The Jungle And The Ship

My name is Klave.

I'm nobody of consequence, truth be told - just a lowly Kritter in K. Rool's vast army of henchman. Well...I may not be important, but the other truth is, I've been given the occasional privilege of carryin' out an important task for our Kaptain. The higher ups consider me a cut above the rest. That's because I've had more schooling than others of my kind. My education might not be perfect, but by a pirate's standards, I'm somethin' of a rarity. We Kremling's are not stupid - at least, most of us aren't. That's a stereotype's been slabbed onto us, mostly by the filthy Kongs. Ha! You don't see them buildin' factories or weapons or warehouses! 'Course, could just be a personal choice of theirs. I wouldn't know. We generally don't know much about the Kong's on a personal level, usually bein' too preoccupied with how we can best 'em. Ah, but I'm thinking too much. Always been a bad habit of mine.

Anyway, it were my parents who saw the job done (that of my education, that is.) They wanted more for me than what they had at my age, and so did their best to get me what they constantly called a "proper education." Must'a been they wanted me to rise in the Kaptain's ranks, 'cause outside of that, there's little use for education when you're a pirate in K. Rool's ranks. Smarts'll only get you so far in the Kaptain's eyes. To be a knave under his thumb, a croc's gotta have more than just wit - he needs muscle, and teeth, and a good deal of ferocity. I, like a good gentleman o' fortune, did my best in those departments. Always felt like I was more suited to small-time tasks, though. Still, far be it for me to choose my own rank. Kaptain stations us where he wants, and woe to he that dare raise an opinion against it. Many's the fool who fell victim to K. Rool's wrath when questioned or met with resistance. We among his Krew learned quick not to stir his anger, as the Kaptain could be more terrible than the devil himself when angered.

Well, that aside...we Kremling's did pretty well for ourselves during the time of the island's occupation. Until the Kong's showed up on the scene.

Personally, I think the Kaptain's plan of making away with the banana hoard would have worked, if not for one thing. He'd underestimated that oaf of an ape, Donkey Kong. Things came crashin' down - literally - when our Kaptain was defeated. It's a wonder the event didn't spark a mutiny among us Kremlings! I wasn't at the scene at the time, thank God, but I was at my usual post in the jungle, and the news hit us like a clap o' thunder. Bloomin' crazy the way things turn out sometimes...

We abandoned our post and slipped into anonymity for a good while. I'd heard tell that most of us had fled with the Kaptain (then, he preferred to be called 'King.' Not at all an egotistical fellow, is he?)

But not me.
A small remnant of us were too far behind to gain hide or hair of our ruler, and we'd spent many a long days and nights roughing it in the wilds of the jungle with no hope of help or rescue, wondering what became of our ruler and the others, before we up and assumed that all was lost.

We were a small group of eight, and I was on familiar terms with only three of 'em. Kratchet, my best mate...we stood by each other's side through thick and thin during those long weeks...or was it months? Then there were Kilian and Kor. Aye, we spent our days hiding from prying primate eyes, survivin' off what we could. I lost track of how long we wandered before we finally did get word from the others. And it was delivered by none other than one of the Kaptain's pesky messenger birds.

I'll never forget the day he swept down and delivered the news to us sorry souls! Lucky for him we had no weapons at our disposal, 'cause most of us were pretty near starved and ready to make mincemeat of anything that came within a hundred feet. Well I'll tell you one thing - those mangy little crows might be irritatin', but I could have bloomin' hugged the little fellow right on the spot. After countless days of toiling in the desolation by our lonesome, it looked like we'd finally be able to reunite with our Kaptain and fellow Kremlings.

...Now in all honesty, the thought of reuniting with the Kaptain wasn't the most attractive thought...not to me...but he was the only leader we had. Plus, our odds were still better with him than with those meddlin' Kongs. That aside, I had some good friends among the Krew. I was happy to see them again when the messenger led us to their whereabouts.

As time went by, we came to learn of what happened to the others while we'd been playin' boy scout in the woods. Plans had been made and reformatted. Preparations had taken place. Turns out Kaptain was far from happy with lettin' the Kongs have the last laugh. Can't say I blamed 'im one stick.

Once we were reunited with the Krew and things were in order once again - leastaways, much as they could be - I was given a post. And wouldn't you know, of all things, I was stationed on Kaptain's old ship, the very same one in which the battle between the Kaptain and that Kong took place. And it was decayin'! I thought it was a damned rotten joke (no pun intended) and almost forgot my place and questioned the blokes who escorted me there. Turns out they were serious as a heart attack.

I'm a simple lad. Unlike most Kremlings, it takes a lot t'get under my scales. I must'a stood there for full on two minutes, mulling over my ill luck to have been stationed on the half-sunken ship instead of in a more suitable place like the swamps or even the Krazy Kremland I'd heard so much about (now there's a place I'd give my two legs to see. No disrespect toward Kilian, who'd lost both'a his.) But I got to thinking - something I do too much of - and tried looking at the bigger picture. I'd gone from scraping a living in the wild, in fear of the victorious Kongs, to reuniting with my people and being placed in a (relatively) safe station. I shouldn't 'ave complained.
Now, don't give me as much credit as all that. I ain't afraid o' being honest, and I'll own that it was a good couple'a days before I cooled off and stopped mulling over my luck.

So, hoisting my small sack of supplies and personal belongings over my shoulder, I made a couple inquiries and found my way to my small, and temporary, living quarters. The Gangplank Galleon was in worse shape than I thought. There were big holes in the middle of the deck in some areas, pieces o' wood were falling apart just about everywhere, and the creaking and groaning was constant and damned annoying (although I got used to it after a while.) Worse of all, the place was infested with neeks and spineys who thought to make a home of our Kaptain's once-proud vessel.

Funnily enough, the others stationed on board didn't give much thought to the pests. Our orders were simply to patrol the area and keep a sharp eye out for the Kongs.

Initially, I was a little confused by these orders. Last I heard, the Kongs were at large, and we weren't - so why should we be the ones to keep a sharp eye out? But in retrospect, there was much sense in this. K. Rool was busy gettin' things ready for his next move against the chimps, and I s'pose the last thing we needed was for our plans to be found out. Most of us assumed that the Kongs' victory would lure them int'a a false sense of security, but how long would that last?

I tell you, life on board a rottin' vessel wasn't easy, even given that we often didn't do much other than keep watch over things. Food was easy enough to come by. Being in proximity to the sea helped loads with that. Sometimes we even had roasted neek, but they weren't as tasty as fish.

In all, there were over forty of us Kremlings on board. I was happy to discover Kilian stationed here as well, though he was of the same mind as me, as far as being on the ship went. Still, his company helped me, and I'm sure mine helped him. We decided to bunk in the same room, given that quarters were large and consisted of a lotta hammocks to choose from. I was smaller, so I got the top hammock, and he the bottom.

He hobbled to the makeshift cloth on his two stubs and set his belongings down.

"If we was kids," he said, with a grin, "we'd be fightin' over who got the top bunk."

I grinned and folded my arms behind my head. "I'm glad we ain't kids then, as I don't think it'd be a fair fight 'atween you and I."

"'Fraid I'd beat ya, eh?"

"I'm afraid I'd give your arms a pair o' stumps to match your legs." I laughed, but he retaliated by shoving me so I turned into my hammock and fell flat on the floor. "So that's how it is, huh?" Without thinkin', I grabbed my knapsack and whacked it in his face.

Before we knew it, we were tossin' and tumblin' on the hard, damp floorboards until we grew short of breath. Our little discussion ended with us leaning back on the wall, pantin' like a couple'a dogs.

"Guess we still act like kids," he said.

"We better find somethin' to do before we get carried away." I shot him a grin. We'd fought like this many a times before, and it was all in good nature. Kilian was practically the brother I never had.

"Well, best get up on deck and start patrollin' our surroundings." Kilian stood up. "How long is your shift t'day?"

"I've got a twelve hour shift. And you?"

"Same. Francis'll be takin' over for me when I'm through."

Francis was a Klinger I'd only met once. Probably 'cause he enjoyed spending most of his time in the topsails. Klinger's were useful for that kinda work. They were most of 'em sharp eyed and keen-witted.

We made our way up on deck, and so another long day began.

The days went by bleedin' slow, and it was months before the Kaptain implemented phase two of his plan. Now from what I'd heard, this phase was s'posed to be kept secret. But things have a way of leaking out, and the news made it all the way to us deck swabbers. The Kaptain never was too careful about who he let in on his plans, but then again I guess he was just too busy to be thorough enough about it.

Anyway, it was Francis who approached me one day while I was on duty. He and Kilian became fast friends, and since Kilian was stationed on the opposite end of the galleon, Francis delivered the news to me.

I was sittin' on a barrel, idly taking a swig of rum, when the orange fellow swung down from a rope.

"Top o' the mornin' to ya, mate." He greeted in a spritely manner. "Did ya hear the news?"

"What news, lad?"

"Why, the Kaptain's about to carry out the next step in his master plan!"

"Ah." I took another swig. "And what would that step be?"

He inched closer and glanced around, as if not wanting to be overheard; though chances are the whole Krew probably knew by now. "Kaptain's plannin' on kidnappin' that lumberin' oaf of a monkey."

"Donkey Kong?" I asked, feeling somewhat bewildered.

"Aye, the one an' only!"

I sat back, thinking on this. I hadn't seen that coming, but then, I guess the Kaptain was thinking that that was the point.

"How does he plan on doin' this?"

Francis shrugged and adjusted his bandana. "Who knows, but he must have a decent plan cooked up. He wouldn' go that far unless he was sure he could do it."

I growled and gripped the bottle in my hand. "This changes all! The Kaptain better know what he's about!"

"Come again?"

I faced him. "Don't you see, matey? If he kidnaps that Kong, it'll be stirrin' up the hornets nest. Do y'think the other Kongs won't notice and won't take action?"

"Aye, that's true," he acknowledged. "But I'm sure Kaptain knows this. Could be a trap to lure the others and have 'em all in his grasp, eh?"

I humphed. "Maybe…"

"Well, the Kaptain knows his work best. Who are we t'question him?" Without another word, he scrambled back up the rigging and into the crow's nest, leaving me to my thoughts.

I raised my head and looked around, and suddenly the rickety old ship, with its creaking floorboards and downtrodden appearance, didn't seem so bad. I hadn't realized it 'afore, but I was under the heavy notion that I'd had it easy this whole time and jus' didn't know it. But I knew, now, that our lives were likely going to get very interesting in the next couple of weeks, or months - dependin' on how soon the Kaptain planned on executin' this brilliant plan o' his. Assuming, too, that it would succeed.

Har, now there's a thought...if he didn't succeed, not only would he not have Donkey Kong in his possession, but he'd raise the alarm for the entirety of the Kong's island, and...well, where would we be, then?

A/N: I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this story - I have only a rough idea. My writing style tends to be "just write and see what happens." I feel I might take it one of two ways, which is either to keep in strictly in the DK universe, or take an alternate route and make things a little stranger and AU-like.

Also, Klave is supposed to be a blue Kritter - the kind we see in the first DKC game. Yeah I know they didn't appear in the second game, and this story is pretty much taking place during the second one. But who cares, it's a story. X)