Rapunzel felt as if all her strength had been sucked by magic, and a migraine was sticking to her head. The mind completely fogged, she woke slowly, her eyes sticky, and had to wait a few seconds before her vision returned to normal.
The first thing she felt was that her hands had been placed behind her back and she could not move them anymore. Her wrists were hindered by .... ropes. And her ankles too when she tried to move them. Raising her head and moaning, the princess of Corona quickly realized his situation. She was lying on a soil covered with vegetation, tied up. Several sailors encircled her, all armed, and looked at her with bad smiles. She heard a familiar and unpleasant voice beside her.
_ "Our dear princess is finally awake ... Perfect, we can start then."
Rapunzel then saw Captain Wagner appear, leaning towards her and looking at her confidently. Rapunzel did not understand what was going on, but his horrified look went to Flynn and Tim, both on their knees, a few meters ahead. They too had their hands and ankles tied and were closely watched by sailors holding rifles.
_ "Flynn! Tim!" Rapunzel gasped in terror as she tried to get up to go to them, but a sailor held her firmly by the shoulders, forcing her to stay on her knees. Seeing his wife being abused before his eyes, Flynn turned red with anger and in turn tried to come help her.
_ "Do not touch her, you bastards!"
But quickly, Flynn was mastered by two sailors. Tim could not do anything but watch. The two lovers, separated by only a few meters but unable to join, looked each other in the eyes with a certain despair, Rapunzel not being able to hold back a tear to flow on her cheek. Wagner did not care and continued to oversee the preparations. Rapunzel saw that they were at the edge of a large lake, in a virgin space, and that several sailors were busy pouring barrels of oil into the lake, forming a huge black puddle, on which had been arranged other barrels, this time containing dynamite. A lot of dynamite.
_ "Wagner, have you lost your mind?!! Release us right now!! What you are doing here is treason!!" shouted Rapunzel, struggling against her strong bonds. The captain turned to her, looking like a madman, and grabbed her by the throat.
_ "No, my dear, I'm doing this for the Corona Kingdom! I'll show everyone how I, Captain Wagner, I will conquer this island in the name of our king!! .......... guys, gag them .... "
Wagner moved away to continue the trap. Rapunzel still wanted to protest energetically, but the sailor behind her silenced her by tying a white cloth around her mouth. Flynn and Tim, too, were gagged and firmly guarded by Wagner's men.
_ "Everything is in place?" Wagner asked one of his men, who nodded with conviction. Satisfied and showing a gloomy look, Wagner took a lantern and brandished it high, in front of all his men and three prisoners, before throwing it without hesitation to another group of barrels of dynamite, smaller, and having been arranged further on the bank. The barrels exploded, triggering a column of flames and black smoke that rose to the sky and lit the surrounding area with its red glow. Rapunzel, Flynn, and Tim stared at it all in horror. A few seconds passed, and a very powerful roar of fury, that of Kong, was heard in the distance, crossing the island and making all those who heard it shudder. Wagner smiles even more, preparing his pistol and his sword. He had managed to attract the attention of his prey, and was now waiting for him firmly, like all the other sailors who were preparing their weapons.
_ "Come here, monster ..." he murmured between his teeth.
***********
After seeing the explosion in the distance and seeing Kong, furious, head for the source of this phenomenon, Moana and Maui had not lost a single moment and had come down the cliff as quickly as possible. Moana had no proof, but she knew deep down who was responsible for the blast and had to warn others.
Unfortunately, when they arrived on the bank, they observed with horror that their friends were no longer there, the two canoes, abandoned.
_ "Princess Rapunzel! Flynn! Tim!" Moana screamed their names, but only the echo of his own voice answered her. The young woman was desperate, but Maui noticed the footprints of boots on the sand, and going in a particular direction.
_ "Moana!" he warned her and showed her the traces. Once again, it did not take long for Moana to guess what had happened.
_ "They are in danger ....... Kong is also in danger ...." she sighed, overwhelmed by the events. Maui, quieter, then held out his hand, looking at her with a more determined air.
_ "So, let's save them together ....."
************
Aligned side by side, on their knees, bound and gagged, Rapunzel, Flynn, and Tim stared helplessly, while the sailors, led by Captain Wagner, were all standing, facing the lake and lit by the immense flames that were standing next to them. Nobody spoke, but the silence was much more expressive, like the heavy and palpable atmosphere that reigned. The ground began to shake more and more, clouds of panicked birds flying from the jungle a little further away, like herds of animals fleeing from something huge on approach.
The trees of the jungle were suddenly brutally spread on the sides, while Kong's huge silhouette rose from the depths of the darkness. Standing and breathing hard, the monkey was looking ahead, noticing the flames that were spreading and setting fire around the lake ... but he also noticed the group of humans standing in the light and waiting for him . Kong recognized the one standing in front of him and was looking at him with a bad look and an unhealthy smile ..... clenching his teeth, his eyes burning and growling in nameless rage, Kong struck his chest with all his might, roaring at full strength, before rushing towards them, raising water waves around him.
Wagner smiled with all his teeth. Kong was so blinded by his anger at him that he did not see the trap. That's exactly what he hoped for. Terrified, Rapunzel, Flynn and Tim saw the great monkey coming towards them with boundless anger. But when Kong was at some distance, Wagner gave the signal and several sailors threw flaming torches at the water. The oil-filled water caught fire instantly, causing even larger flames to reach the barrels of dynamite on small makeshift rafts. An even more powerful and important explosion broke out, swallowing Kong entirely in his cloud of fire and smoke. The great ape did not have time to react and disappeared into the meanders.
The explosion covered most of the lake, and black and opaque fumes rose to the sky. The silence fell, as the sailors shouted their victory, congratulating each other. Wagner stood upright, gazing at the flames that devoured the lake, and feeling as if he had just accomplished something very big. Desesparated, Rapunzel, Flynn and Tim continued to watch, having seen Kong disappear into the flames. Was it ....?
But the joy was short-lived when popping like a devil in the flames, Kong appeared, enraged and roaring without stopping, his body covered in flames that gnawed at his fur. Three sailors barely had time to act and were immediately crushed by the monkey's arm. Taken by surprise, Wagner and the remaining sailors began running in panic, scattering and some opening fire on the monster. Seeing no one was paying attention to them, Rapunzel motioned for the others to try to crawl away from the confrontation.
One by one, the sailors were killed by Kong, made completely crazy. With his hand, Kong sent a wave of water covered with flames to several sailors, who were sprinkled and caught fire, screaming to death as they struggled. Kong caught men in his powerful hands, crushing them in his grip like insects and reducing them to bloody lint.
But suddenly, Kong stopped his madness, stopping and breathing more weakly, before collapsing heavily on the bank. Wagner and the three sailors who had survived then cautiously approached to find that the big monster had his eyes closed, and did not move at all, his huge body smoking and seriously injured. Hidden in the thickets and helping each other to get rid of their ties, Rapunzel, Flynn and Tim had witnessed the fall of the colossus, with anguish.
Wagner stepped forward and turned to his men, triumphant and raised his sword.
_ "My friends ..... today is a victory for Corona! Today we proved that Kong is not the king! Humans are the only kings!!"
The three sailors saluted their captain, raising their fists.
_"WAGNER!!"
The captain and the three sailors were taken by surprise by this strong female voice, and were even more surprised to see Moana and Maui arise and come between them and Kong. Moana glanced at Kong, and was horrified to see how he was. He did not move at all. Moana's heart squeezed ... was he dead?
Armed with rudimentary spears, Moana and Maui held their position against the sailors. Annoyed by this unexpected arrival, Wagner pointed his gun at them.
_ "Get out of my way! This monster must be eliminated!"
_ "The only monster I see here, Wagner, it's you!!" Moana snapped, angrily. Trembling with anger and mad face, Wagner prepared to shoot, but the sound of blows behind him caught his attention. The three sailors on his orders had just been stunned from behind, by Rapunzel, Flynn and Tim who had managed to break free and took up the seamen's weapons. Moana and Maui were glad to see their friends were safe and alive. Wagner swallowed. He was now completely surrounded.
_ "In the name of Corona's law, Captain Wagner, you are under arrest for treason and crimes against the kingdom and this island!" proclaimed Rapunzel with a sharp eye. However, although smaller in number, Wagner continued to show a real madness and screaming with rage, wanted to shoot Moana. A shot rang out suddenly, and Wagner froze, his eyes exhilarated. On his back, a stain of blood grew on his jacket, and the captain fell to his knees, then to the ground, lifeless. Tim stood there, the rifle still smoking in his hands and lowered his weapon. His friends looked at him and he looked ashamed of what he had done.
_ "He ... he did not give us the choice ...." Tim said. Rapunzel came to reassure him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
_ "You did the right thing. Thank you."
Meanwhile, Moana had approached Kong's face, as the latter still did not open his eyes. She also felt that no breath came from his mouth or nostrils. With her throat tied, tears emerging at the corner of her eyes, Motunui's young woman gently put her hands on Kong's face, caressing him delicately, and almost snuggled up against him in tears.
_ "Kong ..... wake up .... hear my voice ..... please ..."
But suddenly, the center of the lake rose abruptly, like a mountain rising from it, and the ground shook, while a gigantic and reptilian form, dripping with water and foam, rose, letting out a violent shrill roar . The creature was almost 30 meters tall and 60 meters long. It was another of those demons, the skull crawlers, but much bigger than the ones Moana had seen. All were petrified with fear by this monstrosity that had emerged from underground, surely awakened by the explosions of Wagner. Maui recognized him with horror. This skull crawler was even more terrifying than the others, his body covered with many scars, remnants of the many fighting between him and Kong.
_ "Oh no .... it's the Big One!! Run!" shouted the demigod. Flynn grabbed Rapunzel by the hand and the couple started running very fast, followed closely by Tim who was completely scared. Moana froze with fear as the big skull crawler walked slowly and slowly towards them. And suddenly, a loud growl was heard just behind her and made her turn her head. Kong's red eyes opened and stared directly at Moana. The young woman gasped. He is alive!
But she did not have time to rejoice that Maui's hand grabbed her by the wrist to take her with him as fast as possible. Kong began to straighten up, with great difficulty, his body bruised and turned his dark eyes towards his sworn enemy, the skull crawler who had killed his entire family, and was approaching him.
Moana and Maui had reached the edge of the forest, where the others were waiting for them, but Moana stopped, more than worried, and could not help but want to run to help Kong. The skull crawler roared and jumped on Kong who barely had time to get up and was blocked on the ground. Kong tried to free himself, trying to ward off his enemy, but he was still too weak. The skull crawler had no trouble getting the upper hand, grabbing Kong's head between his claws and slamming the head against the floor. Kong, again, did not move, while the skull crawler, roaring with triumph, stood above him.
_"NO!!" Moana shouted, wainting to go to help the king of Skull Island, but was grabbed by Maui at the waist, who took her with him by force.
_ "Kong is down! We must go, now!!"
The last of the great apes defeated at his feet, the great skull crawler lifted his muzzle to the night sky and let out a loud roar across the island, letting everyone heard who was now the new sovereign.