Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Nintendo, bla bla bla.
Sorry for the wait. No muffins? FOR SHAME! Sipp has finally gotten off her lazy bum to continue this. Sipp likes talking in third person. Sipp will shut up and let you read the story.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest
By: Dr. Sipp

Gangplank Galleon


Two pairs of hands latched onto the floor of the Gangplank Galleon, hoisting their owners onto the deck.
Diddy Kong, plastering his stomach to the rough ground, scanned the surroundings with his keen eyes.

"The coast is clear," he whispered to his companion, a chimp of the female gender, whose long blonde hair was neatly into a pony tail, hidden beneath her lopsided magenta hat.
Almost in unison, the two lovers pushed themselves to their feet, always searching for anything.
For the first time in half an hour, Diddy breathed normally.

"There's no one around," Dixie allowed her voice to rise to a common tone.

"I'll go ahead to check," Diddy put in. Dixie opened up her mouth to protest, but a glare from Diddy made her close it.

That had been two hours ago.
At the present moment, Diddy being shoved forwards, to an unknown location, by a pair of vile-looking reptiles.
The leering face of Kaptain K. Rool came into view.

"YOU!" spat Diddy.

"Arr, matey. Now, bring the scum 'o land over here."

The Kremlings complied, dragging him over to the entrance of the Crystal Caves. K. Rool grabbed the chimp's wrist, nearly slapping it into the hole. Nothing happened. The Kaptain cursed.

"ARG! Who else could it be?!"

He was so absorbed with his ranting, that he didn't notice the two reptilian guards crash to the ground. But what got his attention, was Diddy Kong, cartwheeling directly into his face. The two enemies collided, and K. Rool let out a loud, piercing yowl, as he toppled over. His shout got the attention of other Kremlings, who all came barreling towards the source of the commotion.

"Sir, what in de name o' the seven seas is going on?" demanded Krusha. K. Rool was now on his feet again, clutching his left eye.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM NOW!" He shrieked, in a mad frenzy.

"RUN FOR IT!"

The two monkeys took off running, as crocodiles clambered after then, and their leader screamed bloody murder. Luckily, they were both nimble, and outran their pursuers, diving into the water. Dixie yanked him underwater, as the crocodiles searched around the land, for any trace of them.

"They wouldn't be foolish enough to hide in the water," one of them stated. The others looked at him. "Besides, there ain't a ripple. Those flea-bitten monkeys can't swim at all."

"Klamp's right," another one spoke up, "Thems clever little things. They prob'ly found a detour and are back on land."

After a bit or arguing, they headed back to their boss.

Two heads broke through the calm of the surface.

"Whew, that was close. Thanks, 'Cee." 'Cee' was a pet name Diddy had for his beloved.

"Welcome. Look!"

She pointed to the Gangplank Galleon. "Wanna try again?"

"Yeah, but let's board the back first."

The two lovers waded out to stern, scaling it once more.

"There's nobody around," proclaimed Dixie, once they had boarded safely. She was partially correct. Apart from a few rats, it was deserted.

"Strange," muttered Diddy. One of the rats had paused to stare at them intently.

"EWW! A rat!"

The little animal was now scuttling in their direction. Dixie backed up a bit, pulling a disgusted face. Diddy held up a foot.

"Shoo!"

The rat was disobedient, its curiosity aroused by the action, sunk his teeth into the chimp's ankle.

"YEOCH!"

Diddy, in his mad frenzy, kicked out so hard that the rat was sent flying. It landed, half rolling, half running, and took off.
His shout had gotten the attention of several Kremlings, who all came hobbling their way.

"HIDE!"

The two monkeys threw themselves into a stack of barrels.

"HEY!" yelled one of the crocodiles, "STOP WHERE YOU ARE!"

Being the rebellious teenagers that they were, the two chimps paid no heed to the crew of Gangplank Galleon, and instead concentrating their efforts on escaping. However, their route was cut off by that same rat, but this time, it was not alone. In fact, there were a few hundred rats, blocking their way.

"Oh s-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the head rodent lunged, as Dixie grabbed him by the arm, and swerved to the right, both running as fast as their legs could carry them. Behind them, the scrambling of thousands of feet against food, and high pitched squeaking was heard. Even the Kremlings had stopped pursuing them, and instead were lofted on masts, chortling at the two fugitives.

"Over there!" Diddy pointed ahead, to a huge mast. Both, being monkeys, hopped onto it, scaling it with the greatest of ease. The rats came up after them, but much slower.

"We've almost lose them."

They were now at the sails.
To their surprise, instead of one, there were several masts.

"'Cee! We can use these things as ledges!" To prove his point, the money swung himself over to one, landing gracefully. Dixie mimicked his action.

"We'd better move fast."

The mast teetered back and forth as more rats scrambled up the wooden pole.

"Hoy! Landlubbers!"

"Wonderful," muttered Diddy Kong.

"Out of the frying pan, and into the oven," intoned his girlfriend.

"I've got an idea," she then mouthed to him, as more crocodiles waded their way.

"I'm all ears."

"Notice how they cling to the ropes?"

Indeed, the knuckles of the reptiles were going white, from clutching the rope so hard.
A smile curled around his lips.

"Fancy a game of chicken?"

Using a beam to gain momentum, the two lovers soared through the air, their feet connecting with the chests of the two nearest Kremlings. They yowled, quite loudly, as they sailed into empty space, dropping either into the water, or the deck. They scaled a good part of the ship in this fashion. The technique was quite effective, until, of course, there were no more sails left.

"Think we should try the deck again?" Was Diddy's query.

"Yeah. It might help us lose the rats, plus, we don't have anywhere else to go."

Their arms latched around another mast, and the two mammals let themselves slip to ground level.
It seemed that the rats were great strategists, because, a party of twenty were waiting for them, gnashing their teeth in a predatory manner.

"RUN!" It was getting quite tiring, trying to escape rabid rats while crocodiles hooted with laughter. As if that weren't enough...

"DIDDY! There's an abyss!"

Before them, was a great crack, wider than they were tall.

"We'll have to jump it!"

While running, they coiled their muscles for a jump, but instead of leaping, they slipped on a puddle of water, and plunged into it. Most of the rats stopped short, but some of them dove after the chimps.
Diddy, who had had underwater experiences already, sucked in his breath, grabbed his significant other, and pulled her deeper. Dixie caught on at once, kicking her legs out to swim faster. Only a few rats were pursuing them, and they were terrible swimmers.
They stopped, glancing at each other. Diddy made a gesture that clearly meant:

"We're safe."

Since 'safe' is not applicable in this story, a group of menacing fish were flocked about them. They resembled piranhas, with crimson scales, and huge mouths, coated with razor sharp teeth.
The biggest one, no doubt the leader, surged forwards.

"I am Cref, the leader of the Lockjaw Empire."

Since neither of the monkeys could talk, they held up their hands, in a gesture of peace.
Cref bubbled (literally) with laughter.

"Don't give me that, furballs. We have sworn alliance to Kaptain K. Rool... and," something in those cold, glassy eyes glinted, "Visitors mean fresh meat."

At that sentence, the Kongs decided that it was time for their exit.
Paddling for their lives, the two lovers set off, several LockJaws dogging their heels.
More came, blocking off any means of escape.
Something caught Dixie's eye.
Below them, was a wooden crate, bolted to the ground, and shaking back and forth. She jabbed her boyfriend in the ribs, pointing at it.

What did they have to lose?

Both shot down, each grabbing one end of it. The Lockjaws sped up considerably, screeching at them to stop.
Fueled by reverse psychology, they tugged harder than ever, and the lid came off. Out streaked a blue swordfish, barreling towards the flock of fish, Most scattered, shrieking bloody murder and evacuating, but a few unfortunate ones were hit, stabbed through the middle by the swordfish's nose.
Satifisied with his work, he turned towards his saviors.

"Thank you. My name is Enguarde."

No response. Upon closer inspection, Enguarde realized that they were suffocating.
He swam towards them.

"Get on my back."

Both shimps complied, wrapping their arms around his powerful torso. He sped off like a rocket.
Red haze was clouding their vision. Finally, the fish resurfaced, nudging them onto dry land.

"Are you two okay?" queried Enguarde, swishing his tail.

"Y-yes," spluttered Diddy, coughing up water, "Thank you."

"No, thank you," said the fish, gracefully.

"What were you doing locked up?"

"Those fish... they're afraid of me. That's why. By the way, what are your names?"

"I'm Diddy, and this is my girlfriend, Dixie. We're Kongs."

"What brings you two to Kremling territory, if I may ask?"

"K. Rool kidnapped Donkey Kong.. we're trying to rescue him."

"Hm.. Well, I'll rid the water of Lockjaws, then see what I can do to help you. Just a piece of advice, a fat bird named Krow inhabits the Gangplank Galleon. Her eggs are her weakness. She's quite protective of them. If you manage to get past her, then head to Krem Cauldron. They might be holding your friend there."

"Thanks for the advise!"

They waved him goodbye, and he flapped a fin at them, disappearing into the water.

"Look!" Diddy pointed up, to a large black blob, situated on the top of the mast, "I bet that's Krow."

Dixie nodded. "Let's go."

They climbed, once again, but as soon as they had reached the tops of the first set of sails, they knew that another plan was needed. Not only were rats waiting for them, but so were Kremlings, now irritated and armed. The reptiles came at them from all sides, closing in on them.

"Diddy," breathed Dixie, clutching his wrist, "I just want you to know something... before we die."

"Yes?"

"It was me who ate your banana cream pie, not Donkey."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry."

"You... you ate my pie?!" He was staring at her in disbelief, eyes wide with shock.

"Diddy..."

"YOU ATE MY PIE!"

Now oblivious to the fact that he was about to be stabbed through the heart by his enemy, or gnawed to death by filthy rodents, Diddy was in a shell-shocked state, looking as though Dixie had murdered a family member.

"I'm sorr-"

"YOU ATE M-"

The rest of their words were drowned out, as a streak of green cut through the fog that was forming, slamming into several reptiles. They were sent flying, and the thing bounced off them, bounding into the other enemies. Diddy, in his own little world, continued to rant about his beloved pie, as Dixie looked on the spectacle, like a deer in headlights. Once the area was clear of vermin, their hero halted in front of them, straightened himself. He was a snake, with beautiful green scales.

"Hello there," his voice was oily, but pleasant.

"Hi," replied the female, a bit timidly. "We're... um.. not from around here."

"We don't get many visitors around here," the snake, who was much bigger than her, was examining her, curiosity etched on his features.

"We're.. um.. on a mission?"

"Really now?" his forked tongue flickered in and out of his mouth, and he slid closer.

"Tell me more."

Their eyes met, and his hypnotic gaze began to take effect on her. When she spoke, it was in a bland, monotone voice.

"We're here to rescue Donkey Kong."

"OH! OH!" he exclaimed, his voice unusually loud. It shook her out of her trance.

"You'll have to excuse me," he looked a bit sheepish, "I didn't know whether you were friend or foe."

"I remember you!" Diddy was now back in the real world. "Great to see you again, Rattly!"

"Likewise. And this is...?" his eyes darted to Dixie.

"Dixie Kong."

"Need a ride, anywhere?"

"Yes, please." Diddy raised his arm, finger erect like a tower.

"We need to beat Krow."

Rattly bobbed his head up and down, the sunlight catching his scaled, and reflecting it.

"That's your best bet. If you hit her hard enough, she'll tell you where to find Donkey." He lowered himself.

"Jump on."

Dixie risked an insecure peek at her partner, but, he was looking quite confident, so she followed him over to the snake, and jumped on his coils.

"Is this safe?" she inquired, trying to steady her stomach.

"Yep!" Diddy answered, cheerfully. "It'll be fun."

"Fasten your seatbelts, folks."

Before they could do such thing, the snake bent down, using his body as a spring, and launched into the air, slicing through it with expertise. Dixie squeaked, and clutched her boyfriend. He laughed. Finally, Rattly ended gracefully on a mast, and let them down.

"This is where I leave you. I'll try to help you out later on. Good luck."

And, repeating the process he had done earlier, he disappeared.
Dixie Kong said nothing, but looked disoriented.

"That's Rattly. He's eccentric... but nice."

"Okay..."

"'Cee, did you really steal my pie?"

"I said I'm sorry!"

"YOU STOLE MY PIE?! Dixie, how COULD you?! I loved that pi-"

A loud squawking noise diced his sentence, and much to Dixie's relief, ended it. However, that relief was very shortlived, because a second later, she realized just who made that noise.

"KROW!"

The fat bird unfolded her wings, glaring down at them from her perch on top of her eggs.

"Who are you?" she snarled. "State your names and business."

"Tell us where Donkey Kong is!"

The fowl let out a screech, swooping towards them. Diddy managed to dodge, but Dixie was not so fortunate. Krow grabbed her in her talons, squeezing the life out of her.

"DIXIE!"

He threw himself at the two women, but missed. Krow was in the air now, circling around him like a vulture.
He remembered Enguarde's words.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted Krow's eggs, lying in their nest. Unprotected. A devious smile tugged at his lips, as he hopped onto it, hauling an egg in his arms.

"Hey, Krow!"

"NO!" she shrieked, streaking towards them.

"DON'T TOUCH MY EGGS!"

Too late.

With a superhuman (er, monkey) effort, Diddy had thrown the egg. It smashed into her face, and she screamed as she lost grip on Dixie, hurtling backwards.

"MY EGGS! MY EGGS!"

Diddy picked up another egg, his posture menacing.

"No! Please!" the mother begged, "I'll do anything!"

"Tell us where they're holding Donkey," Diddy's tone was firm, placid.

"I don't know!" she began to cry, a noisy and disturbing sight.

"YES YOU DO!"

"I don't know... go to Krem Cauldron. Someone there will know."

Diddy, still carrying the eggs, jumped onto the ground, then padded backwards, beckoning for Dixie to follow. His eyes never left the still bird, until they reached the edge of the ship. Then, gently, he released the egg, and dove off the edge, his girlfriend following suit. They didn't see Krow's eyes darken, or hear her swear for revenge as she went to retrieve her baby.
What they did hear, however, was the splashing of water as they swam to land.

"Welcome to Krem Cauldron, 'Cee."

End of chapter 1.

Oy, I'm not particularly pleased with this... but I hope you guys like it. Sorry for the wait, school is evil among other things.