Chapter 23 Dry Bones Kong

Pom Pom and Wendy exchanged a wide-eyed look, all while Pom Pom's heart pounded. "What was that?"

"I dunno. I think…"

"AAH!"

The screams that came from out in the hallway made Pom Pom gasp. Fishing her ninja star out of her hammerspace, she bolted out of bed. "We need to go see what's happening!" She gave Wendy a worried look. "Someone might get hurt for all we know!"

Wendy looked concerned before her brow tightened in determination. "Right." She ran over to the dresser and picked up her rings, not even bothering to put on her necklace or her bow. Running across the floor with bare feet, Pom Pom followed her as they made their way out into the hall. The screams that they heard in the room grew louder and more frequent. It was almost like a threat, a warning that whatever was happening in the hotel could and would result in the girls getting hurt.

"AAH!" Another person screamed, the voice completely distinct from the first scream.

"This way!" Wendy pointed forward, and they ran down the hall. They weaved in and out of the passageways, all while Pom Pom's stomach churned. They were currently on the hotel's second floor. If they had to get down to the first, then that could be rather cumbersome.

"SOMEONE HELP!"

Yeah, the screams were coming from the first floor. Swallowing a lump, Pom Pom sped up when she saw the door that would take her to the stairwell. Bursting through it using the side of her arm, she took the stairs two at a time. Wendy tried to keep up but was clearly having trouble. That was alright though, as it was Pom Pom who should logically be doing the most in terms of fighting. Wendy was her princess, and thus she needed to defend her.

This thought inspired her to take the stairs three at a time. It felt like a miracle when she finally arrived on the first floor. Her eyes looked this way and that, and she noticed some people were running out of their rooms to the entrance. Some of these people looked like they had been jolted awake and were acting on pure adrenaline. Frowning, Pom Pom tried running against traffic. The further into the hallway she got, the more crowded it became. It wasn't to the point that the scared civilians were tripping over each other, but it was still pretty claustrophobic.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

If she strained her ears, Pom Pom could hear shuffling around the corner at the end of the hallway. Telling herself that she couldn't turn back, she pushed through the throng. She started prepping herself for whatever might be causing so much distress. Whether it be an active shooter or some other criminal going ballistic, she would fight them. She would fight them with her life. She turned the corner…

And gasped. She stood still as a statue, her eyes wide as she took in the sight. It wasn't a criminal, it wasn't even a person. Rather, it was a skeleton. Specifically, a skeleton tha resembled a kong. This skeletal kong TOWERED over everyone, his head almost reaching the hallway's ceiling. Pom Pom rubbed her eyes, unsure if this was real. This had to be a dream! There were many different types of creatures that could become dry bones: koopas, piranha plants, buzzy beetles. However, kongs were not on that list.

"RAWR!" The Kong roared, and Pom Pom noticed something shiny in its closed fists. It looked like jewelry and coins. Was… was this skeletal ape stealing people's belongings? What the fuck…?

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

The sound of Wendy screeching out the question was what snapped Pom Pom out of her trance. Brandishing her ninja star, she charged toward the skeletal ape.

"HYAA!" She threw her ninja star at the ape's head. It sliced through its neck, making its head fall off and tumble down to the floor. The ninja star bounced off a light fixture up above, landing two feet away from the Kong and four feet away from Pom Pom. She rushed to get it, but amazingly, the lack of a head didn't seem to affect the beast in the slightest. It repositioned itself and kicked its head at her. Since she had no space or time to react, it hit her square in the jaw. She collapsed to the floor.

"Pom Pom!"

"RAWRG!" Both Pom Pom's ears and her jaw hurt as the Kong roared. In her peripheral vision, she could see it pick up its head and place it back on it shoulders. It had to put the treasure down as it did this, which based on its facial expression was NOT something it was happy about doing. Pom Pom tried to rise to her feet, but the Kong jumped up and ground its foot into her face. Pom Pom couldn't even gasp, couldn't even scream. On paper, it might not seem like a bare skeleton with no muscles whatsoever would be so heavy, but don't be fooled. It felt like Pom Pom had an anvil on her cheek, which was pressed deeper and deeper into her skin.

"GET OFF OF HER!" With a flick of the wrist, Wendy sent her ring whip sailing toward the monster. That pushed it back, allowing he cadet freedom of movement and breathability. Gasping, she rose to her feet. Looking forward, she saw the skeletal kong glaring at Wendy. Looking behind, she saw Wendy glaring at the skeletal kong.

"You wanna hurt my friend, you go through me!" Wendy furled her ring whip back up and got her other bracelet ready. Pom Pom watched bug-eyed as it grew in size, expanding like a balloon. When it got to a size Wendy was satisfied with, she hurled it at the kong. It sliced into his torso, effectively sawing him in half. But like with his head, this didn't seem to be detrimental to him; if anything, it was just a minor inconvenience. Lifting his top half up with his hands, he charged a Wendy. Shrieking with a very ape-like sound, it hurled the treasure it had stolen at Wendy. Coins shot toward her like bullets, making her shriek and use her arms as a shield to protect her face.

"Wendy!" Pom Pom bolted to her feet, ran over to fetch her ninja star, and threw it toward the kong. It sliced off his hand, making him turn and grit his teeth at her. It then threw a coin at her, which hit her right in the eye. Groaning, she placed her hand to it, wincing at how much it throbbed.

"I… I can't…" She realized that she couldn't make good progress this way, she needed another strategy. She debated whether or not to do her ultimate attack, but before she could fully decide, the Kong's bottom and top halves reattached to each other and he charged at her. Gasping, she went into her shell. She still hurt, so instead of rising into the air, she simply zoomed toward him. She expected to feel bone colliding with shell, but she didn't. She felt confused until, much to her terror, she was forced to stop. Two bony, tightly gripped hands grabbed her shell and raised her into the air. She tried to get out of her shell, but didn't have enough time before…

SLAM! The kong smashed her into the ground. She screamed in pain, but that mattered very little to her undead opponent. He did that multiple times. SMASH SMASH SMASH! Each time her body made contact with the floor only served to make Pom Pom feel even worse. It felt as though her own bones were breaking, splintering as a matter of fact.

"STOP THAT!" Wendy sent her ring forward in the form of a lasso, and much to Pom Pom's relief, it wrapped around her. She pulled against her, and the kong pulled back. The resulting tug o' war was absolute AGONY for Pom Pom. She tried not to scream, tried not to let the pain get the better of her. She tried holding in her tears before she realized she could do something to help Wendy. Her legs shot out of her shell, kicking the kong in the ribcage and pushing him back. He dropped Pom Pom in the process, and Wendy ran up to her.

"Pom Pom? Are you alright?"

Pom Pom assessed the situation. While her arms hurt and hurt BADLY, she could still move them. Feeling her different appendages made it clear to her that they weren't broken. A little surprising to her, but it was still understandable. Koopas could withstand a lot of force and physical trauma. Of course, she still hurt; it would probably be a while until she could comfortably stand.

"I'm alright. I just…"

The kong jumped into the air and slammed its fists into the floor, creating a shock wave that pushed both Pom Pom and Wendy back. Pom Pom gasped as he landed on her shell, and she heard Wendy's bracelets going flying off of her wrists and sliding across the carpet. The kong jumped over Pom Pom and, with its newly restored hand, picked up Wendy by the arms. Wendy gasped, and the kong roared in her face. The sound shook the entire building, once again endangering Pom Pom's eardrums. It was truly an act of mercy that the kong stopped at all. He slammed Wendy into the ground, picked up as much of the stolen treasure as he could, and ran down the hallway.

That… what? The fight was over, just like that? Pom Pom rose to her feet, blinking her eyes out. The kong wasn't going to continue trying to beat them up? He was just going to retreat, just like that? Uh… okay. Pom Pom certainly wasn't going to complain about that. She was still alive, and despite her injuries, she knew she would make a speedy recovery. She knew Wendy would make a speedy recovery too.

"Wendy…" Pom Pom stepped forward and cried out when her foot made contact with the floor. Again, while it wasn't broken, it was still injured, meaning putting her weight on it was excruciating. She hobbled over to Wendy and held out her hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Wendy took her hand and shakily rose to a standing position. Once she was situated, she cringed while looking at Pom Pom. "Are YOU alright? You took quite a beating."

Pom Pom winced. She placed her hand to her eye, which no doubt was starting to bruise. "I mean… I'm nowhere near one hundred percent, but I'll manage."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. No need to worry about me."

Wendy stood still for a moment with her eyes on Pom Pom before nodding. "Alright." She scratched her head. "I don't… understand. How could there be a dry bones kong? Kongs can't become dry bones; it's not possible!"

"I know! I was wondering the same thing!" Pom Pom put her hand to her chin. "It's so strange."

"Yeah. It is." Wendy turned in the direction that the kong had gone running off to before seizing up. "Oh no!"

"What?"

"My bracelets!" Wendy rushed down the hall, her breathing rate becoming shallow. "They're gone!"

"Gone?" Limping, Pom Pom made her way over to the princess. She remembered hearing the bracelets flying off of Wendy's wrists, so logically, they should be somewhere in this area. That was the most logical thing to think, but somehow, the bracelets were gone. Looking around the hallway didn't help Pom Pom or Wendy locate them either.

"Where'd they go?" Pom Pom asked.

"I don't know!" Wendy looked this way and that. "They've gotta be somewhere!"

"Yeah, it's not like they could've just gotten up and walked… wait." Pom Pom's eyes grew wide, and chills ran up and down her spine as she looked back at her princess. "Wendy. That kong. He had stolen treasure from the people in the hotel. I think he might've taken your bracelets before running off!"

Wendy gasped as terror seized her expression. "No! No no no! I need those bracelets!" Desperation was visible for all to see as she ran up to Pom Pom. "Those bracelets are my weapons! I never go into a fight without them! We need to get them back!"

"Right." Pom Pom put on a determined face. "And we will." Her eyes scanned the floor before she located her ninja star. Breathing a sigh of relief over the fact that the kong hadn't taken that too, she limped over and picked it up. "Come on, Wendy. Let's follow that kong."

"But Pom Pom, what about you?" Wendy rushed over to her. "Don't you need to go to a hospital…?"

"No Wendy, I'm fine." Pom Pom put on a determined face. "We're already under a time crunch as is. We can't afford any hospital trips." She tightly gripped her weapon. "We're going after that kong and we're gonna get your bracelets back. FAST."

Wendy looked stunned before nodding.