It was just like he had remembered all those years ago, the sparkling sea that stretched out as far as the eye could see and the sharks slowly swimming just under the surface. Better not go in the water now. But over here it wasn't nearly sunny, it was just cold and dreary... like in the woods. Conker quickly ran over to the boat builder's place. He carefully opened the door.
'Oi, Ted! You in there?' It had been so long ago that he visited the islands. He wondered if the old acorn still remembered that squirrel that was in search of his girlfriend that one day, roughly 12 years ago.
The acorn man turned around. As soon as he saw Conker, his eyes widened.
'Oh my giddy aunt. Is that -'
'Yeah, it's me. I have no time to explain.' Conker quickly said. 'Listen, I have to get to Timber's Island, pronto. You got a good boat?'
Silence. After a while, Ted said something.
'Timber's Island, eh? You sure about that?'
'Sure enough,' Conker answered. 'Is there a problem with that?'
'Not exactly,' the old boat builder acorn man began. 'Though it has changed much in the last ten years.'
Conker tilted his head. 'How d'you mean?'
'Exactly as I'm sayin',' Ted said. 'Supposedly an evil thing has taken over and it's not like it was before...'
Conker lifted an eyebrow. 'Evil thing? Well, get me a boat and I'm outta here -'
The acorn man jumped up and walked outside. 'Sure, follow me,'
Conker did as he was told as he followed the boat builder to the jetty.
'Nice boat.'
'Sure is, and she's fast too,' he said. 'You'll get there in less than half an hour.'
'Nice.' Conker stepped in the small motorboat, albeit wobbly, while the boat builder gave him instructions. Soon enough the boat rocketed across the water surface.
'Good luck! And don't tell anyone I didn't warn ya!'
No response. Ted grumbled.
'Kids these days...'
As soon as Conker took off, he kept thinking about that "evil thing" that Ted rambled on about. What was it? Had that pig returned? That 'to be continued' message near the end of the racing gang's first adventure didn't help either. He'd find out soon enough. After just a half hour he saw land that he immediately recognized as Timber's Island. The boat slowed down and reached the beach.
At least, it was once a beach.
What was once a brightly-lit sandy beach was now a deserted grey place. The numerous palm trees that stood there once were knocked over like a bunch of toothpicks. The lighthouse was still there but it was heavily damaged.
'That was what he warned me about,' Conker said to himself as he walked over to the main hub.
But even there, nobody was to be seen. Instead of the lush green fields and frog-infested waters that were the place's most recognizable feats, it was all dusty, dark, and grey, cloaked in a thick mist. The sculpture of the elephant genie's head that was carved in the mountain, once so majestic, lost all of its sheen and the golden paint was beginning to chip off. Not to mention the moat was all dried out, only some frogs remaining, albeit dead.
'What the heck has happened here?' Conker yelled out. Was this the place he frolicked around with all his buddies when he was little? Was this the place they held kart-racing competitions? Was this -
'Shh, keep it down!' a voice hissed.
Wait, who was that? Soon enough, something jumped at him and hid both of them in the bushes.
'What the -'
'Keep your voice down,'
Just then, thunder struck.
'Whoa, thanks. I would've been fried if it weren't for -'
A hand slapped over his mouth. More thunder.
Conker pulled the hand away and started to whisper. 'I'm sorry.'
'It's alright, we should have told you earlier...'
Wait, who was that in the first place?
'If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here, Conker?'
'Wait, how do you know my name? Wh- ' he suddenly remembered that he should be quiet, and inspected the other more closely. Apparently, it was a female bear, her blonde hair in pigtails. She wore a black T-shirt with a single star on it, and purple pants.
'You remind me of someone... I dunno... what's his name...' he mumbled.
'Banjo?' she asked.
'Yeah, Banjo. That'd be him. Man, it was so long ago... do you know him?'
'He's my brother.'
Wait, her brother? That'd explain everything.
'We've heard so much about you.' She said, a bit more friendly now, and smiled. 'Banjo said you were always so eager and ready to help.'
Conker went silent for a moment. If only she knew how he was now...
'Eh.. not so much nowadays...' he just said. 'It's a long story. But eh, where's the others?'
'Oh, some of us are hiding underground. We don't race anymore, it's just too dangerous. Most of us fled to other islands to either pursue their dreams or to hide. Some of us who're still here ride on bikes to get to places faster... A couple of guys are checking on the Dino Domain, and my brother's exploring the skies of the Dragon Forest.'
The skies? How could a bear -
'...With Kazooie, of course. Kazooie's his best friend, a red-crested Breegull.'
Oh, of course. He constantly said he was keeping a Breegull egg in his backpack back then...
'Here it's dangerous. I dunno what Timber was thinking, directing you over here...'
Conker looked around. 'We had... kind of a rivalry when we were younger... I forgot about what though,' he said and grinned. 'He never liked me much anyway.'
'Anyway, we can't stay here. Follow me,' she said after a while. 'We gotta get underground.'
Conker followed without hesitation. 'Oh, and by the way, what's your name?' he asked.
She stopped in her tracks and looked behind her. 'I'm Tooty. C'mon, follow me, I think it's going to rain sometime soon,'
Quickly, they hurried to the main underground meeting place.
