Diddy kept going for what seemed like a while. Eventually, he came across a little table. Odd enoug, sure, but sitting atop it was a note and a plate of dessert. He picked up the note, curious:
TAIL! PLEASE ENJOY THIS BANANA PUDDING. IT WAS METICULOUSLY BAKED WITH CARE. IT'S NOT A TRAP TO KEEP YOU FROM PROGRESSING! I PROMISE.
EHEHEHEHE!
TINY
Diddy shook his head, but wasn't one to give up free food. He attempted to pick it up, but found that the plate and the table were frozen together. He tried picking up the spoon that lay next to it, but found that it too was stuck. He sighed, feeling defeated, and carried on until he found his path blocked. OK, now he was mad.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his step may have unconvered something. Behind him, in a raised pile of snow, his footprint showed a dark spot. He continued brushing the snow out of the way, only to realize it was map of his current area. He studied it, and took note of a giant red X marking a spot near a cluster of trees. Curiously, he walked up to the cluster and dug around until he found a lever, and pulled it, hearing a click.
Intending to investigate, the young Tail made his way back to the path. On the way, a snek slithered up to him. Diddy knelt down to it, only for it to raise to its full height... about five feet from the ground.
Diddy could see now that the snek was wearing armor, and the symbol on it seemed very familiar. But from where? The thought disappeared from his mind when the little red heart reappeared as the snake initiated battle. He sighed once more, wondering if he hit the glowing orb he saw around Tiny's banana pudding.
ACTCHECK
RATTLY
ATK 5 DEF 6
A ROYAL GUARDSMEN WHO ENJOYS PETS
Diddy smiled.
About twenty minutes later, Rattly had retracted his neck back to its previous state as the little red heart returned to Diddy. The Tail was honeslty still in hysterics as he made a break for the orb near the banana pudding, and then the now unblocked area. Who would have thought a snake could stretch like that, and become like a puppy dog with just a few pets?
The good mood was soon over as two hooded figures were quickly crossing the bridge to him. He stopped, hoping to not be noticed, and it seemed as if the Kongs were going to ignore him until one of them, the longer one, stopped and sniffed the air.
"There's... an odd smell around here," they said, causing the shorter to stop. "Do you smell it, Winky?"
"I do, actually," the shorter one, Winky, responded. "It's not really one I've ever smelt before."
Diddy saw that they weren't looking, and quickly stuffed his tail back into his pants. He had only just managed to get it done by the time the taller one turned around to him, and both threw their hoods down and the heart returned out.
"Identify yourself!"
From what he could tell, the bigger of the two was a bird, white and black feathers peeking out at them. The smaller was a frog, their face green and a brownish-red. They both had pale grey eyes that darted around, looking for the source of the smell. Diddy silently hoped neither of them had interacted with a Tail before, and so, took a cautious step forward to check their stats. He did the frog first:
WINKY
ATK 5 DEF 4
BEST FRIENDS WITH EXPRESSO
A clawed hand and a leg suddenly swiped out at him. He han't managed to dodge them, but didn't stop to think about maybe replenishing the health bar that seemed to rapidly deplete each time they attacked. Quickly he checked the other:
EXPRESSO
ATK 5 DEF 4
BEST FRIENDS WITH WINKY
The next attack hit Diddy hard. It was then he realized just how low his HP had gotten. The little heart in front of him broke into a thousand pieces, and everything went black.
The blackness held him still, brought back all the fear he'd had when he first encountered DK. This was it. He was never going home. Somewhere in the darkness, he cried. The sobs in his mind rang and rang until a voice called to him. He couldn't hear what they said at first, but it sounded like it was speaking to him.
Our fate rests with you! [REDACTED]! Please! You MUST stay determined!
Something resonated in the darkness. He felt some sort of force open his eyes for him, only for him to find the false-sky of the cave above him. Beneath him, he felt the snow, and off to the side, he saw a table with a plate sitting in wait.
Wh... what?
Diddy sat up. Behind him, he could feel the warmth of the orb pulsating. Did he really will himself back in time? How was that even possible? And that voice... He didn't hear the name it called, but what did it and the orb play in all this? Regardless, he slapped himself for not keeping better track of his health. He knew he would have to face Winky and Expresso again, and slowly made his way back to the area he'd encountered the two in, trying to think of what he could do to win the battle without harming them.
It was in the middle of the two guards' third attack that an idea struck him. There were monkey Kongs, right? Surely Dixie and Tiny were not the only ones of their kinds out here. Maybe all he needed to do was let the two sniff him. He pulled his sleeves up and struck his hands out to the two like he was attacking, but instead, purposely missed. Expresso and Winky both caught the smell curiously, and realized their mistake within a few minutes.
"We are so sorry!" Winky stammered. "We didn't mean... In passing it..."
"It's fine!" Diddy said.
"But what in the Underground are you doing so far out here?" Expresso asked. "These are areas you would normally only find sentries, guards, and the rare Tail!"
"I-I got lost. I'm sorry. I'll be heading back to town now!"
With a wave, Diddy was gone.
It wasn't long before he found a pathway blocked by a small puzzle, which he quickly solved. Past the barrier, he saw Tiny, who turned upon hearing footsteps.
"Oh! Tail!" she called out. "How did you like my trap earlier? Did you happen to leave me any?"
"Oh, I... I ate some of it," Diddy said, clearly lying through his teeth. "I could hardly finish it. I think there's still some left. It was pretty good."
"Really?" TIny's face seemed to brighten. "Wow. No one's... ever enjoyed my food before. Even Dixie doesn't, and she eats the most horrid of things! Thank you."
Oh good. Now he felt bad that he actually hadn't.
Another puzzle lay in wait up ahead, and Tiny tried to help him with it. Most of help consisted of her telling him stories about Dixie and how lazy she was, but at least it kept him happy from the half-hour it took him to solve it. Tiny tried explaining that she had just been trying to making it more interesting by rearranging it. She was impressed by his determination to solve it. Past this barrier was Dixie, who had watched the whole thing.
"Oh, hey, good job!" she said. "I was wondering if you would be able to do it without me. Didn't make me any different if you did, though."
Diddy shook his head, merely tossing her a glare.