Hello, TC here with another pointless author's note.
It seems we're getting close to the end, huh? But at any rate, enjoy another chapter.
There was only one place left to go, and that was K. Rool's Keep. The interior looked rather nice, not to mention straight forward, since there was a spiral staircase heading upstairs. There were ten different floors above the Kongs, each one dividing into different hallways. On the bottom of the Keep was a grate, a bad smell seemed to be leaking out of it.
Diddy was looking up at the staircase, his quest was almost over. The monkey's heart was beating like a drum. At last, he was going to see his uncle, again.
Dixie tapped him on the shoulder, a hint of concern on her face. "Are you OK?"
Diddy nodded, "I-I'm fine," he said, almost choking on his own words, he grabbed onto Dixie's hand and began to climb the stairs, "Come on, we can't stay here, forever."
Meanwhile, the Kremlings were on the fifth floor, watching as the Kongs kept going. A red, burly kremling was standing next to a pile of barrels.
"Are you certain this will work?" A small, blue Kremling asked, the burly Kremling nodded, "I've seen this happen in a video game, once!"
He began to throw the barrels down stairs, each of the barrels kept bouncing downward towards the Kongs.
"What is that!?" Dixie asked. Diddy panicked, "We gotta jump!"
"Are you-"
"Just do it!"
Dixie saw the barrel coming towards them, she ran after them and jumped over each one while Diddy jumped along with her.
"Keep throwing the barrels!" A green Kremling yelled. Diddy and Dixie raced through the stairs, they reached the first floor, the second floor, and finally the third floor.
The red Kremling reached over to where the barrels were...but unfortunately, there were no more barrels.
"Quick, let's get outta here!" A pink Kremling yelled in terror as he and the others ran into their rooms...or at least it seemed like terror to the Kongs. The pink Kremling was snickering as he went into his room, he didn't even seemed terrified, at all, I hope this plan works...
Diddy and Dixie stood there, dumbfounded. The Kremlings were all heading into their rooms, like they weren't supposed to be here.
"That's it?" Diddy asked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot, impatiently, "All that work throwing barrels at us and this happens?"
On the 8th floor, a pale Kremling was turning a valve, the grate from the bottom floor was overfilling with a strange green liquid. That'll scare those mangy brats!
The Kremling ran into his room before he was noticed, leaving the Kongs to deal with the liquid, themselves.
Dixie pulled on Diddy's tail, the monkey jumped in surprise. He pulled his tail away from her, "Don't do that!"
"Well? How else am I s'pose to get your attention?" Dixie asked as she pointed at the liquid, below. It seemed like it was rising.
"Let's get the hell outta here!" Diddy yelled in terror. The Kongs began to race to the tenth room, trying to get away from the liquid. Near the sixth floor, it looked like the stairs were beginning to fall apart.
"Run faster!" Diddy yelled as he and Dixie started running on all fours. The smell of the liquid was creeping up on them.
By the time the Kongs were at the ninth floor, the liquid was almost at their feet. By the time they came to the tenth floor, however, the liquid stopped rising.
This is weird, Diddy thought, First the barrels and now rising toxic waste of doom? You'd think that these guys would do a better job at defending this place...maybe they just ran out outta ideas?
"Diddy!" Dixie waved over to the monkey boy, she was sitting on another flight of stairs. "The sooner we find Donkey the better."
Diddy nodded as he followed the gorilla girl into the next room. This room was full of jail cells, there were a few Kremlings within these cells, this suggested that this was the dungeon.
"C'mon, DK's gotta be here," Diddy said, almost yelling the last few words. The Kongs looked around the cells, the Kremlings, here seemed either scared, angry, or just depressed. Just seeing the poor Kremlings in this dungeon made things seem depressing for the Kongs.
"Looking for sssomeone?" A familiar voice asked, Rattly was sitting inside one of the cells. There were chains in the ground, the cuffs attached to the chains were covered in dry blood. There was brown fur sitting on the floor. There was no mistaking it, this was Donkey's cell.
"I'm afraid you won't find him in here," Rattly said in a playful tone. Diddy's face faltered, Donkey was supposed to be here, wasn't he?
"Where is he now?" Dixie asked, coming up to the cell.
"He'sss upstairsss, on the top floor," Rattly said.
"But believe me, you won't like what goes on, up there." Another voice interrupted. Squawks came into the cell through the window, sitting next to Rattly. "You may think the Kremlings are going easy on you, but that's what they want you to think!"
"But we came here to save DK," Diddy said, stubbornly, "I won't let our hard work be for nothing!"
Rattly and Squawks exchanged nervous glances before looking back at the Kongs, again. Squawks shifted nervously, "Well, if you insist on going ahead, then I won't stop you..."
"But, uh..." Rattly struggled to find the right words, "Y-You might not...er...like what you sssee."
"I'll be fine," Diddy said, pulling out his dagger, "I've got this thing. So if anything happens, I can just poke an eye out if I have to."
Diddy began to move on forward, Dixie felt a sweat drop form on her forehead. "I-I'm gonna make sure he doesn't hurt himself."
Dixie began to run after Diddy. Squawks frowned, "I honestly don't know what we're gonna do with them."
"Hey, you have to admire their courage, at least," Rattly said, slithering out of the cell.
The very top of K. Rool's Keep was an empty room, save for a few torches, small windows, and a hole in the ceiling. This room was just full of barren, grey bricks.
Donkey Kong was in the middle of the room, he was tied up by a rope that hung from the hole in the ceiling. The bruised gorilla would often struggle to try to get himself loose, which, unfortunately, hardly did anything.
The big ape sighed, there was no way he was getting out of this, not while K. Rool was one step ahead of him.
"...DK?"
Donkey looked over at the door, there stood Diddy and Dixie, both of them were covered in cuts and bruises. Donkey began to struggle even harder.
Diddy was overjoyed. After his hard work, he was going to reunite with his uncle. The little monkey felt he was going to cry, he tried to hold back a few tears, coming up to Donkey Kong with his dagger in his hand, "Don't worry, DK, I'll-"
"No, get away!" Donkey yelled, Diddy paused, "What's wrong?" He lifted the dagger up a bit, "Are you scared of this thing?"
"Not that!" Donkey yelled, sounded even more scared, "Get outta here, quick!"
"Now, hold on," Dixie said, scowling, "We went through a lot to come here and rescue you-"
"I understand, but-"
"But nothing," Diddy interrupted, now angry at Donkey, "I came all this way just to save you and you don't even want me here!? Give me one reason why I should-"
"IT'S A TRAP, OK!?" Donkey snapped, "K. ROOL WANTED TO KILL YOU OFF, RIGHT HERE! THAT'S WHY I WANT YOU TO LEAVE!"
Diddy just stood there, clueless, "What are you-"
"Muahahahaha!"
Donkey was being taken through the hole in the wall, the ape struggled even harder. He looked up at the ceiling, "DON'T YOU DARE!"
"No!" Diddy tried to reach over to his uncle, he was beginning to cry, "NONONONONO! DK!"
"Aww, are the little monkeys mad?" K. Rool asked in amusement as he looked down from the hole. Dixie came up to where the hole way, glaring harshly at K. Rool.
"You heartless lizard, why can't you just let DK go!?"
"I'm not giving him back until I get my Banana Hoard," K. Rool answered, bluntly, "But if I have to kill you two, then I will."
Diddy was sitting there, helpless. All the hard work he had put through to get here, it was practically gone...and there he was, weeping on the floor.
"Don't feel bad," K. Rool taunted, "You got to see your uncle's face, one last time."
"...Damn you..." That was all Diddy was able to say. Needless to say, he was heartbroken, now he was convinced he would never see his uncle, again.
The floor began to shake, the Kongs looked around, unsure of what it was.
"Well, it looks like me time, here, is done," K. Rool said as he left to go into a ship sitting on the roof, the Flying Krock, "Have fun playing with Kerozene."
The Flying Krock flew away, one of the walls began to fall apart, revealing a giant orange Kremling, who was almost as big as the island, maybe even bigger. He was holding two Kleevers in his hands.
"Hello, Kongs...do you remember me?" The giant Kremling asked, grinning in an unfriendly manner.
Dixie felt something was familiar about this giant Kremling. The arms, the swords, even the voice sounded familiar. Suddenly, it hit Dixie like a slap across the face.
"You're from Crocodile Cauldren!" She yelled in pure shock.
"That's right," Kerozene said, nodding, "But I've had enough introductions, I'm going to have fun squishing you two like insects!"
Kerozene began to attack Dixie with his Kleevers, the gorilla girl gracefully dodged them like a ballerina dancing across a floor. The Kremling began to spit fireballs, he was aiming for Diddy, who quickly sat up and dodged them, himself.
Diddy was seething with rage, he charged, blindly at the giant Kremling. Dixie tried to get his attention by waving an arm, but the giant crocodile swung his Kleever near Dixie, nearly cutting her bangs.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Diddy yelled, jumping on one of Kerozene's hands, digging his dagger into one of the fingers. The Kremling dropped his Kleever, he began to shake his hand, flinging Diddy and his dagger on the wall. The monkey staggered back onto his feet, grabbing his dagger and racing towards Kerozene.
"What are you doing!?" Dixie asked, slightly frightened. Diddy ignored her, leaping onto Kerozene's hand and stabbing his other finger. Again, Kerozene shook Diddy off his hand, thinging his dagger at the wall, nearly missing the monkey's head. Every nerve in Diddy's body was screaming in pain, this felt a lot like the battle against Krow back at the Galleon.
Dixie raced over to the little monkey, her face full of worry. "Diddy, are you OK!?"
Diddy nodded, he weakly pointed at his dagger, on the ground, ""I-I kinda need that."
Dixie picked up the dagger, she swung it a few times, trying to get the hang of using it. She looked down at Diddy, he struggled to get up, leaning against the wall.
"Er...you should probably take a break," Dixie suggested, "I'll be fine on my own."
Diddy would've argued a bit more, but a fireball nearly missed Dixie's head. The gorilla girl, looked up at Kerozene, racing up to the Kremling. "Hey, doofus!" Over here!"
"Oh, so now you've decide to play with me," Kerozene teased, "Finally, things are starting to get interesting!"
He slapped his hand against the ground, causing an earthquake. Dixie struggled to stand, she ended up falling on her butt.
"Dixie!" Diddy called out, "Try getting his head!"
"How am I s'pose to do that?" Dixie asked. Kerozene slapped the ground, again, causing parts of the keep to fall apart.
"J-just wait until his h-hands are down," Diddy yelled, "th-then you c-climb up to his h-head!"
Dixie looked at Kerozene, he was about to strike the ground a third time. Before he shook the ground, again, Dixie jumped into the air, using her ponytail to propel herself onto the back of Kerozene's hand. The Kremling began to shake her off, but Dixie kept a steady pace and climbed onto his head, slashing it with the dagger in her hand.
Kerozene shook his head, he grabbed Dixie and threw her onto the ground. The ape wasn't done yep. She placed the dagger onto the ground. Diddy stared at her with widened eyes, "What-"
Kerozene began to belch flames, again, the whole ground nearly went into flames. Diddy curled up besides the wall, the flames almost touching his fur. The heat was just unbearable.
Dixie raced onto Kerozene's arm, her beret fell off and she had a few burns on her fur. Again, she climbed onto Kerozene's head. I hope this works...
She began to pound Kerozene's head using her ponytail. She was using a lot of force, almost as though her ponytail was a 10 ton weight. Kerozene reached for his head, trying to get Dixie off.
The floor cleared, Diddy could see Dixie attacking Kerozene without mercy. The monkey staggered onto his feet, running over to her on all fours. "Dixie!"
Dixie looked over at Diddy, but before she could say anything, Kerozene began to fall backwards, dazed. Dixie leapt off his head and tried to glide onto the ground, but fell short when she couldn't reach the ledge, she began to plummet to her death.
"DIXIE, NO!" Diddy ran over to the ledge, hopelessly trying to look for his friend, "DIXIE!?"
The monkey began to feel hopeless, he began to call out for her, again, "DIXIE!"
No answer, the monkey curled up, crying into his knees. He felt so useless, first Donkey was gone, and now Dixie, and now he was all alone. He never even got to tell Dixie that he loved her, but it was too late.
The monkey had to realize he was on his own now, there was nothing else he could do. He began to think that the other Kongs were right, he was the weakest Kong on Kongo Bongo, that he was a bunch of useless space, and there was nothing he could do about it. His uncle is gone and his friend is dead, and it was all his fault.
"Squawk!"
Diddy looked up, he saw Squawks carrying Rattly...Who was also carrying Dixie, what a strong parrot!
Dixie was placed onto the ground, in front of Diddy. The Monkey wiped a few tears from his face, staring at the young ape She was perfectly fine, aside from a few burns on her fur.
"You OK? You look like you've seen a ghost." Dixie said in a concerned tone of voice.
Unable to control himself, Diddy involuntarily hugged Dixie, "I'm glad you're alive, I dunno what I was gonna do without you, and...and..." He began to choke on his words, he let go of Dixie and sat down, "I'm sorry for being so useless, Those Kongs were right, I am weak, and it's all my fault that you almost died. I never should've gone on this quest to begin with."
"Now, hold on," Dixie placed her hands on her hips, "You wanted to come here, you've faced bad guys bigger then yourself, and you're calling yourself weak?"
Diddy said nothing, just staring at Dixie in confusion. "B-But it was my fault that-"
"I'll have none of that," Dixie said, keeping a stern look, "Every hero has their flaws, and some heroes might not always win, but they're still heroes, aren't they?"
Dixie had a point, there, but there was something more to it. She took off Diddy's hat, "My father has always said that it's never good to feel sorry for yourself...and I'm hoping that you don't think this was, again."
She gently kissed him on the forehead, Diddy's face turned bright red, feeling somewhat...strange. Was this what is was like to get kissed by a girl?
"Hey," Rattly called out, "I don't mean to interrupt your little love ssscene, but ssshouldn't we go after King K. Rool?
"O-Oh yeah," Diddy picked up his dagger from the floor and grabbed his hat from Dixie, "You sure they haven't gone far?"
Squawks nodded, "We'll catch up to them, in no time."
Diddy looked over at Dixie, Their quest was not done, yet, they had to keep going.
Welp, at least Diddy got to see Donkey...huh?
Hey, if I had to deal with King K. Troll, so should you folks!
By the way, there are a few things I want to point out.
1. I wanted to try and include the ice levels and Windy Well, but I didn't have any room for them...Plus, I began to imagine the layout like one of the layouts in the Forsaken Fortress in the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.
2. I thought I'd combine the scene from the "Boss" level in DKC2. In the SNES version, you find DK, but he ends up getting taken away. In trhe GBA version, however, you have to fight a boss called Kerozene, who's a huge Crococdile and you have to fight him.
3. When Dixie was using her hair to pound Kerozene's head, that was kind of a reference to Tropical Freeze.
So, sorry for being a troll, but don't worry, the next chapter will be better.
