King Kong: A RWBY Story

Chapter XVI

Weiss' eyes fluttered open.

The first thing she saw when the dizziness faded away was Lumpy leaning over her.

"Miss Schnee," he said. "You're awake."

Weiss placed a hand on her head. Where in the world was she? The last thing she remembered was a loud roar, and a log twisting back and forth.

She saw that she was resting near the great wall. She was back in the village. What was she doing here? What had happened after she passed out?

"What's going on?" she said to Lumpy.

"Dr. Oobleck and Miss Belladonna brought you back," Lumpy said. "You were unconscious. They said that everyone was dead, and Miss Rose is looking for Miss Xiao Long."

Weiss' eyes widened in horror. Everyone had died? Was she one of the only survivors? Suddenly, it all came back to her. She remembered what had happened with the log, and she remembered overusing her semblance. If they were all dead, that meant she had failed to save them.

"Is Yang alright?" she asked.

"I dunno," Lumpy said.

Weiss started to stand, but her legs were weak. She fell over, and Lumpy grasped her arm.

"You need to rest," he urged. "You're in no state to be walking."

Weiss shook her head. "I'll be fine."

She forced herself to her feet, and struggled to stay standing. She took one careful step after another, until she was walking as steadily as she could.

She found Oobleck and Blake sitting near the open gate of the wall. Oobleck was taking a drink from a flask, and recounting their story to Captain Englehorn.

"I tell you, Skipper," he said, just as fast and energetic as ever, "this Kong was the biggest thing in the world! He shook those men off that log like they were flies!"

"I think flies would just . . . fly away," Blake said.

She was ignored.

"All those men lost," Englehorn said. "It's unbelievable."

Oobleck nodded. "Ruby said she would try and signal us if she found Yang."

Weiss moved closer. "Are they alright?"

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Ruby's fine," Blake said. "She survived the attack and she's following Kong."

"And Yang?" Weiss asked.

Blake was much more hesitant to respond. "I don't know. I heard her scream. She's alive, but I don't know if she's really okay."

Oobleck's eyes brightened underneath his glasses, as if he had just made an incredible discovery.

"She'll be just fine," he reassured. "As long as she is with Kong, she won't be hurt."

Weiss was disgusted by such a statement, and Blake clearly shared that sentiment.

"Doctor," Weiss said, "he carried her into the jungle! In what world is that safe?!"

"I said she won't be hurt," Oobleck said. "I didn't say she'd be safe."

Now Blake was confused. "What do you mean."

Oobleck stood tall, as if he was filled with pride. "Don't you see? It's Beauty and the Beast!"

Weiss scoffed. "Now is not the time for fairy tales, Doctor!"

Oobleck turned to her. "Listen. Kong could have killed her last night. He has had hours to do so. But he didn't. Instead, he has kept her alive. And remember what happened when he heard Yang scream? He stopped trying to grab Ruby, and ran for her."

"What are you sayin'?" a sailor said.

"I'm saying," Oobleck said, "Kong has become attached to Yang in some way. Its as if he is trying to protect her."

Weiss wanted to argue, but she hadn't seen Kong run away. Oobleck was the one who was conscious when Kong left. He was one of the three who'd seen Kong leave. She had no way to fight against this theory, as ridiculous as it seemed.

And Oobleck knew it.

"You should start believing in fairy tales, Miss Schnee," he said. "We are writing our own as we speak."

Before Weiss could respond, Oobleck turned back to Englehorn.

"Did you have any trouble with the natives?" he asked.

"Only after you left," Englehorn said. "They tried to go out to stop you. A couple shots from our guns got them running like scared rabbits."

"Good," Oobleck said. "Get some men ready. This time we'll need much heavier artillery, and we'll need to keep a closer eye on the gas bombs. We leave at dawn, whether we get a signal from Miss Rose or not."

Weiss looked through the open gate. She could see the darkness of the jungle. Somewhere, deep inside of the dark abyss of the island, Ruby was on her own, trailing a beast so powerful that even Yang, the toughest member of the team, was helpless in his hands.

Dawn couldn't arrive any slower . . .