Cranky was... indifferent... to his wife's family. Very few of them, her mother included, even liked him, and his luck would have it that they also happened to have a decent amount of power on Aqua Reef. He was fairly certain they only complied because of their marriage, and never bothered to give him even the time of day unless the good of their respective islands was at hand.

That being said, he spent the majority of the ferry calming himself, and preparing for anything that could happen. Especially from Orion.

He had called once more earlier that morning, and Hikari has been sure to warn him ahead of time of what DK had done to earn the younger leader's wrath. In all total honesty? Cranky had expected it, and despite being told the locket's contents the night this all started, it still shocked him that Wrinkly would trust such an important item to him. Even still, he knew every interaction while he was there would be uncomfortable. Orion, being the jerk he very well knew he was, would surely spread what just happened amongst the family.

And that's why the moment Cranky stepped foot on the dock in the port, he stopped, feeling the nearly uncontrollable urge to light everything on fire.

Hearing footsteps coming his way caused him to turn his head in time to have Wrinkly wrap herself around his torso like a boa constrictor around its prey. Behind her were their son, his friends, and...

"Y-you are... the king of Kongo Bongo Island?" a brunette girl asked, looking up at him with light green eyes. He nodded. "Donkey Kong Senior?"

"Yes, I am," Cranky responded, smiling politely. "May I, er... ask who you might be?"

"Sodoma, Lord Orion's daughter." The girl curtseied respectively. "My sir, it is quite the pleasure to meet someone so f-"

"BROTHER!" another voice shouted, and Cranky was immediately hug-attacked by Hikari, nearly knocking both him and Wrinkly down. The latter detatched herself from her husband and elbowed the younger in the gut, sending him sprawling.

"Hikari, are you all right?" Cranky asked, kneeling down and pulling the ambassador up. An amused smile twitched at his mouth.

"Yep, never better!" Hikari grinned. He attached himself to the older man again, but this time in a not-so-violent fashion. "I've missed you, nii-san. It's been too long."

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see you," Dixie said, as she and Diddy pushed their way up to him.

"We thought you were staying on the island, and would tell us everything you found out?" Diddy added.

"I'm afraid my research came to an end," Cranky replied, his brother finally detatching. "You can only do so much research on a race that doesn't really exist after the islands split. Most of what I encountered all said the same thing, so I decided that perhaps my efforts should be a little more direct."

"That's good," DK responded. "We've got someone with a little more weight in political terms.

"There was you and there was your mother."

"You're an actual island leader," Wrinkly said. "There was only so much the two of us could do. I'm fairly certain the only reason Orion believed us was because Sodoma had also been kidnapped at right about the same time."

"We're not set to leave for Credd Rock until this afternoon," Hikari interjected. "Sodoma has requested to join you, and in turn Orion has requested I come along."

"Everything else is prepared then?" Cranky asked.

"Not quite... I'm not going with you to Credd, I'm afraid," Wrinkly said. She turned to Sodoma, taking her hand lightly. "I'm afraid there's business I need to tend to here, and I don't think I'll be done for another few days." She began tracing a small symbol, and DK glanced to Cranky, realizing now what it was. "Until I can rejoin you, you will be their main tie to this island. Perhaps seeing someone a little more involved with its politics will convince the regent."

"Regent?" DK inquired.

"Credd's leader passed away just over a year ago," Dixie said, "and her daughter was far too young to take the position."