Ryu and Lucario shot out of the escape portal at breakneck speeds. Lucario's ExtremeSpeed had gotten them out of Galeem's attack, but without any semblance of caution. Escape was essential, after all. The Pokemon hated the feeling of having to run away, and he could sense in the martial artist that it was mutual.

While Lucario focused on his own movement, Ryu was forced to simply clench his teeth and hope that he didn't get released prematurely. He wasn't used to such ridiculous speeds. His style of fighting, movement, and even living was always thought-out and methodical. This felt unnatural to him.

Seeing different shapes pass by them in a blur, the Pokemon tried to stop in his tracks, but his momentum was too great. A few moments later, he and the martial artist he was carrying had struck something solid. Gasping from the pain and being flattened by the dropped the load he was carrying, he dropped it. He immediately felt himself losing consciousness.

When Ryu came to, he was lying in a bed too minute for him, surrounded by many small and round creatures. They were staring at him curiously and attentively. He sat up and rubbed his body, feeling sore, shocking the surrounding creatures in the process. Looking at his body, he saw that he was covered in bandages that were placed in a haphazard and messy fashion.

He recalled back to what he felt right before he passed out. While Lucario's body had absorbed an important part of the collision, he'd still sustained heavy damage.

Looking at his surroundings, he realized that he was in a small and simple house. There wasn't much furniture, and the decorations were plain. This must be the property of one of these small creatures, he concluded.

At his right he spotted a bed similar to his, and in it lay Lucario sleeping. He was covered in even more bandages than him, placed in a similarly untidy manner as his own.

Once he'd gotten his bearings, he remembered where he'd seen the creatures before. They were always darting around the Mansion, running errands for their master, King Dedede. Waddle Dees, he called them. He'd never paid them much mind, although Ken had asked him once about using them as a spare punching bag, if they ever ran out.

Noticing some movement in the crowd, he saw a large plate with a random assortment of fruits, meat slices and sweets on top being passed around until it was placed on his lap.

Ryu looked at the meal in front of him with a perplexed expression on his face. It didn't even have any accompanying utensils to eat it with. Are they expecting me to just swallow this whole? Seeing the Waddle Dees' expectant look, he could tell that that was the case.

Not wanting to be rude, Ryu ate the food off the plate while trying to not make a face that would be reveal his discontent.

When he was finished and the Waddle Dees were carrying his plate away, he saw Lucario stirring from the corner of his eye. Soon, the Pokemon opened his eyes and got up with a gasp. His eyes darted around the room, trying to get a grasp on his location. "Where am I?" he asked the martial artist Pokemon.

"You are at the home of one of the Waddle Dees, the servants of King Dedede" answered Ryu, slightly shocked. He still needed to get used to Lucario's method of communication.

Seeing all the little creatures surrounding them, Lucario could recognize them, and relaxed. They weren't in any immediate danger. He was confused by all the bandages that were covering his body, though.

Soon they brought him a plate similar to Ryu's and, at the martial artist's request, he ate it all, but not without effort.

Once they were done eating and back on their feet, they left the cabin that they were staying on and headed for a nearby plaza. They needed to know what they were going to do next somewhere quieter and undistubed.

Once they got there, they immediately got to work.

"Neither of us know where we are or where to go, so I recommend that we scout around this area to find out more" said Lucario in his usual calm demeanor, to which Ryu nodded in agreement.

And so, by asking around, they found out that the only nearby location that the locals were familiar with was the small mountain that lay a way to the east, since some curious Waddle Dees had encountered some friendly creatures that lived near it. However, their lack of communication skills meant that the duo couldn't get many details.

"Maybe we can find some allies there. We should head there first." proposed Ryu, to which Lucario agreed.

And so, they set out to this new location.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter any issues along the way. The duo didn't speak much either, since neither of them were good at small talk nor were they interested in it.

When they reached the foot of the mountain (which, from up close they could see that it was shaped like a spiral), they found a skull-shaped hut near it. Lucario felt a tinge of familiarity with the place but couldn't place why.

Preparing themselves to encounter an enemy, they entered the hut.

The best shaman that ever existed - Humba Wumba didn't count - was sitting in his handmade thatch chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Mumbo Jumbo then heard someone enter his hut and made his way downstairs. He didn't know who the warrior and dog were at first. "You are friends of bear and bird?"

"Bear and bird? I don't recall anyone like that." replied Ryu, confused.

"He must mean Banjo and Kazooie." suggested Lucario. The sense of familiarity that he felt finally cleared up. "You must be an acquaintance of them."

"I am Mumbo Jumbo. Best shaman in… world?" Mumbo had to think about it. Spiral Mountain and the surrounding area, they weren't alone anymore. "This world." He finally said, holding out his arms to mean the mountain and the surrounding areas that had been there before the invitation. "Acquaintance, more like friend."

"Very well. We, too, are friends of Banjo and Kazooie. My name is Lucario." said Lucario politely.

"And mine is Ryu." added the martial artist, trying to take the creature in front of him seriously. He felt like he was living a strange dream. At least Blanka looked human-like.

"We have come to ask if you could aid us should we ever need it." finished the Pokemon.

Mumbo had been receiving speech lessons from some of the other "shamans" that had shown up from other regions after the invitation had been sent out. He attempted to say this to the warrior and dog. "Mumbo has…" He paused. "Attempted to learn speech better. Shamans have helped. From other places."

He then tried to pronounce their names. "Ryu… Lucario…" The yellow skull man said their names rather slowly, then nodded. "Mumbo will help."