Deep in the jungle of Skull Island, Tarzan bowed his head at another of the tragedies that had occurred since the arrival of the Black Death. He knelt and gingerly placed a hand on the dying animal's body, wincing at the gurgling sound of its breathing and slow rise and fall of its massive side. Behind him, someone held back tears.
"Why is this...demon here?" asked Snow White, her face as pale as her hair and her eyes red and moist. She sniffed and knelt beside Tarzan, placing her much smaller hand beside his, feeling the creature's last breaths. It was a huge mastodon, the matriarch of the island's herd, and it had suffered gruesomely when defending her family. The black-armoured menace had hardly slowed when confronting her, slicing off her reaching trunk with a single swing of its blade and then repeatedly impaling her with dark tentacles of energy. As the large beast fell over, it continued on, ignoring it completely. The herd, witnessing such tragedy, had given the demonic being a wide berth.
"Very old," Tarzan said haltingly, eyeing the dying animal. "Grandmother many times."
Snow White was pleased with his progress of the Faeryin language but had he known it all there were few words to be said anyhow. She watched him rise with difficulty and grip his spear tighter. She looked away, knowing what he meant to do and agreeing that it needed to be done, but not wishing to see it anyway.
Mercifully, there was a loud, hollow breath that escaped the mastodon's mouth and Tarzan sighed, partly in relief and partly in sadness. She was dead. The young, white-haired woman and the wild-haired jungle man stayed with her as nearby, the herd approached, calling out softly to their fallen leader.
A shadow passed over them all and Snow White looked back to see the Lord of the Island himself approach the scene, the gigantic ape's head lowered in grief. Despite being about thirty feet high, the giant moved softly through the thick jungle, capable of sneaking up on the most alert of creatures. He reached out and gently brushed the mastodon's body, whimpering softly.
"Knew her," Tarzan explained to Snow. "When she...very small."
Snow watched the great guardian of the island brush the dead mastodon with his fingers and bowed his head, as if in prayer. Snow didn't know if the Lord of the Island was capable of prayer but all around her the other mastodons did the same, lowering their gaze and in some cases even kneeling down on their forelegs. They were all grieving for the old queen and it brought fresh tears to her eyes. When it was finished, the giant ape gingerly grasped the mastodon in his hands and carried her into the jungle, lifting the huge animal as if it weight nothing. The herd followed close behind.
"Where is he going with her?" she asked Tarzan.
"He go where all tusked ones go to rest," he said. "Be with her parents, she will be."
"A graveyard just for the mastodons?"
Tarzan nodded. After a moment, his expression hardened and turned, facing north, toward the massive skull-shaped rock that gazed over the jungle. "Black Death went that way."
"Tarzan, no," Snow White said, rushing up to him and grasping his arm. "Even the Lord of the Island doesn't fight him. He knows better. So should you!"
"Many deaths already!"
"I know, Tarzan! I know! You can't fight it, though."
The tanned and toned man clenched his spear tighter, the muscles on his arm bulging. He grit his teeth and growled. "What must we do?"
Snow wanted to have an answer for him but, struggle as she did, none came. "I...don't know..." She had accustomed herself to the jungle life rather well, surprising Tarzan and even herself. She had tossed aside her old clothes for a simple leather loincloth and a strip over her chest. The wilderness suited her and just as Tarzan was learning Faeryin speech, she herself was quickly learning the language of the animals. It had been a skill she had always cherished but now it was proving to be invaluable. The Lord of the Island had quickly grown a liking to her only days after she had decided to remain in the island. It had allowed her to convince him to help Selvina and her friends in rebuilding their ship when Hook had arrived to retrieve them. She had nearly gone with them then but the call of the wild had been stronger.
As well as the love both she and Tarzan now shared.
There was suddenly a loud roar and the sound of crashing trees and pounding dirt soon followed by loud trumpeting. Tarzan and Snow raced up the nearest tree, found a large bough to stand on, and gazed at the huge clearing beyond. It had been the same clearing Selvina had met the Lord of the Island and where she had lost a shoe. Snow had found it a few weeks back and had it stored away in the treetop home she shared with Tarzan.
Bursting from the forest came the huge ape lord, bounding toward the skull-shaped mountain. Behind him was the mastodon herd, hurrying to catch up to him, their wide, flat ears fanned out and their trunks raised.
"No!" Snow cried out in panic. "He's going to fight it!"
Tarzan grinned wickedly and gave Snow a quick glance. "Stay! I go fight with them!"
Snow shook her head. "Tarzan, no! You stay!"
But he was off, racing down the branch and leaping out from it. He grasped a dangling vine and swung away, one-handed. Snow had practiced her vine-swinging and though she was capable of doing it, she was nowhere near as talented as her beloved wild man. Taking a breath to calm her racing heart, she hurried off in pursuit, swinging her small body through the jungle as quickly as she could.
As she ran across branches, swung about through the vines, and rushed through thick jungle bush her mind veered to the black-armoured being. It had arrived only days ago and had caused so much terror that she could feel it in the air. The island was normally alive with life and sound and nowadays it was much quieter and she hardly saw any wildlife. The air itself felt cooler than usual. Even the sun didn't seem to peek through the clouds as often as it usually did.
For it to be heading to Skull Mountain meant that it most likely sought a way into Wonderland. As far as Snow knew, the entrance through that mountain was the only way in, though Selvina had told her that Wonderland had several ways out. What that demon wanted with Wonderland she didn't know but she dreaded the thought of it terrorizing that normally care-free world. She had never visited it but the stories Selvina, Goldilocks, Wendy, and Rapunzel had told her as their ship was being repaired was nothing short of spectacular. She had asked Tarzan once if she could visit Wonderland but he had shaken his head, calling it "Strange Land" and had left it at that. The thought of talking rabbits and tea-sipping hares intrigued her but she had yet much of the island left to explore. She would explore Wonderland at a later date, she promised herself.
Snow shook her head, white hair flapping about, and cleared her mind. If that demon wasn't stopped there would be no Wonderland to visit at any date. She was afraid the combined forces of the grief-stricken herd of mastodons, the furious power of the Lord of the Island, and the agile swiftness of Tarzan wouldn't be enough.
Just then, as she paused on the thick, mossy branch of a tree at the edge of the clearing, she heard the jungle come to life. Roars, shrieks, squawks, grunts, hisses, bellows, howls, and all manner of animal calls rent the air, forcing her to cover her ears. The ground began to shake, rattling the tree she stood on, and her bare feet slipped on the moss. She managed to grab the trunk in time and steadied herself, hugging the tree for dear life as an earthquake of creatures exploded from cover.
In the distance, a few dozen yards from the entrance into the rocky skull, the black-armoured demon had paused, confronted by the Lord of the Island. Surrounding them all was the herd of mastodons and standing at the ape's feet was Tarzan, spear held at the ready. The huge ape towered over the knight and was staring him down, massive hands clenched into fists. Snow remembered the dead mastodon and felt ice flow through her veins.
"It won't be enough," she murmured worriedly.
She watched in wonder as the whole island seemed to pour into the clearing. Tigers, eagles, saber-toothed cats, crocodiles, rhinos, hippos, terror birds, deer, apes of all sorts, bears, massive lizards, wolves, jaguars, huge snakes, and all manner of jungle creatures emerged. Arriving later, at a slower rate, were the giant reptiles she didn't know the names of. The most terrifying of them all stood as tall as the Lord of the Island and had huge mouths full of teeth as long as her forearm. Tarzan called them the Kings of all Reptiles. They walked on their hind legs and slowly walked onto the clearing, the other, smaller animals giving them all the room they needed. They had no wings and strangely tiny arms but Snow was certain they were a type of flightless dragon. Some of the others walked on four legs with beaked faces and wide, bony frills with long horns protruding out of them. Others had plates on their backs and spikes on their tails, some seemed to be covered in bony armour, and some of the largest, larger even the Lord of the Island had incredibly long necks and tails. She had never before seen many of the animals and creatures now emerging but there they were, surrounding the Black Death in mutual opposition.
Despite the cold fear gripping her skin like claws, she climbed down the tree and hurried across the clearing. She slipped through the gathering of animals and eventually made her way to Tarzan's side, gripping his arm for support.
"Turn back," he was saying to the black menace. "You not welcome here."
"Selvina," the Black Death replied in a voice like wind over a forest fire. "I am here for Selvina."
Tarzan and Snow exchanged confused glances.
Finding courage from all the creatures around her, Snow stepped forward and said, "She isn't here. She was, but not anymore."
The armoured demon's red eyes flared with interest. "You knew her..."
Snow stood her ground, her body warming with bravery, as if the animals themselves were giving her power. "I did and she is my friend. She is not here and as Tarzan said, you are not welcome. You should leave now before you are torn apart." The animals, as if knowing what she said, cried out in agreement, some of them pounding the ground in emphasis.
The red eyes narrowed. "You...do not lie. Where is she?"
Snow knew that Selvina had been headed to Noyr but she wouldn't tell this...thing anything. So...she lied. "I don't know. She left over a month ago and I don't know where she went."
The red eyes bulged and the Black Death gripped its sword more tightly. "LIES!" It suddenly rushed forward, its blade leading. Snow would have been impaled had Tarzan not shoved her aside.
Snow screamed, fearing the worst.
Tarzan, however, stood unharmed. The demon's sword tip stabbed forward and was touching his chest but seemed frozen in place, doing little more than poking him. Tarzan stepped back and helped Snow to her feet, where she saw in amazement that the armoured menace seemed petrified like a statue. At its feet, the grasses were wrapped around its metal boots and an emerald glow surrounded it like an aura. The creatures around her seemed as confused as she was. She could hear the demon struggling and grunting with effort but as hard as it tried, its body would not move.
"What is happening?" she asked Tarzan in mixed awe and bewilderment.
Tarzan shook his head and to her surprise, someone else spoke, someone she had no idea could.
"The Island," came a deep, gravelly voice from behind her.
Snow White turned around and looked up at the Lord of the Island and his eyes met hers. "You...can talk?"
"No," Tarzan said to her with a smile. "You understand."
Her gift, she remembered. Somehow it had strengthened itself and she could now understand what the Lord of the Island was saying, though to anyone else she assumed it would be simple grunts and hoots. She turned to the gathering of animals and smiled when she could hear whispers and muttered voices coming from them. She could understand them too!
"Island magic strong," the Lord of the Island said. "Protect us all." With that, the huge ape reached over and grabbed the black-armoured being like it was a toy and raised it up to his face. The emerald haze continued to surround it, keeping it frozen in place. The ape eyed the Black Death closely and then frowned and exhaled deeply. "Not strong enough to kill dark creature."
"Can it keep it frozen like that forever, though?" Snow asked. "If the magic keeps that thing from moving we can still be safe."
"Not strong enough. Only for short time."
The demon was that powerful? Snow thought with worry. "Can any of us kill it?"
As if in response to her, the great ape squeezed the hand clenching the enemy, trying to crush it in his grip. The Lord of the Island growled and bared his teeth in effort, his hand vibrating from effort. The armoured demon did not crack apart, however. In frustration the Lord of the Island slammed it to the ground and roared.
Alarmed, Snow noticed the green haze slowly fading away from around the Black Death. She assumed that was what was keeping it immobile and she didn't dare find out what would happen once it disappeared.
"The magic is going away!" she called out, pointing at the rapidly dissipating haze.
The Lord of the Island's eyed widened in alarm and he raised his fists high, ready to slam them down. Tarzan, spear held in both hands, stepped protectively in front of Snow White. The animals, realizing that their enemy was beginning to move again, readied to attack.
With a cry of immobilizing power so loud and terrible that it stunned even the Lord of the Island, the black menace rose up, violet flames bursting from its blade. It didn't glance once at the resistance force around it. Instead it ran between Tarzan and the Lord of the Island and entered the rock skull's gaping maw.
Still stunned from the disabling cry, Snow White could only watch in horror as the dark demon stabbed its sword into the ground and cracked apart the enchanted lid covering the hole leading to Wonderland. Blue light escaped the hole, shining on the demon's armour and sword, making it slightly less frightening. A moment later, it leapt in.
Snow's heart fell just as quickly as the black knight did.