Within the Isle of Thickets sat a lonely castle on the very top of the mountain. Though it may not be as big as the Kremling's castle once was, it was still impressive to look at from down below.
Inside the castle's dungeon, the half Kremlings were locked up. The other half was doing...Well, not even the Kremling King knew what was happening.
Speaking of which, a large Kremling was sitting inside one of the cells. The bars were covered in bite marks, the wall below the window was covered by a blanket and some stone.
"All right, get in your cell! The rest of your tribe should be here, shortly!"
The Kremling's eyes widened as a monkey pushed two Kongs into his cell. He ran towards the bigger Kong and started hugging him.
"Can you believe it, Donkey?" The Kremling said dramatically. "These wretched fleabags decided to lock ME of all people in this dingy cell. Do you even know what it's LIKE to get kidnapped like that?"
"Oh, I can think of a few examples," DK said bitterly. He tried to push the Kremling away. "NOW GET OFF!"
"Wait, K. Rool...how did they lock you up in the first place?" asked Dixie.
"Oh, you know," K. Rool said as he dropped DK back onto the ground. "That dirty fleabag Avery attacked us while we were sleeping. So now I'm waiting to see if one of the Kremlings found a way out."
"Which Kremling?" DK asked.
"Uh..." K. Rool thought for a moment. "I believe it was Kass? I'm not so sure to be honest."
DK and Dixie rolled their eyes. Sure, a smaller Kremling could certainly find a way out. But what about Kutlass? Or one of the Klaptraps? They could even fit through the window if the wanted to.
K. Rool snorted. "Hey, if you don't believe me then what's this?"
He walked over to the wall and moved the blanket aside. Some of the bricks were missing, which created a small opening. At the very least, the Kongs looked a little surprised.
"Impressive, isn't it?" K. Rool said proudly. "Although...the only problem is that I can't get out of there on my own."
"Well, maybe Dixie could fit?" DK suggested, earning a worried look from Dixie. "But what if they catch me out there?"
"Oh, right!" DK said while he tried to think. "Maybe you could go through there at night then?"
"That...actually not a bad idea, considering that it's coming from you," K. Rool replied. He looked down at Dixie. "What do you think? Can you do it?"
"Of course," Dixie said with energy in her voice, "How do you think we got through Crocodile Isle in the first place?"
K. Rool opened his jaw for a moment before closing it. He wasn't sure how to respond to the comment, he quickly shook his head. "Whatever, just make sure that Avery doesn't catch you...got it?"
With that said, the group would have to wait until night time came. If one of the Kremlings could escape, then Dixie was certain that she could find a way to help everyone else escape, too.
Back on Donkey Kong Island, Diddy was going through some stuff inside the treehouse. He grabbed a backpack, a couple of bananas, the first-aid kit from earlier, a tent, a popgun, and a green hoodie. It was scorching hot today, so he'd have to put it on when he got to Breezy's island.
Once he was pack up and ready, Diddy began to head back over to Funky's garage. There, he could see Breezy examining the plane while Kass leaned against the wall. From the looks of it, they weren't up to much while he was gone.
"I hope you've got everything ready," Kass said sternly. "Because you might not come back for a while."
"I know that," Diddy replied. "And it's not like we haven't done something like this, before. Besides, it took us about month to get our island back LAST time."
Kass raised an eyebrow, "You guys went missing for an entire month?"
"Didn't you notice how frozen the island was?"
"Well...yeah, but I just thought that you guys liked the snow for some reason."
"Ugh..."
Eventually, Tiny made her way over the garage. She had a purple backpack, a sleeve from her sweater was poking out.
"I hope you've packed some food, too," Diddy said with a stern expression. Tiny replied with a shrug, "Hey...I've got a few pineapples and a fishing rod, so we'll be fine."
Diddy rolled his eyes, he looked at Breezy with a curious expression. "Hey, are we ready or what?"
"I believe so," Breezy replied. "I'm surprised you Kongs have such a good airplane on your hands."
"Well, DK told me that Funky got into planes because of Osprey," Diddy replied.
"Huh...I'd believe it," Breezy as she hopped inside of the plane. She couldn't help but think of what other impacts that Osprey's had here. For all she knew, he could've been the one responsible for turning Crocodile Isle into a metal fortress. As she started the plane, the others hopped in as well.
"Hang on tight!" Breezy said as the plane began to move. She had a determined smile on her face, the plane's wheels would bump against the dirt and sand along the ground. At first, the trio sitting in the back looked terrified. Kass held onto her seat while Tiny held onto Diddy's arm. But once the plane took off, everyone was finally able to relax.
Breezy turned the plane around and started heading north. It had to be fall where they were going, so of course it would get cold once they landed.
"So where exactly is the Isle of Thickets?" Diddy asked. "Is it somewhere near New Donk City?"
"It's a little further north than that," Breezy replied. "Just think of it like Donkey Kong Island, but more...temperate."
Diddy replied with a nod. He couldn't help but wonder how so many monkeys could get so many Kongs onto that island so quickly. Though given the speed that Funky's plane was going, it would probably take less than a day to get to the Isle o' Thickets. He should probably get comfortable while he still can.
Meanwhile, Breezy was ecstatic. Though Osprey was no longer with them, she was happy she could find someone similar to help her. It was about time that Avery got what he deserved, and Breezy was going to make sure of it.
Several hours had passed, and the sun was already going down. Diddy and Kass were looking outside the plane, they could see the busy lights that illuminated New Donk City from across the sea.
"Is it true that DK himself went over there and kidnapped some lady?"
"Yeah, but so did Cranky," Diddy replied. Kass gave him a strange look. "Why would HE want to kidnap some lady?"
"For revenge."
Kass shook her head, whatever those two Kongs were doing over there, it probably wasn't her business anyhow. While Diddy and Kass were talking, Tiny had a finger in her ear. She was very uncomfortable, and she wished that she had brought some gum with her.
"How much longer until we get to the Isle of thickets?" Tiny asked, almost complaining. Breezy replied with a shrug. "Maybe about an hour or two, maybe longer than that."
Tiny let out a groan as she slid out of her seat. "And I'll bet that Dixie has all that gum with her, too!"
"Here, you can have some of mine," Breezy said as she pulled some gum out of her pocket before handing it over to Tiny. The small ape accepted it and threw the wrapper aside before she started chewing it.
The group continued to sit back as Breezy continued to fly the plane. It wasn't until mid-night when the group could finally see the island. The bottom of the island was covered in dense forest, while the top of the island mostly consisted of rough mountain terrain. At the very top of the mountain was what looked like a large castle. The island gave Diddy vibes of Crocodile Isle. Not the metal fortress, but rather the Crocodile Isle that loomed over Donkey Kong Island before it sank into the ocean.
"Say, why can't you just fly into the castle up there?" Tiny asked.
"Because all the other Thickets will attack us if we do that," Breezy replied. "Look up for a moment, do you see anything?"
The trio looked up at the sky. Sure enough, they could see lights flying above them. Each light was one of the Thickets searching for outsiders, the thought of such a heavily guarded place was so unsettling, even Kass looked uncomfortable.
"I suggest we head on over to the beach for tonight," Breezy said, "That way, we'll be ready to get through the island."
"And where are we supposed to stay?" Tiny asked. "We can't just go out there and expect everything to be A-OK when we land!"
"Trust me, I know a place that not even Avery bothers to check."
The plane landed on a long boardwalk, the group was finally able to hop out of the plane and stretch. They all began to follow Breezy. Though no matter how safe they may be, Diddy couldn't help but draw comparisons to Crocodile Isle. He remembers having to hide just so the Kremlings wouldn't kill him, he remembers having to flee from so many deranged villains just to try and stay alive...
...But of course, that was a couple years ago. Back when he knew nothing about how adventures work, back when he thought that he could never see DK ever again. Surely, things would be different on this island, right? Heck, the Kongs have lost their island to VIKINGS at one point, so it's not like they couldn't handle it...right?
Tiny started holding onto Diddy's arm again, much like how she would do whenever Dixie became upset. She probably knew that something was bothering him, so he decided not to question it.
Breezy lead the trio into a cabin. There was a small bunk bed on one side, while the other side consisted of books covered in dust. There were vines growing from outside the windows, it was as if the cabin was slowly being eaten away by nature.
"I know there's not much room in here, but feel free to make yourselves at home," Breezy said as she closed the door behind her. Kass sat down on the floor while the Kongs claimed the bunk bed. Diddy took the top bunk while Tiny had the bottom bunk.
While everyone was settling in for the night, Breezy turned on a nearby lantern and stood outside. Hardly anyone would want to come down to a cabin like this, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Diddy curled up on his side, he wondered how he was going to do anything with an injured wrist. Though if it's anything that he's learned about his adventures, it's that he didn't need to be the strongest in order to be a hero.
...Still, he hoped that the other Kongs would be fine without him right now. Knowing DK and Dixie, they could probably manage on their own.