A/N: Update time! Ah... Donkey Kong Country. These were actually the first video games I ever touched back when I was a kid. But I was a terrible player, haha.

Real quick I wanted to bring up a point that one of the last chapter's reviewers brought up. When I wrote that Lucina had a hard time cutting through the forest, it wasn't from any lack of ability of Falchion's to slice through the plants. Chrom mentioned once or twice that he was actually able to break down a stone wall with the legendary blade. What I was thinking was that Falchion would be unwieldy to use to cut through vegetation. It's a big sword, so I imagined it would have been like using a claymore to cut through underbrush-not impossible, but very tiring to the wielder. I assume folks use machete's to cut through jungles for a reason-because they are smaller and lighter, much easier (for the wielder) to slice through plants. That's why Pit had an easier time in the end.

But I really appreciate someone pointing that out; if you find any other discrepancies in this story, please point them out. I'm certainly no J.K. Rowling-I know there's certainly a lot I can improve on, so here's to getting better at writing!

Pit found out rather quickly that these new monkey Heartless were really, really annoying. They had this habit of sliding under the angel's blades and kicking him in the shins. When they weren't making a slide to home base, they were slashing their claws through the air like manic cats. More often than not, Pit was put on the defensive.

Thankfully, Donkey Kong's ground-pound gave him the break he needed. Recovering quickly, Pit lunged forward and dug his right blade into closest monster. Twisting three-hundred and sixty degrees, the angel continued on and brought down his other blade twice on the Heartless next in line. The third opponent tasted both his weapons. Before the creatures could regroup, three of their own had gone up in smoke.

The enemy didn't take kindly to the news. Fuming, the monkeys pressed their attacks. One slid at Pit with murder in its yellow eyes, but seeing the attack coming, Pit brought down his backwards-facing blade to meet the on-coming foot. The result was… surprisingly comical. The Heartless started jumping up and down on one foot, cradling the other in soundless pain. Pit gave the creature an odd look before taking advantage of the opening.

With Donkey Kong bashing the Heartless about, the tides seemed to be turning. The angel finally caught up with the great ape, leaping in to cover his back. DK snorted appreciatively as he smashed an enemy into the ground. Working together, the duo took out most—if not all—the aggressive Heartless. Before long, the clearing was empty and still.

Pit scanned the area for any stragglers, but for the moment the area appeared secure. Satisfied, Pit straightened and brought his blades together to reform his bow, then slung it across his back.

"That took care of that," Pit turned to the ape with a grin. "Looks like we saved your bananas, DK."

The ape hooted triumphantly, beating his chests with his thick fists. He brushed past Pit to the impressive pile of fruit and looked over it thoroughly, as if checking to make sure that not even one banana was out of place. Smirking, Pit turned to see if Lucina was watching.

Only then did he realize that he and the oversized gorilla were alone in the clearing.

"Lucina?" he called out, a tone of worry in his voice. He didn't know her well, but she didn't seem to be the type that would abandon a fight. Not unless something serious happened to her…

Did the Heartless get her?

"Lucina? Lucina!" he called out with more urgency.

Behind him, Donkey Kong growled.

Pit whirled around in time to see a curious creature emerged from the jungle. It was small—around the size of DK's head—and seemingly made of wood, although the angry eyes set in its face seemed real enough. It didn't have wings, but somehow it drifted weightlessly through the air like a messed-up Tiki balloon. Pit hesitantly reached for his bow; he wasn't sure if the creature was a Heartless or not, but it didn't look friendly.

The creature soundlessly shook its twig-like arms, gesturing wildly at empty clearing around them. Pit couldn't make heads or tails of what it was trying to say. He glanced over at the Kong uncertainly, but the great ape was scowling. Clearly the two had encountered each other before, and their interaction had been less than pleasant.

After venting whatever fury had possessed it, the creature took a deep breath—then started waving its arms back and forth methodically, its eyes becoming a hypnotizing swirl. Pit swore he heard some sort of tribal music before the air around them suddenly shimmered with pools of darkness. All around them, the Heartless made their reappearance.

"Seriously?" Pit gaped, shoulders slumping. "We just took you guys out!"

The blue-furred monkeys were back, but this time they were joined by a new type of Heartless. These resembled giant flightless birds, with glossy black feathers and thick, jagged, bone-white beaks. They jerkily tilted their heads from side to side like mutant chickens, peering at the duo with vacant, dinner-plate-sized eyes. Though they didn't look like the sharpest crayons in the crayon box, they still looked dangerous.

Even though the Tiki creature didn't have a mouth, Pit swore it wore a maniacal grin on its wooden face. The angel and ape duo braced themselves for another battle when it waved its arms again. The Heartless didn't move, but the canopy above their heads suddenly shuddered. A shadow crossed over the jungle's clearing, and Pit and DK looked up to see a crude air ship drift in.

Pit gaped. Since when did Donkey Kong Country have giant blimps? Or floating Tiki heads, for that matter? None of this was making sense! He peered back at the strange creature, wondering again if it was a Heartless… or something else. Whatever it was, it seemed to have control over the Heartless, though Pit couldn't understand how.

Ropes fell from the ship's hull, landing around the cart of bananas. At the Tiki's order, several of the monkey-like Heartless surged forward and began tying the ropes around the cart.

Donkey Kong roared in outrage. Without thinking, the great ape charged into the thicket of enemies. Pit stretched out a hand to stop him, but the puny angel would have had better luck trying to stop a speeding train. As the great ape tried to fight his way to the bananas, the other Heartless converged on him.

Pit glanced at the Tiki before going to the rescue. It was controlling the Heartless. He was sure of it now. But he still couldn't understand how. Could a Heartless Boss be something other than a Heartless itself? Determined to find out, Pit strung his bow.

Lucina felt a scream rise up her throat as she fell through the darkness faster than her mind could follow. She couldn't understand. What just happened? One moment, she was slinking through the underbrush, and the next…

Before she could so much as open her mouth, Lucina's harsh descent was cut off. The scream she had been fighting escaped as a grunt as she landed on a hard, rough surface. Was it… wood?

The young woman took a few moments to catch her breath before reaching out with her fingers. She barely got them an arms-length away before they butted against more wood—all the way around her. By some miracle, she had fallen perfectly into something round and oblong. A barrel, perhaps? She wasn't sure how she had been so lucky as to fall in it, but at least she hadn't come to harm. Taking a deep breath, she started to stand.

The container—or barrel, or whatever it was—suddenly tipped. And exploded. Inexplicably, against all reason and logic, Lucina found herself blasting through the air. This time, she did scream.

Another wall of wood stopped her crazy flight, but she couldn't even right herself before that barrel exploded as well. What were the odds? Had she fallen into a trap? What in Naga's sweet name would be at the end of this demented contraption? She should never have—

The air rushed out of her as she finally landed on something other than wood: a moist mat of green moss. No more explosions, no more unexpected surprises. Lucina groaned and sluggishly pulled herself up onto her hands and knees. Clearing her head with a shake, she glanced around her new surroundings.

Understandably, she found herself in an underground cavern, but it wasn't as dark as the passage she had "flown" through. Light filtered in through holes in the earth above her head, following the path of several crystal-blue cascades. The walls reverberated with the roar of the falling water. Though the air was still thick with moisture, it felt cooler—almost refreshingly so after the sweltering heat above. Despite that, the warrior felt shaken.

What on earth had she just endured?

Lucina stood slowly, glancing over her shoulder at where she came from. She could see no sign of the sorcery that had brought her here. But where was here? More importantly, how would she get out?

Suddenly, she found a name for all her troubles.

"Pit," she cursed under her breath. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be in this situation. Now that they were separated, they were vulnerable. The Heartless attacked in numbers that would easily overwhelm a single man or woman, no matter how competent a warrior they were. She had learned that lesson the hard way, back in Angel Land. If the Heartless found them now, she wouldn't last, and neither would Pit—especially if the great ape proved to be a foe.

How was he fairing now? The fool had jumped into that fight without a second thought. If he made a grave mistake in his judgment…

She had to find her way back to him before the angel got himself into worse trouble. Even if he was a nuisance.

No way to go but forward, she thought to herself as she turned. However, she hesitated. Which way was forward?

Not forward. Upward. She tilted her head towards the incoming waterfalls. Beyond their misty crowns, she could see hints of the jungle canopy outside. Could she simply scale the walls to escape? That might be more efficient than meander aimlessly through the cavern, but then again, if the walls were slick, the climb would be dangerous…

As Lucina scanned the walls for a path, she began to pick out shapes that did not quite belong. Heavily encrusted with moss, they were nearly unrecognizable, but she thought that they looked too symmetrical and straight to be natural.

"More ruins," Lucina mused aloud.

After a great deal of scrutiny, she finally discerned what the shapes were: the remains of an ancient system of waterwheels. Some still rotated beneath the force of the falling water, but most seemed to be in various states of disrepair. The constructs were wooden, and had to be rotting in these moist conditions. The moss was likely all that was keeping the wheels from falling apart. Lucina wasn't sure if she would trust them to carry her weight, but the sight did give her some hope. If the wheels were made of wood, then they had to have come from the jungle above—in which case, there had to be a road leading to the surface somewhere.

Determined to find Pit as quickly as possible, Lucina crossed the cavern to the nearest waterfall. The roaring waters grew deafeningly loud as she approached, but she kept her head held high as she searched for a path.

Above a coiling mass of dank roots, she noticed an indent in the cave wall too perfectly cut to be a coincidence. Even if it wasn't a road, the ledge could give her some much needed elevation. She couldn't see where it began, but it didn't matter; she figured she could safely climb up to that height, at least.

The rocks were slick, as she suspected, but she found amble hold in the roots and (surprisingly) the moss she found growing between them. Smiling to herself, she thought that she couldn't have found a better spot to climb. Before long, Lucina had reached the ledge. She was about to pull herself over when she heard a soft rustling sound, like leaves quaking in the wind.

Glancing up, Lucina caught sight of a giant red mass, oval in shape and framed by thick leathery leaves. A flower bud? A massive, ape-sized flower bud. She stared at it with a frown, wondering if it was related to the flower Pit had been jumping on before they got separated. That was the only explanation she could think of in this strange world of giant creatures and exploding barrels. Right now she was more concerned about the noises she had heard. They could have belonged to some vermin, fleeing from her sudden appearance, but what if—

The entire bud shuddered. Before Lucina could blink, it lunged. The petals flashed open and revealed a hungry, sharp-toothed maw that could easily swallow her whole. Lucina jerked back with a yelp, inadvertently releasing her hold on the roots. The carnivorous plant snapped its jaw shut inches away from her face, and she caught the rancid odor of its breath before she fell.

Her stomach flipped. Flailing her arms, Lucina tried to catch hold of a root or a strand of moss—anything—but gravity had claimed her. The ex-princess could only brace herself and hope the landing wouldn't break bones.

Something grabbed her from behind: a pair of strong hands. A crackling sound met her ears, one like a fire suddenly igniting into life. Her fall slowed into a gentle descent. As she watched, the earth rose up to her at a slow, calm pace. Was she… flying?

When her feet gently touched the ground, the hands let her go. Lucina spun around to face her rescuer, but she saw no one—at least, at eye level. Something chittered at her feet, and she glanced down to see a long-tailed monkey dressed in a red shirt and hat smiling up at her.

Lucina's first instinct was to draw Falchion. The little creature looked too reminiscent of the Heartless she had encountered earlier, and she wasn't about to make the mistake of being careless around an enemy. The brown-furred ape screeched in alarm and started waving its arms frantically in front of its chest. The motion was so human-like that Lucina paused.

Sensing her hesitation, the monkey lowered his arms and blinked at her warily. He made some unintelligible chattering noises as he pointed to his chest—right above the heart. Then, he gestured to hers.

Frowning, Lucina gave the creature a second inspection. Although he had the same physical shape as the monkey Heartless, from the big ears to the long tail and arms, the similarities ended there. His fur wasn't blue, and his eyes weren't vacant or yellow. They looked at her meaningfully, full of surprising intelligence. There was something almost… human about them. The red shirt and cap only added to the mystery.

The monkey pointed back to his chest, and at last Lucina understood.

"You're… not a Heartless," she stated, rather than asked, though she still kept Falchion aloft.

He nodded his head vigorously.

Mentally, Lucina bit her lip. Although wary to grant her trust, the evidence was piling up. If this creature had been a Heartless, surely it would have attacked her by now. Certainly, it wouldn't have saved her from her fall. While it could have been an elaborate trick meant to deceive her, she doubted a single Heartless would be capable of such cunning. From what she gathered from Palkia and Palutena, they were mindless beasts driven only by hunger.

Curiosity struck her. "Wait… You can understand me?"

Again, the monkey nodded.

Falchion slid back into its sheath as Lucina considered the creature. A flying monkey who could understand human language… Was such a thing possible? If boys could have wings and barrels could shoot her through the air, then she supposed so. Still, she felt rather silly speaking to an animal.

She glanced at the cap, noticing the white lettering across the forehead. Though the writing looked foreign, she found that she could still read it. "Is your name 'Nintendo'?"

The monkey looked amused, but shook his head from side to side. He made more chattering noises.

"I'm sorry," Lucina frowned a second time. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

He scratched the back of his head, looking genuinely puzzled. A second later, his eyes lit up and he took the cap off. Holding it up to her, he pointed at one of the letters.

"D?" she asked, wondering if the letter was all there was to his name. However, the ape moved on to another letter—"I". Then "D", then "I" again.

"D-I-D-I?" Lucina put the letters together after he replaced the hat on his head. "Your name is Dee-dee?"

He frowned and shook his head.

"But I thought—"Lucina stopped. She might have gotten the pronunciation wrong. "Die-die? Did-die? Diddy?"

Grinning triumphantly, the monkey nodded. She smiled in return. Despite her earlier doubts, he was turning out to be a rather friendly creature—if not a bit goofy. He reminded her of Pit, in a way.

The thought quickly soured her mood. Pit. She still needed to find him. Looking at Diddy, she wondered if he was somehow related to the giant ape the angel had chased. Would he know how to get out of this hell-hole?

"Diddy? My fri—"

She stopped herself short. Pit was not her friend. They were only in this together because they needed each other.

"I mean, my companion is in grave danger, and I need to get back to the surface to find him. Do you know how to get up there?"

Puffing out his chest with a look of determination, Diddy nodded. He pointed up the way Lucina tried to climb and shook his head. He scowled theatrically and clasped his hands together like a great claw, snapping it open and close as he made growling noises. Lucina suspected he was referring to the carnivorous "flower" that just tried to eat her. Shaking his head again, Diddy pointed away from the tangled mass of roots and signaled for her to follow him.

Lucina gave the ledge one last look before she followed the monkey deeper into the cavern. She prayed for this unexpected detour to be quick… and safe. If this world was full of more surprises like the man-eating plant or the exploding barrels, then she and Pit might not last as long as she hoped. For his sake, she hoped the giant ape would be as kind as Diddy.

Diddy led her along the wall for quite some time before they began to see anything remotely resembling a path. They had to climb up a steep slope of slick, loose rocks before they reached a mossy, narrow shelf that slithered up the cavern's wall. It wasn't the road Lucina had hoped to find, but it was something. She trusted that her tiny guide knew where he was going—at least, until they reached the first gap.

Lucina stared down at the cavern floor with a frown. The gap that impeded their progress looked to be more than ten feet across—impossible for her to jump alone. Though they had climbed a fair distance, they weren't even a third of the way up. Lucina pressed her lips in a thin line, trying to mask her frustration. This had been a waste of valuable time.

She turned around and started to retrace her steps, but Diddy stopped her by jumping onto her shoulders.

"Diddy!" she objected, trying to shrug him off. Stubbornly, the monkey resisted. With one hand he forced her to look back, and with the other he pointed meaningfully at the opposite ledge.

"Diddy, it's a dead-end," she told him. "We couldn't possibly make that jump."

He grunted, and finally jumped off. Chattering something unintelligible, he jumped in place and—

Wooden barrels materialized on his back, spewing fire as they propelled the chimp into the air.

Lucina stared. Of course. He could fly. With magical barrels. Because, why not? Nothing else in this gods-forsaken world made sense! The princess moaned and rubbed her temples. Suddenly, she was wishing she hadn't let Anna talk her into crossing the Outrealm Gate.

"Okay, yes," she finally said as she mustered the last of her sanity. "You can fly across. …Somehow. But I can't."

Diddy leapt back onto her shoulders and held on tight. With a look of determination, he pointed.

"You'll… carry me?"

She hesitated; he had done it before, when he rescued her from the fall, so she didn't doubt his strength. If something went wrong, however… She glanced down over the edge again. The ground seemed so far away. Lucina never thought that she had a fear of heights, but the thought of falling from here felt intimidating.

"Is there another way?" she asked.

Diddy shook his head. He didn't look like he was lying, as far as she could tell. Then again, she wasn't sure how good she was at reading monkey faces.

She sighed. What other options did she have? "Then let's do this."

The monkey hooted excitedly, and started waving his fingers forward. She understood—he needed a running start.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered to herself as she mentally and physically prepared herself. Acting quickly—before she could talk herself out of it—Lucina surged forward. She heard the barrels ignite, but she didn't dare look back. When she reached the edge, she planted her feet and jumped.

Diddy's rockets propelled them across the gap, lifting her higher and farther than her normal jumping ability ever could. Lucina held on to the monkey for dear life as she watched the cave floor scroll past her feet. Her breath caught in her throat, but only for a second before solid ground was below her once again. Distracted, she failed to get her feet below her in time.

Lucina once again tumbled face-first into the moss, while Diddy was sent flying from her shoulders. When all fell still, the princess grunted and propped herself up, spitting the familiar but awful taste of earth from her mouth. Not far away, Diddy was sitting up, rubbing his head but looking otherwise unharmed.

"Sorry," she winced. "I should have paid more attention to the landing."

Diddy stopped rubbing and stared. Slowly, a sheepish grin worked its way across his face, and he started laughing—so hard that he rolled onto his back.

She gave a weak chuckle, more out of relief than anything. They were alive—but Naga's scales, she did not want to do that again. Diddy might've pull stunts like this all the time, but Lucina felt most comfortable with her feet planted firmly on the ground. Standing up, the princess dusted herself off and glanced around.

The path ahead curved around a corner, but from this new angle, Lucina could see more evidence of ancient human activity. The shelf had been reinforced with moss-covered wooden scaffolding, spanning gaps like the one they had just crossed. She still doubted their integrity, but she hoped they would be strong enough to hold them. Some stone structures were interspersed here and there, including a broken bridge and a skeletal archway, but nothing to suggest that anyone ever lived down here.

Leaving Diddy to catch his breath, Lucina wandered further up the trail. Her eyes wandered across the ruins as she wondered about the people who had left them behind. Were they still around? Or had something happened to them? With giant flesh-eating plants, large apes, and exploding barrels, living here must have been fraught with danger. What had they been looking for, down in this cave?

As she rounded the corner, Lucina paused. On the bare rock of the cavern wall, she found paintings. They were crude, nothing more than stick figures, but they told a story. Monkeys played in the trees while crocodiles crawled beneath them. A fiery figure stood on a mountain before all the other creatures of the jungle—foremost among them was a figure that almost looked human, although much too big.

None of the scenes made sense to Lucina. Were they supposed to? Maybe they were the innocent scrawlings of children, etching their fantasies into the rocks on a bored day. Or maybe some artisan merely wanted to practice his art. Frowning, Lucina moved on to the last group of paintings.

Something about them struck her as odd. They didn't seem to go with the others, and their style was completely different. In them, three white humanoid figures stood side by side holding hands. They were encircled about by several circles, each with a different but unrecognizable symbol. Lucina ran her fingers over the one such symbol, wondering what it all meant.

A curious chitter broke her from her thoughts.

Lucina turned to see Diddy staring up at her impatiently, as if saying, "Are you ready to get a move on, already? I thought you were in a hurry!"

She gave the paintings one last glance before turning and giving the monkey a nod. Without speaking a word, the two continued their trek to the surface.

Behind them, the symbol began to glow.

A/N: I think this chapter could alternatively be called, "Let's mess with Lucina and through her through all the quirky game mechanics". Poor thing. I'm sorry... but I'm not xD

Confession time for Char-I actually have not touched the newest Super Smash Brothers. It looks like it's a lot of fun of the 3DS, but I'd prefer to play it on the WiiU when it comes out. I'm certainly excited though! Although I'm worried that the Pit conversations are going to mess with my story cannon xD It's killing me to see what the heck Chrom says to Palutena during one of those conversations.