It was morning in Kongo Bongo, the weather was much more calm. The trees were slightly drenched by the rain, the road was somewhat muddy, and the animals of Kongo Bongo went back to their cheerful daily routine.

Donkey had finally woken up, stretching. It was actually nice that he could have a full night of sleep. He looked over at the tire in the tree house, but weirdly enough, Diddy wasn't in the tire where he normally slept in. The big ape had to wonder what happened. Maybe he fell asleep in the Banana Hoard? Maybe he went to Candy's Hut for a banana milkshake? The ape wasn't sure.

He grabbed his favorite tie, a red tie with the yellow initials "DK" on it, and placed it around his neck before heading out of the hut. When he came out of the tree house, he was greeted by a rhinoceros.

"Mornin', Rambi," Donkey greeted. Rambi huffed, gesturing Donkey to go into the bushes.

"I'll play with you, in a minute," Donkey said, coming into the cave. He wanted to see how well Diddy was doing, last night. But to his horror, the bananas were all gone. Not only that, Diddy was gone, as well. All that hard work spent getting those bananas, all those nights keeping thieves away, it was gone, all gone. Donkey has never felt so upset, Whoever did this is going to pay! But first, I need to find Diddy, and fast.

He came outside of the Banana Hoard, Rambi was waiting for him in the bushes. Curious, the ape came into the bushes only to find a small group of beavers, called Gnawties, were circling a barrel, they could hear some faint knocking in there. Curious, Donkey picked up the barrel and threw it at a random tree. Diddy busted out of the barrel, somewhat dizzy. "Ugh..."

"Sorry, Little Buddy," Donkey said, he looked down at the monkey.

"It's fine," Diddy said, picking himself up, "Uh...Thanks for getting me outta there."

Donkey patted the monkey on the head. Of course, while Diddy was safe, the ape wanted to know how there were no more bananas in the hoard. After all, Diddy was the last one to see what had happened to them.

"Do you remember what happened, last night?" Donkey asked.

"Hm...?" Diddy began to think, his mind was slightly fuzzy. It took him a couple seconds until the feeling of dread took over him, "Oh No!"

Diddy ran into the empty cave that was once the Banana Hoard, frantically searching for the bananas. "C'mon, where are they!?"

"Well? Did something happen?" Donkey asked, "C'mon, answer me!"

Diddy's tail dropped to the ground in defeat. "Well, these Kremlings came in and attacked me. I tried to stop them, but they were too strong..." his voice was low, he sounded rather depressed, "Sorry, DK..."

Donkey patted the little monkey's head. "It's fine, Diddy. I'll get the bananas back from those Kremlings. In the mean time, you go back and rest up."

"B-but I wanna go with you," Diddy said, Donkey was shocked to hear those words come out of Diddy's mouth. He was usually a coward, always running from conflict rather then facing it. The ape shook his head. "Nope, it's too dangerous."

"I don't care!" Diddy shouted, "I couldn't guard the Banana Hoard, so the least I could do is help ya out! Whaddaya say, Big Buddy?"

Donkey thought for a moment. He had to admit, Diddy wasn't very strong, he could easily get himself killed, if he wasn't careful enough. But he was still a smart kid. Maybe Diddy had certain strong points that Donkey didn't know about. Either way, Donkey liked the idea of traveling with someone through the island, even it was with his nephew. The big ape finally had his answer.

"All right," Donkey said, "But don't say I didn't warn ya."

Diddy smiled as he climbed on to Donkey's back, the little monkey was very excited to travel through the island. "Where do we go, first?" he asked.

"Maybe we should talk to Cranky, he'll have an idea." Donkey said.

"You think he might've seen something?" Diddy asked, innocently. Donkey shrugged, "Beats me, but he should be able to help, either way."

Diddy nodded, "All right, I gotcha."

The two Kongs ventured into the jungle, heading into the village. There were plenty of Gnawties and Tikis, minding their own business. There were also plenty of different plants, including a few flowers, sitting here and there. As well, as a few yellow bulbs growing out of the ground. Once in a while, a Screaming Pillar would surprise the Kongs.

"So, Diddy...do you have any idea what the Kremlings were like?" Donkey asked.

"W-well," Diddy sighed, "they were pretty big. In fact, I think one of them was bigger then you."

"Really?"

"Yep, and they really wanted those bananas. I couldn't do anything about it, so I tried looking for you. Next thing I know, I woke up inside that barrel."

"Oh..." Donkey sounded slightly sympathetic, "that doesn't sound like a nice way to wake up."

"It isn't, believe me," Diddy said, bitterly.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to go through that, Little Buddy." Doonkey said in a simpathetic tone.

"I said it's fine," Diddy said, reassuringly.

The Kongs continued to stroll down the road, they kept walking until they finally reached Cranky's Cabin. As usual, the old ape was sitting on the porch, looking, well...cranky.

"Hey, Cranky," Donkey greeted as he came up to the cabin, only to get greeted back by getting whack on the head with a cane.

"So, you had to have it your way," Cranky grumbled, "You had to make Diddy guard the Banana Hoard...AND NOW LOOK WHAT HAPPENED, THOSE THIEVING CROCODILES STOLE OUR BANANAS!"

Donkey was rubbing his head in pain, Diddy couldn't help but shake, imagining what it felt like being whacked by Cranky's cane.

"All right, I get that you're uspet," Donkey said, "but-"

"Upset? UPSET!?" Cranky began to snap, "YOU THINK I'M UPSET!? I'M LIVID, FURIOUS, ALL BECAUSE YOU NUMBSKULLS LET THOSE CROCODILES GET AWAY! IMAGINE IF JUNIOR WAS HERE, RIGHT NOW! HE'D BE AS UPSET AS I WOULD BE!"

Diddy lowered his head, feeling slightly guilty. Donkey sighed, "Are you done, yet?"

Cranky began to feel light-headed, he sat down in his rocking chair, "Gah...What I'd give to have Wrinkly, here..."

"OK, now that you're done, we'd like a little advice on how to get the bananas back," Donkey said, impatiently.

"What do you mean 'we'? You're taking Diddy along with you?" Cranky asked, now in a slightly bored tone. "I suppose heroes get lonely, sometimes."

The old ape got out from his chair, facing the Kongs. "So, first things first, just because you're bringing a sidekick along doesn't mean he'll do everything for you...in fact, I don't think he can be used for anything."

Diddy let out a hoarse growl, Donkey reached over to his back and started petting his head, keeping him calm.

"Next," Cranky continued, "I don't know what those Kremlings are up to, but there might be a chance that they're still somewhere in the village. You might be able to figure out what they're up to."

"All right, anything else?" Donkey asked. Cranky scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, "I can't find Squawks...if you find him, let me know."

"Er...why would we-"

"Because I said so!" Cranky growled, "Now scram! I need to get some sleep!"

"But-"

"I SAID 'SCRAM'!"

Without hesitation, both Kongs started heading further into the village, leaving Cranky to do as he wished. Cranky sat back down in his rocking chair, getting himself deep into his own thoughts. Kids these days are so soft...I'd like to see them handle being a circus act in Brooklyn, or maybe fight against a man with bug repellent. They definitely wouldn't have lasted in a cage, no sirree.

As the Kongs kept moving, the village was starting to become more lively. Donkey thought the closest way he could get to the other Kongs was either through the cave or the lake. He could get to the other Kongs quicker if he got to the lake.

After taking a quick stroll through the jungle, the duo finally came up to the lake. The water, seemed quite calm and relaxing. However, the boats went missing, and there was no way Donkey was going in the water. At least, as far as he knew, there were a few deadly fish, here and there, despite the lake's gentle appearance.

Suddenly, it began to rain, again. Diddy flailed his arms in defeat. "Oh, for Inka's sake! Why not add Killer Neckies while you're at it!"

"It's all right, Little Buddy," Donkey said, "I know a shortcut."

"To where?" Diddy asked.

"Candy's hut, I think she can help us."

"Are ya sure?" Diddy asked as he tried covering his head. Donkey nodded, "Sure I'm sure, we'll make it there, before you know it."

The ape began to walk into the cave, it was dark and damp, like any other cave, but even then, it wasn't super dangerous, it was just an ordinary cave. The duo continued walking until they found a group of boulders, they only left a small hole. Donkey tried to squeeze himself in, but wasn't able to completely fit. He tried to lift the boulders, but even he wasn't strong enough to lift them.

"I dunno, I guess we can't make it, this way," Donkey said in a disappointed tone.

"Wait," Diddy crawled through the boulders, he was able to fit himself in. "Maybe there's someone here. I'll go look for something that'll help. In the meantime, you go look for another route!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I am, now get moving. I'll meet you at Candy's place, later."

"All right," Donkey said, leaving the cave. The only other way he could go was in the water. However, since the boats went missing, Donkey had no choice but to swim. Hopefully, the fish won't mistake him for a hairy snack.

He took a deep breath and began to dive, he was looking around cautiously, there was a lot of vegetation in the lake, he had to make sure the plants didn't stick to him.

He could see something blue poking out of some of the plants. Donkey swam as fast as he could and came into contact with a swordfish. Confused, the swordfish wondered why Donkey had come here and not use one of the boats. Donkey tried to explain as best he could. It was hard for him not to talk. He gestured that the swordfish came to the surface so he could explain everything.

Meanwhile, Diddy was wandering the caves, alone. Normally, he'd just jump from tree to tree to reach the other side of the village, since the cave was normally inhabited by snakes. Nonetheless, they weren't a major threat to the Kongs. Plus Diddy thought he might find something, in here.

Diddy was beginning to hear voices in the cave, he crept around a bit, realizing that Kremlings were here, too. Two Kritters were walking by, scratching their heads.

"I dunno, was it really a good idea to grab all those bananas?"

"Hey, K. Rool doesn't want any of the Kongs to get the bananas, so what are you complaining, about?"

"Nothing...aside from the fact that he might kill us."

"King K . Rool specifically said to keep the bananas away from the Kongs. And even if they went looking, they'd still have to deal with giant Gnawties, Giant Neckies, Giant Zingers-"

"And Giant Toilets?"

"Eh...Sure, why not?" The Kremling said, feeling awkward, "Besides, some of our troops have already made it past Monkey Mines, I'm sure they can go even farther than that."

"So why exactly does K. Rool want bananas?

"Beats me," The Kremling said, shrugging, "Maybe he just really like bananas? At any rate, we're supposed to meet him on the other side of the island."

So is this it? K. Rool just wants to eat Bananas? Diddy thought to himself, No...that can't be right! Kongs and Kremlings have hated each other for years, so there's gotta be more to this story then they let on.

The monkey began to look for an exit. He hoped that Donkey would be waiting for him back at Candy's hut. he began to sneak through the cave, behind some rocks, to avoid detection.

One of the Kremlings sniffed the air. "Hey...you smell that?"

Diddy looked slightly nervous, hoping that the Kremlings don't find him.

The other Kremling began to sniff the air, "What? I don't smell anyth-"

There was a small toot in the air, one of the Kremlings began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Ugh," The kremling began to cover his snout, "You really need to grow up, sometimes!"

Diddy covered his own nose, slightly disgusted by the Kremling. He began to look for an exit without the Kremlings noticing him.

...I'm so sorry about the toilet humor...

I'll admit, this chapter (along with the next chapter) aren't really my favorite chapters. So if anything seems off, I apologize...