Oh boy...Time for me to abuse the pirate speak again~!
If you're at all curious about this chapter, I'm just letting the Kongs rest up...well, sort of.
The Kongs moved forward, they had finally stumbled upon the crossroads. As Wrinkly had stated earlier, one of the paths lead to Krem Quay. The other path, apparently, lead to a toll booth. Sitting in the toll booth was Klubba, who had a bored expression on his face. Once he noticed the Kongs, however, he started calling out to them.
"Ahoy, fleabags!"
The Kongs paused upon being called, the looks of horror on their face was obvious. Klubba stepped out of the toll booth and headed towards them. While he had heard from Screech that two Kongs had invaded the island, but he really wasn't expecting them to be so...small.
"Say, how ol' are ye two supposed t' be?" Klubba asked while placing a hand over his jaw. The Kongs gave each other a strange look, neither of them were sure what to say.
C'mon, ye mangy apes," Klubba yelled, "answer th' question!"
"We're 9," Diddy finally replied. Klubba looked at him in disbelief, "9 years old? An' ye're on an island like this?"
"Well, we've gotta save DK before K. Rool kills him," Diddy explained, causing Klubba to chuckle. "An ye reckon he'll go easy on a 9 year old?"
The trio paused as they heard someone singing, Klubba looked down at the Kongs, now with a stern look. "Listen...unless ye wants t' wind up dead, then I suggest ye come wit' me!"
The Kongs nodded as they followed Klubba to the toll booth, he opened the door. "Stay in thar 'n don't come out 'til says I so!"
Dixie gave Diddy strange look, but for the time being, they figured it was best to do what he said, They walked inside the toll booth and hid behind the wall, though Diddy couldn't help but peak through the window. Klubba was standing over the bridge when another Kremling eventually walked over to him. He looked very similar to Klubba, except his scales were grey instead of green. From what Diddy could tell, they were probably twins.
"Oi, Klubba! 'ave ye seen any Kongs around here?"
"Nope, I haven't seen a thin'." Klubba couldn't help but shrug. "Fer all I know, they prolly burned up in Crocodile Cauldron."
"Well that won't do us any good," Klubba's brother replied. "K. Rool said he wanted both o' those Kongs alive."
"Actually..." Klubba placed a claw under his chin, he started to look up. "Now that I think about it, I thought I saw somethin' towards Krem Quay a while ago."
"THEN WHY DIDN' YE TRY T' STOP 'EM!?"
"'cause I 'ave t' stay here 'n guard th' Lost World today," Klubba replied. "We can't 'ave those mangy apes runnin' in thar now can we?"
"Aaaargh, I guess ye're right," Klubba's brother replied. "I'll be keepin' an eye out fer them while I be at Krem Quay. Ye can...well...keep doin' wha' ye're doin'."
Klubba sighed in relief once his brother was gone, he looked over at the toll booth. "OK, ye can come out now."
Both Kongs looked out of the window, they sighed in relief as Klubba's brother had taken off.
"So you're name's Klubba, right?" Diddy asked.
"Aye? Wha' about it?"
"Well...why'd you save us?" Diddy asked. "Aren't you gonna turn us in?"
Klubba shrugged. "Me brother might not realize it, but K. Rool treats us rotten. If ye so much as say one word against 'im, then he'll torture ye t' th' point where ye no longer wants t' live."
Diddy couldn't help but frown. He knew K. Rool was crazy, but he had no idea what it was like to live under his rule. He's heard stories about K. Rool going out of his way to do crazy things to the Kongs, but he couldn't fathom how someone would treat their own troops like that.
"Well...you're a big guy, aren't you?" Dixie asked, "Why can't you take down K. Rool, yourself?"
Klubba sighed, he turned towards the Kongs and pointed to his eye patch. "Do ye see this? K. Rool poked me eye out as a warnin' t' ne'er go against his wishes. Since then, Kudgel 'n I 'ave been goin' along wit' wha' that madman tells us t' do."
"Oh gees," Dixie said while clasping her hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be," Klubba replied. "'tis happened a long time ago, so thar's no use in feelin' sorry now."
Once again, the Kongs gave each other strange looks.
"Anyway," Klubba continued. "Ye can stay 'til sunrise. 'cause once Kudgel finds out I be hidin' ye two, 'tis Davy Jones' Locker fer me."
Diddy quietly sighed as he slid back into the booth. After everything he had gone through so far, he was long overdue for a break. He felt that if he were to keep going at this point, he would either get captured or get killed. And like Dixie had said earlier, it was probably best to wait until night time to keep going.
Several hours had passed, and it was finally night time. Diddy found himself curled up on the floor. he had a banana in his hand for some reason. Part of him had wished that everything that had happened so far would've just been a bad dream, and that he would just wake up back at the treehouse. But sadly, no amount of wishing would be able to bring him home.
He looked over at Dixie, the young ape was curled up against the wall. Next to her was a banana peel, it looked like she had already eaten. With that said, Diddy peeled the banana in his hand and started eating it.
He had to admit, he wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for Dixie. All her energy aside, she was always making sure that Diddy was safe. While it could've just been instincts she developed from her younger relatives, it was still one of those things Diddy couldn't help but admire about her.
...Diddy dropped the banana peel as he stretched, he looked outside of the window. He could see Klubba sitting in a chair with a bottle of rum in his hand.
"It took ye long enough, didn' it?" Klubba asked, his speech somewhat slurred. "I was beginnin' t' think that ye died back thar."
Diddy tilted his head. "Why...would I be dead?"
"Look around ye!" Klubba slurred. "Ye're standin' in enemy territory, 'tis only a matter o' time afore they capture ye."
Diddy sighed, he climbed out of the toll booth and sat down next to the croc. Klubba offered to give Diddy some of his rum. "Do ye wants any o' this?"
"Uh...No thanks," Diddy replied.
"Suit yourself," Klubba replied as he took another drink from his rum. Diddy looked up at the sky, he could hardly see the moon up there...nor could he see the stars. While there might not be any rain, there definitely wouldn't be any light where they were going...Assuming they would make it out of Krem Quay alive, anyway.
"Wha''s th' matter, lad?" Klubba asked. "Afraid o' th' dark?"
Diddy shook his head. "It's not that."
"Then wha' be it?"
"I'm...more afraid that I'll never get to see my home again," Diddy confessed. "I won't be able to see my friends, my family...heck, I don't know if I'll ever see Dixie by the end of this,"
"Ye mean th' lass sleepin' in th' toll booth right now?"
"Yep, that's her," Diddy replied. "And don't get me wrong, she's been a great partner so far...I just don't know how much longer we'll be able to last out here. I don't even know if I should say anything to her."
"Well? Why nah tell her ye love her?"
"W-WHAT!?"
"Wha'? 'tis obvious that ye 'ave a thin' fer her," Klubba teased while taking another drink. "'n if she doesn't love ye back...Then 'ey, at least ye told her how ye felt about her, right?"
Diddy looked away as he started to blush. He loved Dixie, yes...but he wouldn't go THAT far, would he? Besides, Dixie would probably see him as a creep if he said such things...still, were his feelings that obvious?
A little more time had passed, and Dixie had finally woken up. She stepped outside with a groggy expression on her face, which was understandable given how dark it was.
"So are you ready to head over to Krem Quay?" Dixie asked. Diddy nodded as he stood up from his spot. "Uh...Thanks for letting us stay here, by the way."
"'twas no problem," Klubba replied. "Good luck tryin' t' take down K. Rool."
The Kongs began to venture forth once again, they were finally ready to get passed Krem Quay. And given how dark it was, they shouldn't have a problem hiding from the Kremlings. However, Diddy couldn't help but feel somewhat bitter. What did that big Kremling know about love, anyway?
...Aren't I a bitch?
It always amuses me how much of a jerk Klubba was in the game. And yet, the instant you decide to pay him, he becomes one of your best friends.
I didn't really think that being a jerk would fit Klubba all that well, though...so all that jerkiness is going to Kudgel.