King Kong: The Faunus and the Beast

Chapter XVI

A chasm dropped to a river far below.

Sun stared downward. It was a long drop. Night had fallen, and the dark sky turned the water below into a black color, and it was impossible to see, especially because of how far below it was. If anyone were to fall down there, not even their Aura would save them.

The rest of the search party was walking along the chasm. Sun followed them. Neo was in the lead now. She looked back at the group, smiling. It was as if she felt some sort of confidence being in the front now.

The crew spotted a tree, which had toppled over the chasm, making a log bridge. Sun stood in front of it, staring across. Neo pushed him. He glared back at her. She just smirked at him, and gestured for him to cross the bridge. He shook his head in dismay, and did as she requested.

He walked across the bridge, T-posing to keep his balance. The bridge was big enough for him to cross easily, but narrow enough that if he slipped, he would certainly fall to his death. But the bridge was stable. Not one step caused it to slip or turn. He arrived at the other side.

"Come on!" he called. "It's solid as a rock!"

"Ok," Perry said. "Let's go."

He took the lead without hesitation. Sun smiled. It seemed he was starting to trust him. The others followed afterward, Neo trailing in the back now.

Suddenly, a loud, bestial cry rang out from behind Sun. He spun around, and his eyes widened. Kong stood in the distance, staring down at them. The crew on the log lifted their guns, and opened fire. Kong flinched at each shot that landed.

"Stop shooting!" Sun shouted.

The crew stopped shooting, and started to retreat. Kong growled, and he marched towards the chasm. Sun dropped down his side of the crevasse, grabbing a vine that dangled from the top. Kong's foot bashed down against the edge of the cliff, and rocks fell towards Sun. He swung himself out of the way.

Neo almost reached the end of the log, when Kong grasped it with both hands and started rocking it back and forth. One man slipped and fell immediately, while the other four dropped and grabbed the log. Another man slipped, and Sun watched him fall. Kong was roaring loudly. Sun mistakenly thought his ears were bleeding. Perry fell from the log, and shortly after, one more fell.

Neo stood up, and jumped off the log to the chasm on the opposite side of Kong and Sun. She grabbed one of the vines, and hung the same way as Sun.

Kong roared. He looked down at Sun, and kicked the edge of the cliff again, sending more rocks tumbling down towards him. He swung out of the way, and spotted a cave inside the wall. He climbed into the cave, and pushed his back against the wall. Kong growled. He got down on his knees, and reached one hand into the cave. His fingers came close to Sun. He growled. The edges of the cave were too close together, and if he stuck his hand inside, they were squeezed and cut by the sharpness of the rock.

"Kong!"

Blake ran towards Kong. He'd set her down earlier, and left her to do something. She'd been trying to find a way to leave when she'd heard gunshots. Now she found Kong at the log bridge. She didn't know what he was doing, but she knew he'd killed someone.

The beast turned around. He looked right into Blake's amber eyes, which were glowing once again under the night sky. She saw rage, anger. The blood-red eyes of a vicious animal. How many people did he just kill? Was Sun with them? Did Kong kill him? Kong's eyes softened when he saw her. He stood up, grabbed the log, and tossed it into the cavern. Then, he turned back to her, picked her up, and marched away from the chasm.

Blake looked past him to the crevasse. She could only see Neo climbing back up to the top.

Sun finally had confirmation Blake was alive. He'd heard her. She had stopped him. Kong hadn't killed her, and it seemed she was comfortable enough around him to run to him. She was alive, and Kong clearly had no intention to kill her.

"Neo!" he called to the other side. "You've gotta make it back! Tell Torchwick I'm going on!"

He saw her nod, and raise herself up to the top of her side of the cliff. He grabbed a vine, and pulled himself up, and back onto solid ground. He was safe.

But now, he had to follow Kong . . .