King Kong: A RWBY Story

Chapter XVIII

Torches lit up the village.

Night had fallen, and the crew was seated at the great wall, waiting for dawn to arrive so they could set off to find Ruby and Yang.

Blake was pacing back and forth. She prayed that Yang was safe, and that maybe, by some miracle, Ruby had already found her, and they were on their way back.

She didn't believe in Oobleck's story of Beauty and the Beast. It was just too much of a fairy tale. The idea that a beast would become infatuated with Yang was too much of a fantasy to be real. But she couldn't help praying it was true. She couldn't help hoping that the beast that captured her friend would at least protect her from harm.

She couldn't keep waiting like this all night, but she knew she didn't have a choice. She couldn't go in there alone. She had barely made it out of the jungle alive, even with Oobleck, Ruby, Weiss, and twelve men by her side.

Still, she wanted to at least look through the gate. She wanted to look into the jungle, and imagine seeing her friends running from the darkness.

She moved over to the gate, and stared out into the darkness of the trees. She could've sworn she'd seen two human silhouettes.

Wait a minute. That was real.

To her shock, Blake watched as Ruby and Yang emerged from the jungle. Ruby was soaking wet. Her outfit was wrinkled, the stockings on her legs were torn, and her combat skirt was sagging. Yang looked much worse. She was exhausted, and just as soaked as Ruby. And yet, her hair was just fine. Her jacket and belt were missing, making it even more clear how pale she was.

Before she could say anything, the sailors on lookout at the gong yelled down to the men below.

"Hey!" one of them shouted. "Captain Englehorn! Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long! They're coming back!"

In an instant, everyone had stood up and were running to the wall to join Blake. As soon as Ruby and Yang made it past the wall, into the village, they fell into the arms of the concerned sailors.

Ruby felt relief wash over her. All of the responsibility she had on this adventure was finally gone. She had rescued her older sister, and she didn't have to keep anyone safe anymore. Sure, they were still on the island, but they were free of the beast, and she had no doubt in her mind that they were going to leave now.

Yang felt happier than ever to feel the arms of human beings. She had spent the whole day trapped in the unimaginable, yet horrifying hands of the beast. But now she was finally free of his grasp, she was safe behind the wall, and the horrors of the island were far away now.

Weiss approached Yang with a water bottle.

Yang shook her head. "No. I'm alright."

Oobleck approached Ruby, who was laying on her back, panting heavily, and smiling at her victory.

"What happened?" he said. "How'd you do it?"

"Went down the river," Ruby said. She only barely managed to speak. She was completely out of breath.

Ruby turned her head to look at Yang.

"Hey," she said, "I'm sorry we didn't find the answers you were looking for."

Yang smiled. "It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is the family I have here."

Sailors helped Yang to her feet. She swayed, her legs still recovering, but she found the strength to keep standing. Englehorn placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright," he reassured. "We'll have you back on the ship in no time."

The idea of being back on the ship brought Ruby all the motivation she needed to lift herself up. She almost toppled over, but she steadied herself and started following everyone to the shore.