to the camera and set to work. While she turned a dial she asked, "Royal Air Force?"
"It was my father's." Conrad told her. Then he revealed, "He threw it to me from the train as he rolled off to fight the Nazis. He was like John Wayne to me." He shrugged as he said, "Some kind of mythic hero."
"Did he come back?" Weaver asked, feeling as if she didn't want to bring any painful memories back. Conrad shook his head as he told her, "His plane went down near Hamburg. They searched for him for months but…" Weaver felt sorry for him as he said, "I suppose no man comes home from war."
When he didn't say she figured it out. Cheelai walked up beside them and said, "Well, at least your old man was a lot better than Broly's ever was."
"What do you mean by that?" Weaver asked. Lemo joined them as Cheelai said, "When we first met Broly and his father on Vampa, they were survivors of a lost race. But after some time to get to know them, we got a glimpse of the man Broly's father was."
"What kind was he?" James asked, feeling that he wouldn't like the answer. Cheelai shook with anger as she remembered, "He took advantage of Broly's power. Treated him like a weapon, tortured him when his power flared. It was sick to watch."
"Broly's father abused him?" Weaver asked. Lemo nodded and said, "Basically. The guy was so bent on revenge that he couldn't see what he was doing to his own son."
"I'm not sure that I would like the guy." Weaver commented. Cheelai scoffed and said, "Join the club."
Weaver started to look around the room when she noticed something sitting on the night stand. She saw a white music box with golden-brown floral leaf patterns on all four sides and the top. A small handle was attached to the side. Walking over to the night stand she asked, "What's this?"
"Oh, that?" Marlow said as she picked up the music box. Then he pointed at it with his razor and said, "Me and Gunpei found that a few years ago in the river." Then shaking his head, he sounded disappointed, "We could never get it open though."
"What did the Iwis think of it?" Cheelai asked as she looked over Weaver's shoulder. Marlow shook his head before saying, "They told me that they felt some kind of evil in there. But Gunpei and I never noticed anything weird about it?"
"Surprise there?" Nieves sarcastically said. Cheelai threatened the scientist with a fist, making him shut up. Marlow then said to Weaver, "You can keep that if you want."
"Really?" Weaver asked as she looked the music box over. Lemo then said, "Anyone want to see if they can open it?"
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17, Randa, Woodward, Packard and his men had settled down for the night as well. Some looked up into the beautiful sky. Cole walked by a star-gazing Mills and said, "Mills, quit looking about. I'm going on perimeter."
Randa, 17 and Packard all sat around a campfire. Randa then said, 'Colonel Packard," The military leader looked to the scientist as Randa said, "this mission to the crash site if folly."
"The whole mission became folly when you didn't tell us your intentions." 17 argued. Randa ignored the android as he spoke to Packard, "I understand about going after your man. But the rest of it…"
Packard finally looked up from the flames as Randa shrugged and said, "This is beyond us."
"Neither of you don't like the way I'm running things?" Packard asked both Randa and 17. 17 then said, "Look. I know that you're really angry about what happened to your friends. But you're letting the need for revenge cloud your judgement."
"And what would you suggest I do?" Packard questioned while looking to 17. 17 then said, "My suggestion would be; find Chapman, meet up with the others and get off the island. Because should you stay and fight against Kong, you're liable to make your whole world crumble."
Packard looked as if he were thinking and both Randa and 17 waited to see what he would see. Packard then said, "You guys set this all-in motion when you put this place on the map and wanted to come here." With a shake of his head he added, "And I will not cut and run. I know an enemy when I see it."
Neither 17 or Randa said anything, but just felt at odds with each other.
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Up on one of the peaks of the island, where it looked like a giant skull was embedded into the rock but was actually a few rock segments, Kong sat on the edge of a cliff. He looked up to the sky as it danced. The ape Titan wondered if his parents were looking down at him from the dancing lights. His mind wondered to that strange small yet powerful little creature. Kong remembered how the creature had acted during their battle, but could feel that the small creature had been suffering a great deal. His mind switching to other thoughts, Kong laid down on the cliff and closed his eyes to sleep.
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Author's Note: This is the longest chapter of this story. And I hope that you all noticed the Easter egg that I put in. And FYI, Broly won't be seen in the next chapter, because in the chapter after I have something big planned. But in the next chapter, ideals will clash and a few punches will be thrown. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.
