Chapter Thirty-Seven: Diddy Kong
Rock, Sonic, Zelda, Meta Knight, Tails, and Rush hurried as fast as they could over the grassy fields of the Smash World. Sonic ran, Tails and Meta Knight flew, and Zelda rode on Rush behind Rock. Rock was sure by now that the battle was already well underway. He hoped they would not be too late. He thought about his fellow trainees Villager and the Wii Fit Trainer and wondered what had become of them during the fighting.
"I sense great turmoil off in the distance," Zelda said, "I believe the fighting has been great. I sensed a calm for a while, but now I feel a great evil at work."
"Let's just hope the bad guys haven't won yet," Sonic replied.
"Robot boy," Meta Knight said, "You said Kirby will not be there?"
"Yeah," Rock replied, "He, Mario, and Link left a little while ago."
Zelda looked up. "So Link is safe?" she asked.
"As far as I know," Rock replied.
Zelda nodded. "For some reason, I keep feeling as though something terrible has become of him."
"Hey, guys, there it is," Tails interrupted.
As the group crested the top of the hill, they looked down on the Smash Grounds. Most of the Wii U sections seemed to be intact, but the 3DS section was in ruins, smoke rising from the blackened ashes. The heroes looked at each other before hurrying down the hill.
Mario and Kirby ran through the forests, not stopping to look back. They had long since left Boo Woods behind and were now surrounded by the more familiar trees of the Mushroom Kingdom. Finally, they reached a small river and stopped to rest.
"This is ridiculous," Kirby muttered. "How did we let all this happen?"
"We couldn't have known," Mario gasped. "We had no way of knowing. Even I thought Metal Mario was just a fancy power-up."
"But our friends, Mario," Kirby said, "Link, Luigi, Ace, Douglas, Ness, Professor Gadd, who knows who else he's done in. It's possible Luigi's taken over everyone back at the Smash Grounds by now."
"I know," Mario said. He slumped against a tree and looked at his arm. He had lost a lot of blood. He needed to treat the wound soon. How embarrassing would it be, he wondered to himself, if the metals claimed me simply because I failed to administer proper first aid to myself? Already, he could feel the small bit of metal inside him squirming its way through his tissue.
Mario washed the wound with water from the stream, then tore off a piece of his shirt to bind it. He wrapped the material around it, and tied it tightly. At least the blood will blend in with the shirt, he thought.
A rustling in the trees nearby drew Mario's attention. He jumped to his feet and moved to stand next to Kirby.
"What was that?" Kirby asked.
"I'm not sure," Mario said. He held up his hands in front of himself just in case.
The rustling got louder, and soon Mario and Kirby could here strange chattering noises, as though some kind of monkey were singing to itself while on a stroll.
"Wait a minute," Kirby said, "I know that voice."
Mario and Kirby looked up into the branches above them to see a small monkey in a red shirt and hat swing past them.
The two looked at each other. "Diddy Kong!" they shouted.
The monkey stopped at the sound of their voices and looked back curiously. When he spotted them on the ground below, he let out a cheerful screech and hopped down the branches to greet them. He landed nimbly on the ground and waved a hello. Now that he was on the ground, Mario and Kirby could clearly see the yellow star pattern on his t-shirt and the "Nintendo" logo on his hat. The little monkey held a half-eaten banana in his fist.
"Hey, Diddy Kong," Mario said, happy to see a friendly face, "What are you doing all the way out here?"
The monkey cackled happily in response, pulling a small, crumpled letter from the inside of his shirt and waving it around in the air.
"Oh, you got your letter," Mario said. "Were you heading to the Subcon portal?"
Diddy nodded.
Mario and Kirby looked at each other.
"You wouldn't happen to be a metal, would you?" Kirby asked.
Diddy looked at them uncomprehendingly. He looked down at his hands, then back up at them, and shrugged.
Mario scratched at his chin. "I would bet anything that the metals expect us to head to the subcon portal, since it's closest. If you headed there, you'd probably get caught in a trap."
Diddy Kong cocked his head at Mario.
"So what do we do, then?" Kirby asked.
Mario thought for a minute. "Merlon, maybe? We might be able to get back to the Smash World via Flipside."
Kirby considered. "Do you know how to find him?"
"He has a shop in Toad Town, just north of here," Mario replied.
Kirby shrugged. "It's worth a shot."
"Come on, Diddy," Mario waved, "We've got to find another way through dimensions. The Smash fighters are in trouble."
Diddy, who had gone back to eating his banana, looked up. He cooed in a questioning tone.
"Yes, Donkey Kong's in trouble, too," Mario said.
With a sharp shriek, the little monkey jumped into action, springing over Mario and Kirby's shoulders, grabbing them with his hands as he went over, and proceeded to drag them both away through the forest to the north.
Kirby looked over at Mario. "We have really got to teach him to stop doing this to people," he said.
Mario shrugged. "At least we don't have to run anymore."
"There is one thing I'm wondering about though. Metal Mario said there were three metal brothers, right? There's Metal Mario and Metal Luigi, but who's the third?"
Wario burst into his office, waving a small letter in his hands. Mona and Ashley turned to look at him.
"Pack your bags, ladies," he said with a massive smile on his face, "We're heading to the Smash Grounds!"
"You got the letter?" Mona asked.
"I think so," he said, "I haven't opened it yet, but it's got the Smash seal. It's Wario Time again, baby! You're both coming with me. Ashley, I pulled some strings and got you that Assist Trophy position you wanted. Mona, you're going to be my assistant. Get packed, we leave in the morning."
Mona smiled, her eyes briefly flashing silver. "Yes, sir."