King Kong: The Legend of Skull Island [Wattys 2017]

Chapter 9

Kong, Gorosaurus, and Varan ran towards the village as fast as they could. Even though Varan could fly, he ran with the others since he didn't know his way around the island. Eventually, they reached the village. Kong could see the Skull Crawlers had obviously become even more of a problem than they were before. They had torn buildings apart and ripped trees to the ground. Kong simply looked around in a state of shock.
"It's gotten pretty bad recently." Gorosaurus said. "They nearly destroyed everything."
"And the villagers?" Kong asked.
"Most of them are fine." Gorosaurus explained. "I've managed to relocate most of them out of the village. Some of them... didn't make it."
Kong closed his eyes and clenched his fist. His villagers were in danger, and he wasn't there to help them. People he were supposed to protect died. He would make the Skull Crawlers pay.
"This is a little more depressing than I hoped it would be." Varan muttered. "Uh... by the way, what do these Skull Crawlers look like?"
"A bit like humans, but really skinny and with exposed skulls." Gorosaurus explained. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason." Varan shrugged. "But I think we're in trouble."
Picking up on what he was saying, Kong and Gorosaurus turned to where Varan was looking, and saw the group of Skull Crawlers running towards them. They all brandished their individual weapons, except for Kong, who had gotten used to fighting with his bare hands. He clenched his teeth and stared foreword with a determined glare. He wouldn't let these creatures attack his kingdom any longer. But right as they Skull Crawlers were upon them, something strange happened. A figure wearing military-grade body armour covered in camouflage dropped down from the trees. Kong, Varan, and Gorosaurus, along with the Skull Crawlers stopped to stare at the figure. Kong was especially perplexed. He had never seen this figure before.
"Who is that?" He asked.
"I... don't know." Gorosaurus admitted. The figure turned towards them, but they still couldn't see their face, since it was covered in a black balaclava.
"You three get back, now!" The figure ordered. Now Kong was really confused. He could tell the voice was female, and he could have sworn he had heard it before. Like the others, he did as he was told and stepped back a few feet. The figure nodded and pulled a dark green cylindrical object off of her belt. She threw the object at the group of Skull Crawlers, and quickly ducked behind a tree as the object exploded. Kong could guess the object was some sort of bomb, and quickly shielded his eyes from the explosion. Once it was over, he looked up only to see that the Skull Crawlers were no longer in one piece. He turned around to see Varan and Gorosaurus also reacting to the results of the explosion.
"...Whoa." Varan said.
"What was that?" Gorosaurus asked.
"That was a grenade." The figure explained, stepping towards them. "Allow me to explain. I'm part of a research mission to study Skull Island, but it's a lot harder with these Skull Crawlers running around. We've been authorized to kill them on sight."
"Well, in that case, you're certainly doing the island a favour." Gorosaurus said. The figure nodded.
"Now, I'm going to need you're help." She said. "I'm looking for someone. Someone named..." Her eyes seemed to fall on Kong, and the two made eye contact. She completely froze, and Kong could see her eyes widen in surprise through her mask.
"...Kong?" She asked.
"Yes? Who are you?" Kong responded. To his surprise, the figure ran over to him and hugged him tightly.
"I missed you!" She said. At this point, Kong was able to guess who the figure was.
"Hana?!" He asked. The figure pulled away slightly so she could pull the mask off of her face. Long blonde hair tied into a ponytail billowed out as her smiling face was revealed. Indeed, while she was a little older than when Kong had first met her, this was Hana.
"Miss me?" She asked.
"I... I don't know what to say." Kong said, hugging her back. Gorosaurus realized what was happening, and grabbed a very confused Varan's shoulder.
"We should leave these two alone." He suggested. Varan nodded and the two left the area, leaving Kong and Hana alone. Kong was still struggling to think of something to say, and finally settled on something. "Um... do you still have my knife?"
Hana nodded, reaching into one of her pockets and pulling out his knife. "Never leave home without it." She said. "Do you still have my pyjamas?"
"Surprisingly, yes." Kong chuckled.

After some introductions, Kong and Hana were free to sit and talk together. Since she was no longer wearing her armour, Hana was able to wear her hair down rather than up in a ponytail. She now wore a white shirt, black hoodie, and brawn cargo pants. Now they were talking about what they had been up to for the last 11 years.
"After I graduated college, I started traveling." Hana explained. "I've practically been all over the world now. I wanted to come back to Skull Island, but I've never had the chance until now. This mission was my first chance in a while, but I had to go through some training before I was able to come here."
"What kind of training?" Kong asked.
"Well, I'm trained in 3 kinds of martial arts." Hana half-bragged. "I could probably take you on now."
"Maybe you could." Kong nodded. Hana laughed at his response.
"So, what have you been doing?" She asked.
"Well, recently, I started working with Godzilla." Kong explained. "He and many other Kaiju, including myself, have saved the world from aliens and other evil Kaiju multiple times."
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Hana nodded. "I remember hearing about a big demon guy named Bagan. Were you involved in that?"
"Yes, technically." Kong shrugged. "It was mostly Godzilla, though."
"And have you met Mothra?" Hana asked. "I always thought she was cool."
"Yes, I have." Kong nodded. "Also, she and Godzilla have recently started dating."
Hana laughed again. "I knew it!" She chuckled. "And he said it would never happen."
Kong had to laugh as well. "Yes, they're practically inseparable."
Hana sighed and brushed some her hair behind her ear. She seemed a little more nervous now for some reason. After a few seconds, she spoke again.
"So, what about you?" She asked. "Did you finally find yourself a queen?"
The mood seemed to change after she asked this question. Kong cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head.
"No, not yet. I've been... busy." He said. Hana nodded, but Kong wasn't quite finished yet. "Why exactly did you ask?"
"I dunno. Just curious I guess." Hana replied. She stared at the ground and began to stroke a lock of her hair. Both she and Kong knew the real reason, but neither one wanted to bring it up. Kong found it both amusing and irritating that talking about relationships was the one thing that made him nervous. Eventually, Hana spoke up again.
"Well... also, I was wondering if... you still wanted me to... be your queen." She muttered, chuckling nervously as she did so. She seemed even more flustered after asking her confession. In her mind, she was practically screaming at herself. Kong could see her face was now bright red. He couldn't help but find it amusing, even cute. He placed a hand on hers, and she looked up at him.
"Hana, do you want to be my queen?" He asked.
"...Y-yes." Hana said. She was still nervous. To calm her down, Kong brushed some of her hair out of her face.
"Then... I would love to have you as my queen." He said. Now Hana smiled. She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him.
"Are you asking me to marry you?" She asked.
"I suppose I am." Kong said, a smirk forming on his face. There was no reason for Hana to be nervous anymore. Both she and Kong leaned in at the same time and kissed. They had both been waiting for this moment for a long time. Their lives were about to change quite a lot, but as long as they they were together, they could face anything.

The End...