Chapter 1: A Krool Kidnapping
Somewhere in the middle of a tropical blue ocean lies an island in the shape of a massive head with a stylish cowlick. This is DK Island, home to a medley of fascinating and exotic animals like macaws and seals, but most particularly, the Kongs. The Kongs are a laid back species who enjoy the simple things in life. Peace, quiet, and a good supply of bananas were all the Kongs really needed.
But someone didn't like them very much.
Somewhere else on the tropical blue ocean was Crocodile Isle, a mechanical tower shaped like a Kremling, with a long snout filled with teeth, its body riddled with portholes and hatches and adorned with gangways and rails. Behind it, it tugged a vessel about half its size like a ball-shaped pet on a leash.
Crewing this metal monstrosity were the Kremlings themselves - scaly, reptilian things who came in a wide array of colors and sizes but also in a rather limited spectrum of intelligence. There were some in the engine room playing checkers, some in the navigation room rolling dice, and one on the lookout taking a nap.
In the control room was the leader of the Kremlings, K. Rool. He was the biggest, the meanest and by default the cleverest of the crew. As such, he did as he pleased, bossing the smaller Kremlings around and giving himself important titles depending on the mood he was in. Sometimes he was Captain and sometimes he was Baron. Today he was King.
King K. Rool sat in a throne overlooking a wall of monitors depicting the area outside the mechanical island. On the screens, a tiny brown dot appeared and gradually grew larger until he could discern the cowlick of DK Island.
Stroking his pet Klaptrap, he growled in a low, menacing voice, "There it is… at last, sweet vengeance is mine… one push of a button and those mangy Kongs and their precious little island goes up in a puff of smoke… a little closer and…"
Alarms blared to life inside the mechanical monster, red lights blinking urgently. King K. Rool swiveled his head and then pressed a button on the throne. "What's going on?" he barked into the speaker.
In a tinny voice, the chief engineer explained, "We're coming in too fast, Cap - er, Your Highness, sir. At the rate we're going, we'll run aground the island and we'll be too close to the target to fire the Blast-O-Matic safely."
"Then put this ship in full reverse!" roared King K. Rool. "Stop the ship!"
"Aye, aye, sir," responded the chief and the speaker clicked off.
Suddenly, everything on the ship went flying forward as the engines went into full reverse. King K. Rool flopped onto his round belly while his Klaptrap flew into the air, squealing like a stuck pig - or a flying pig in this case. A second later the ship was rocked again with an incredibly loud gong that vibrated through the metal, rattling rivets and bolts in their sockets as well as the teeth in King K. Rool's jaw.
"What happened?" he roared, hitting his fist against the floor in rage. He struggled to his feet and then stomped over to the throne and slapped the intercom button. "What happened?" he repeated.
"Uh, the island brig crashed into the Croc when he threw the reverse switch, sir," stammered the chief navigator. "We've sustained heavy damage to the ship, including the engines, Your Royal Highness, sir."
"It looks like we're in position to blast the island, anyway," said King K. Rool, looking over the monitors. "As long as the Blast-O-Matic is working, I don't care how bad the ship is. We can repair it later."
"Well, uh, sir, I have some… bad news." The chief's gulp was audible through the speaker. "The Blast-O-Matic's been… damaged… pretty badly…"
"NO!" King K. Rool smashed his fist against the throne. "I want it repaired immediately! Bring up Snide from the brig. Tell him to fix it or I'll have K. Lumsy eat him!"
"Right away, King K. Rool," said the chief navigator.
King K. Rool plopped himself into the throne to wait. His pet Klaptrap waddled over, whining morosely. He picked it up and stroked it, humming irritably to himself. His plan was perfect! Foolproof! It was just his luck that he had the fools who could unproof it!
The minutes ticked by and King K. Rool was getting impatient. He was just about to press the button to yell at someone when the intercom clicked and a hesitant voice came on. "Um… sir?"
"Did you bring up Snide?"
"Ah, well, sir… you see… the thing of it is… Snide is… well he's…"
King K. Rool's left eye bulged and he smashed his fist on the throne. "WHERE IS HE?"
"He's escaped, sir!" the chief navigator squeaked. "You see when I got to the brig, the cage door was smashed open. Must have happened when it crashed into the Croc, Your Eminence." He added brightly, "But K. Lumsy's still in his cage, so it's not all bad… right?"
King K. Rool's rage was terrible to behold. Things went flying, walls were smashed, some very unflattering words were spoken about the chief navigator's mother. When he had exhausted himself, he returned to the throne, ground in the intercom button and roared, "I want him found! If he warns the Kongs about our plan they're going to come running and ruin everything!"
"I'll send every Kremling I find, sir," assured his underling.
"That's not enough! I need Kremlings to delay Donkey Kong any way they can. Tear up his island, steal his precious bananas, kidnap a few of his stupid, little friends if you have to! And fix the machine! I want it fully repaired before that brainless ape even has time to scratch his oversized head! GET ON IT!"
"Right away, sir!" yelped the chief navigator and the line clicked off.
…
"Hey, Lanky, wait up!" called Tiny Kong. As you would expect from her name, she was the smallest of the Kongs, who wore daisy print overalls and a beanie over her pigtails. Diddy Kong, a chimpanzee who wore a red cap and shirt and was just a little bigger than she was, swung behind her.
"Can't," said Lanky as he used his long arms to grasp branches and vines. "Something happened and we need to find out what it was. It could be gone by the time we get there."
"Come on, Lanky," cajoled Tiny. "It was probably nothing! Just Funky's airplane misfiring or something."
"Pretty loud misfire," Diddy commented.
"I hope you're right," said Lanky, though the way he was swinging he did not bet one coconut on it.
Thirty seconds later, he arrived at the shores of DK Island. Two seconds behind him, Tiny and Diddy skidded to a stop beside him. And five seconds later they all gulped together.
It definitely wasn't Funky's airplane sitting on the water five miles offshore. In fact, there was no mistaking that ugly scowl on his metal snout. Obviously the craft was designed to be intimidating and conspicuous - a show of superiority - though it showed more that he was compensating for something. Regardless, one thing was clear: K. Rool was back.
"We'd better warn the others," Lanky said.
"Good idea," Diddy agreed.
Tiny hopped. "Now, wait a minute, guys. Before we go running back, how about we go over there and check things out?"
Lanky scratched his head uncertainly. "I don't know. Looks kind of dangerous on that thing. It's going to be crawling with Kremlings."
"Aw, come on, we can take care of 'em, no problem. They're all just a bunch of dimwits."
Diddy shook his head. "Don't underestimate them, Tiny. They may not be very smart but they did manage to kidnap Donkey once before."
Tiny snorted. "They got lucky. Anyways, all I'm saying is we should sneak over there and find out what they're up to. Then we can go back and tell the others."
It took some doing but in the end Tiny's irresistible charm won them over, or as Diddy put it, "We better tag along and make sure she doesn't run into trouble."
"That's like sticking your hand in a Zingers' nest and praying you don't get stung," Lanky groaned, placing a hand on his head.
The three of them swam over to the giant metal croc. Climbing onto the craft was the easy part. Finding a way inside was the slightly trickier part. And navigating the twisted maze inside was the most frustrating part. As they peeked down branching hallways to find out where they were going, Diddy piped up, "Whose bright idea was this again?"
"Trust me, guys," Tiny reassured them, "We'll find them and then we'll find out what they're up to. Then we can whup their scaly tails!"
Sooner than she predicted they got their chance, for a krew of Kremlings just rounded the corner and spotted them. They raised up a ruckus, "The Kongs! The Kongs are here! Stop them! Stop them!" and then charged down the hallway to capture them. The Kongs fought valiantly but sheer numbers overpowered them and they were soon being frogmarched away. One of them chuckled excitedly, "Wait 'til Baron K. Rool…"
"It's King! King K. Rool, you dope!"
"Er, yeah, wait 'til his Highness sees we've captured the Kongs! He'll be so impressed with us!"
They took an elevator to K. Rool's quarters, a jolly little tune playing on the way up. Minutes later, they entered his quarters. When they did, he swiveled toward them, his left eye bulging dangerously.
"This had better be good!" he snarled.
The lead Kremling gulped and then bobbed his head eagerly, "Oh yes, Sire. You see, Your Excellency, we caught these intruders inside the Croc." He gestured to the Kongs, each being held by two Kremlings. Tiny stuck out her tongue at K. Rool.
He eyed the three of them suspiciously. Then he said, "What about Donkey? Where is he?"
"Oh! He's uh… er…" The lead Kremling turned to the Kongs and counted them. Then he counted them again. Finally, with a gulp, he turned back to K. Rool and stammered, "He, uh, isn't here, Your Majesty. Probably… still on the island…"
K. Rool jumped to his feet, towering over the group menacingly and causing them all to tremble. Their knees knocked together like castanets. The goliath of a Kremling growled at them, "For your sake, he'd better be."
Tiny piped up, "Yeah, that's right, K. Rool! You'd better be scared! Because once Donkey finds out you're here, he's going to wipe the floor with you!"
K. Rool roared angrily and then swept his hand through the air. "Take them away! Separate them as far apart as you can! I don't want to make their rescue too easy for that simple-minded fleabag!"
Diddy grumbled, "Thanks a lot, Tiny."