SWOOSH! Two primates were rapidly swinging through the jungle treetops. One was a muscular brown gorilla wearing a red necktie with a yellow "DK" logo, and the other was an adorable little monkey in a red Nintendo hat and red shirt decorated with two golden stars. These two had an unshakable bond and went on many adventures together. The gorilla once saved his jungle island from a tyrannical, demonic ape named Ghastly King and became the new king. He became a mentor and buddy to the monkey, and they both protected their island from evil crocodilian beings called "Kremlings," the Tiki Tak Tribe, and invading polar animal Vikings called "Snowmads." Things had been going smoothly and peacefully in the jungle, so the two simian friends were embracing a carefree lifestyle together and looking for ways to have fun.
Eventually, the gorilla leapt out from the tropical rainforest trees and onto a rocky cliff. Standing up on his two legs, and flexing his bulging biceps in different positions, he enthusiastically proclaimed, "Yeah! Donkey Kong... is king... of the jungle!"
"GROOOOOO-OO-OO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OO!" Donkey Kong beat his chest, letting out an echoing Tarzan yell. Flocks of white birds flew from the trees and into the sunny sky in response to the loud sound.
DK's beloved monkey friend appeared right beside him. He expressed his youthful delight in Donkey Kong with air flips, jumping on alternating feet, and clapping his hands over his head. "YEAH! AH-AH! OO! OO! OO! OO!"
"And Diddy Kong is DK's right hand monkey," Donkey Kong affectionately told his buddy, lifting him in a burly arm and giving him a noogie on his red-capped head. Then Donkey Kong set Diddy Kong back on the ground, and they high fived, hopping around in a circle on one foot and beating their chests together.
"SQUAWK! Letter for Donkey Kong! RAWK!" DK and Diddy's moment was interrupted as a green parrot flew over their heads and dropped an enveloped letter.
Donkey Kong caught the letter in his huge hand and sat down to read it. Diddy Kong climbed up onto Donkey Kong's shoulder so that he could see what his buddy was reading. The back of the envelope had no stamp, nor ordinary mailing format. There was very messy handwriting, surrounded by bluish dots that appeared to be tear marks, which read, "Please send this letter to Donkey Kong III if you can find him." Curious, Donkey Kong opened the envelope and pulled out a wrinkled paper that had been folded vertically. He then unfolded the paper to be exposed to pencil writing in a font that appeared to be somewhat squiggly, as if the writer was trembling with fear as he wrote it.
DK and Diddy read silently together, "My Son Donkey Kong III, I am so sorry that I was never there to see you grow up. When you were a baby, I was called to serve in an ape brigade in Africa, fighting against an army of mutated animals. Long story short, I got lost and ended up trekking through the wilderness alone for many years. I ended up in the Pridelands just recently, which I heard is ruled by a lion king named Simba. I was going to seek help from him, but I ended up getting captured by an evil ape named Ghastly King who resides in the Elephant Graveyard. I heard you became the new king of your grandfather's island and protected it from many outside threats. I'm very proud of you. If you can find it in your heart to forgive, please come rescue your father. My life as a prisoner is terrifying and miserable, and it would mean the world if I could see my son all grown up. I hope to see you again. Love, Your Father."
"Mmmmmhhhhh!" Donkey Kong sadly groaned, covering his face with his free hand.
"What's the matter DK?" Diddy Kong innocently asked his big buddy.
"DK never knew he had a father cause Cranky never told him," Donkey Kong bemoaned. "Now DK's dad is prisoner of Ghastly King. And DK thought he defeated Ghastly King long ago and became new king of DK Island."
"It's okay Donkey Kong, we can go save your dad," Diddy assured DK, rubbing the back of his head. "We'll defeat Ghastly King too. If you did it once, you can do it again. And this time I'll help."
"But DK doesn't know where the Pridelands is," Donkey Kong whined.
"Maybe we can ask Funky Kong, he's great with this stuff," Diddy Kong suggested.
"Great idea! Let's go!" Donkey Kong beamed. Diddy hopped off DK's shoulder, and they sprinted back into the rainforest on all fours to find Funky Kong's shop.
***Additional Notes***
1. Ghastly King was the main antagonist in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. There are many different villains in the Donkey Kong series (i.e. King K. Rool, Tiki Tong, Lord Fredrik, etc.), but I decided to use Ghastly King because I thought he would be best suited for the dark themes of the Lion King series.
2. The part when DK and Diddy high-fived, hopped in a circle on one foot and beat their chests together was inspired by a clip from the Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros Brawl. They did that very thing when they reunited after being separated because of an attack by Bowser.
3. The green parrot who brought the letter to Donkey Kong was Squawks from the Donkey Kong Country series. I didn't use his name because I didn't mention DK and Diddy's names until the dialogue started. I chose to do it that way to make the chapter more intriguing.
4. When DK said, "DK never knew he had a father cause Cranky never told him," he was referring to Cranky Kong, who is his grandfather and the original Donkey Kong that fought Mario in the 1981 arcade game. (Just wanted to clarify for those who aren't familiar with Donkey Kong canon).