Well...things might end up getting chilly, in this chapter.


The Wasps' nest stood proudly over the forest, there were literally hundreds of Zingers heading inside, as the night grew colder. The Two Kongs casually walked into the beehive. If they wanted to move on, they had to go through the Wasps' Nest.

"So, DK...it seemed like you and Manky know each other. Why is that?"

Donkey looked down at his curious nephew, "Well, he used to cause trouble for everyone, Little Buddy. He ate most of our food, he'd go off to throw barrels at people, he even tried to attack Cranky...actually, he tried to attack just about anyone related to Cranky."

"Oh..." Diddy looked down at the ground, like he was in trouble, "I guess that's why he kidnapped me, huh?"

"Yep. He'd cause so much trouble that he was forbidden to go to Kongo Jungle or Treetop Town. Since then, he's always been trying to find ways to get back at us."

"Hm...I would've guessed that he would be much happier if he left the island."

"I'd think so, too. But he's pretty much a sociopath, I know he wants to get back at us."

The Kongs stopped moving, they heard a low buzzing noise echo through the hive. Diddy's tail was twitching. "What is that?"

"I dunno, but I don't think we should stick around for too long."

The Kongs continued going through the hive, but the deeper they went, the louder the buzzing became. Donkey was getting nervous, he really didn't want to bump into any Zingers.

Of course, after thinking that way, the author decided to be a jerk, allowing a large Zinger to find the Kongs. This Zinger was roughly the size of a helicopter, she glared at the two Kongs in front of her.

"Wh-who is that, DK!?"

"Queen B. And we really don't wanna stay in her way." Donkey yelled in a panicked tone. He and Diddy began to run through the hive, avoiding Queen B. as she tried to sting the Kongs.

The Kongs made it to a slightly more spacious area. Donkey ended up tripping over a barrel, landing face-first into the ground.

"Oh no!" Diddy yelled as he turned to help Donkey. "C'mon, we gotta get outta here!"

Donkey looked back at Queen B, she was ready to stab the Kongs with her stinger. Without any second thought, Donkey looked down at Diddy. "Forgive me, Diddy."

"Wha-"

Donkey punched Diddy out-of-the-way, knocking him towards a wall. Diddy nearly had the air knocked out of him, he could only watch as Donkey fought with Queen B, alone.

The Zinger Queen would try to stab Donkey. Though the ape wasn't very fast, he wasn't having a hard time dodging, either. Queen B. tried to stab Donkey in the chest. The ape jumped backwards, counter attacking by punching Queen B. in the face.

Queen B. fluttered in pain, she turned back to Donkey and attempted to corner him against the wall. Queen B. gave Donkey another scratch on his right arm. Before she could sting him, the ape curled up into a ball and rolled away from her.

Donkey stood up, again, he seemed to be out of breath. Queen B. tried grabbing the ape with her legs, only to get punched while doing so.

Donkey has gotten very tired, at this point. His muscles were slightly sore, he was sweating, pretty badly. Yet he only needed to find a way to get rid of this wasp.

The ape looked around, he saw the barrel that he tripped on. Donkey began to think of a plan. It seemed crazy, but it might actually work.

Donkey began to run from Queen B, grabbing the barrel that tripped him. Diddy was looking over at Donkey with concern. "What are you doing!?"

"Don't worry about it!" Donkey replied, climbing on a small ledge. He could see Queen B. getting closer and closer, the big ape held the barrel over his head. In one try, he managed to knock Queen B. to the ground.

"You all right, DK?" Diddy asked with worry. Donkey nodded, grabbing Diddy's arm and running out of the hive. "Quick, before she wakes up!"


After their fight with Queen B, the Kongs were starting to leave Vine Valley, finding their way along a mountain path.

Diddy looked upwards, Neckies were flying away from the mountains. They seemed to have been covered in snow.

"You sure we're heading into the right direction, DK?" Diddy asked.

"Sure we are," Donkey replied, "Just stay by me and we'll be fine."

Diddy looked around, he saw skulls and ribs, pointing out of the ground. They weren't primate bones, but they were enough to frighten Diddy, a little. "I dunno, DK...I think someone died, getting up here."

"I'm pretty sure those are fossils, Little Buddy," Donkey said, contently, "They probably lived while Cranky was your age."

Diddy couldn't help but laugh at that comment. It seemed Donkey was trying to help his nephew get through the mountain path, since in all honesty, Donkey didn't like the fossils, either. It wasn't that they were bones, it was just that Donkey was being paranoid, thinking that these fossils might rise from the dead.

The Kongs continued to walk through the mountain path. Snow was beginning to fall, burying some of the fossils. There were pine trees with Neckies sleeping on them. Tikis were appearing, quite a lot.

The Kongs walked farther, the snow was getting deeper, and it looked like a blizzard was coming their way. Donkey noticed a few Kremlings were trying to keep themselves warm. Some Kremlings have already become frostbitten, unable to save themselves. Donkey couldn't help but feel sorry for the Kremlings. Sure, they were enemies, but they certainly didn't deserve to freeze to death.

The Kongs kept moving, Donkey was finding it harder to walk through the snow, he was unable to feel his toes, any longer. He just had to get rid of the Kremlings, why couldn't he just find other fruits other then Bananas? That was what Donkey seemed to be thinking, at that moment.

Donkey heard a soft "thud" in the snow. The ape turned around and saw Diddy was laying face-first in the snow. It seemed he reached his limit.

"C'mon, Diddy...quit fooling around," Donkey grumbled, picking Diddy up by the shirt. The monkey was shaking, he was very pale. It seemed like he could no longer move his legs. Needless to say, he looked miserable.

With that in mind, Donkey continued to move forward, carrying Diddy in his arm."Whatever you do, don't fall asleep!"

Diddy nodded slowly as Donkey moved through the snow. The winds felt they were pushing Donkey back, and the falling snow began to feel like tiny razors. The fact that it was night-time didn't help the ape, all that well, either.

Donkey rested next to a dinosaur's rib, he was very tired, he wanted to just give up and go home. In short, the ape really wanted to give up.

He looked down at Diddy, the little monkey was still shaking. If Donkey were to give up, then not only would the big ape perish, so would Diddy. And what's even worse was that the Kongs back home were relying on Donkey to get rid of the Kremlings and find the stolen bananas. There was no way, Donkey was letting anyone suffer through starvation.

Donkey grabbed a blanket from Diddy's backpack and wrapped t around Diddy to keep him warm. After that, Donkey continued to move forward.

Neckies flew above him, trying to find shelter. a tiki was resting near a small dinosaur skeleton. The snow was blowing at harshly as ever. Eventually, Donkey was able to see some light, in the distance. The ape moved closer to the light, noticing that it came from a cave. At this point, the ape was happy to find some place to take shelter. He quickly made his way into the cave.

The walls on the cave varied from hues of purples and pinks. There were blue crystals, extending from the walls, as well as the ceiling. Surprisingly, there seemed to be Tikis, moving freely and carelessly.

Donkey moved through the caves, they were slightly warmer as opposed to the outside. It wouldn't hurt to explore the caves, a little. At least, that's what Donkey was thinking. It amused him to see so many Tikis, in one place.

Donkey came across a blue rope, sitting on a ledge. It looked like the Kremlings might've been through here, already. Regardless, the ape slowly climbed the rope, still carrying Diddy with his arm. He made it to the top, pretty quickly.

"How you holdin' up, Diddy?" Donkey asked, "I haven't heard you talk, in a while."

"I-I'm fine," Diddy said, weakly, "j-just a little c-cold."

"As long as you're alive, then we're ok."

Donkey continued to walk, he came up to another rope. This time, it was a red rope. Donkey grabbed the rope, but ended up slipping and falling down, landing on his back. The big ape was laying there, groaning in pain.

"You OK?" Diddy asked, sitting up. Donkey sat up, afterwards. He was rubbing his head. "I'm fine, it was just a mishap."

"Well? let's keep going," Diddy said. Donkey stood up, looking down at his nephew. "Aren't your legs tired?"

"They still hurt, but I'm good to go."

"Well, don't push yourself, too hard," Donkey replied, as he continued walking. Diddy was slowly following behind the big ape, ignoring some of the pain in his legs while still carrying his blanket.

Donkey continued to obverse the caves, there were a few lakes and igloos, as well as two waterfalls. Donkey could only imagine what it must be like for someone to travel through a place like this.

Soon, Donkey came across a large gap, ropes were hanging from the ceiling. Of course, these ropes were either red or blue.

"What now?" Donkey asked in annoyance.

Diddy looked around, there didn't seem to be any other way to get through here. "I don't think we really have a choice."

"Well, that's too bad," Donkey said. Diddy climbed onto the big ape's back, not wanting to risk falling into the gap. "Just a bit of advice, I think the red ropes are kinda frozen, so you might slip."

Donkey grabbed onto a blue rope, swinging his way over to another rope. After that, Donkey tried to reach over to a third rope. It was red, so he almost slipped downward. He grabbed another blue rope, before he completely fell.

This was somewhat tedious, as well as exhausting. The big ape jumped from rope to rope until he reached the last one, a thin blue rope.

Diddy began to tug on Donkey's fur, "Uh...DK!? Look out!"

Donkey looked up, the rope looked like it was about to snap. Donkey swung himself over and jumped, he was barely able to grab the ledge while the rope fell into the gap. Diddy climbed off Donkey's back, helping the big ape climb the ledge.

"Now that was scary," Donkey said, feeling slightly shaken.

"What did I tell you? The author's trying to kill us," Diddy said, earning a confused look from Donkey.

Soon, the two Kongs continued to move forward, the caves began to feel warmer until the Kongs came across a small room. There was the exit, across from them. It was showing that the blizzard was still outside. Near the center, there was a small pool of lava. There were nine statues, circling the lava, as well as one big statue in the center. The smaller statues resembled a mask, three trees, a gong, the sun, a banjo (or ukulele, Donkey wasn't too sure what it was), a trillobite, and an accordion. The statue in the middle, however, resembled a head. One of its eyes looked bigger then the other.

"What do you think those are?" Donkey asked. Diddy climbed off Donkey's back, taking a close look at the mask statue. "I read somewhere in school that these guys are in charge of the tiki tak tribe, that they used to live here many years before we did."

Donkey looked at the statues with a puzzled look. "I didn't think the tikis had a leader, let alone 10."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Diddy teased, "But in all seriousness, where'd the lava come from?"

"Well, when I was a kid, I was told that Gorilla Glacier was once a volcano," Donkey explained. "I'm guessing that it's inactive, since everything around here's frozen."

"Well, as long as it doesn't blow up, then we'll be fine."

Donkey nodded in agreement. He looked over at the exit. "You wanna call it a night? It doesn't look like the snow's gonna stop, anytime soon."

Diddy nodded. He sat down over at one of the walls, looking down at his feet.

"What's wrong?" Donkey asked, sitting next to Diddy. The monkey sighed. "You know if it weren't for me, we wouldn't be here, right now."

"What makes you say that?" Donkey asked. Diddy looked up at the big ape. "I should've just fought those Kremlings when they were taking the bananas out of the hoard. If I weren't so weak, maybe those Kremlings would've stayed away from us."

At that moment, Donkey couldn't help but feel sorry for Diddy. It seemed like no matter what, Diddy was always negative about himself. The ape began to pat his head, gaining the monkey's attention.

"It wasn't your fault, Diddy. I was just being selfish."

Diddy tilted his head in confusion, curious as to what his uncle was talking about.

"Listen, Diddy. I just got tired of you bothering me to go play with you, all the time. I thought if I gave you some sort of responsibility, you would stop. Instead, I put everyone in danger, including you. I never should've used you, like that."

Diddy was stunned, he wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if he should be angry or betrayed, because Donkey was just making him guard the banana hoard out of selfishness.

Donkey sighed. "You must think I'm a terrible uncle, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I never should've put you in danger, like that."

Diddy blinked. He began to smile at his uncle. "It's all right, I forgive you."

Again, Donkey was stunned, he never thought Diddy would forgive him, that easily. "But I thought you'd start to hate me."

"Yeah...you might've done something stupid, but even then, you're still my uncle. And I'll admit, I'm actually happy that I've gone on this adventure with you...though I guess I was being kind of annoying, lately. Sorry, DK..."

"There you go, beating yourself up, again," Donkey said in a stern tone. "You've helped me from becoming Necky Food. Not only that, you've helped me from falling to my death, a few times."

"But I was kidnapped by Manky-"

"So what? You're much stronger than you think you are. Sure, you have your flaws, but you really need to stop being so negative. If you keep thinking that way, you'll never get to be a strong king."

After hearing that, Diddy nodded. "All right, DK. If it makes you feel any better, I'll stop feeling bad about myself. In fact, when we get home, we'll both be considered heroes. That's what I wanna believe."

"All right, let's see if we can make that happen." Donkey said. Sure, the big ape was already a king, but being a hero sounded rather fun. He'd earn some respect from some of his fellow Kongs, and he might even be able to receive a kiss or two from Candy. There was also the possibility of eating as many banana crème pies as he wanted...After all, Donkey loved bananas.

Diddy began to yawn, he began to fall asleep on Donkey's arm. "Do you think the Kongs at home will stop bullying me when we're done?"

"I'm sure they will," Donkey said, petting Diddy's head with his other arm. "And who knows? Maybe you might find a good friend other than me."

"Yeah..." Diddy looked up at Donkey, "And I'll bet you'll be trying to go out with Candy."

"I dunno, maybe I will," Donkey said, blushing. Diddy began to giggle. "Yeah...but I dunno why anyone would want a girlfriend, I hear most of them have cooties."

"Hey, maybe one day, you'll have one, yourself," Donkey teased. Diddy yawned, again. "I highly doubt it, DK."

"Well, whatever."

A few more minuted went by until Diddy fell asleep. It didn't take too long until Donkey fell asleep, as well. There seemed like nothing that could break their close bond. They knew what they would do, now. They wanted to be recognized as heroes, they wanted to get through the island, together.


And thus ends another chapter.

I'm happy with how this chapter turned out, especially when the Kongs entered the caves. I'll admit, I added a few elements from DKCR, Tropical Freeze, and DK64. I hope nobody minds.