Chapter 36: Rescue
The next day, it was past noon when Diddy and Dixie wondered what they could do next. This time, they had considered going swimming in one of the island's lakes, and so they decided. For the past few weeks, they had been spending their dates in those areas.
"See you, Mr. Pinky!" Diddy and Dixie said as they came down from the house.
"See you later, children," the teacher replied cheerfully as he watered his plants. "Remember not to accept candies from strangers and not to go to places far away."
Diddy and Dixie said goodbye to the teacher, and began to head towards the site.
"Let's see who gets there first," Diddy said to Dixie with a defiant look, before running off.
"Not if I arrive before!" Dixie exclaimed, trying to reach him.
The two kongs began to compete for who came faster. It was one of their favorite games that they used to play frequently for a long time.
They spent several minutes running, pushing each other between the trees and swinging across the vines. It reminded them a lot of DK Island and they wanted to feel like they were there.
"You can't beat me!" Diddy said to Dixie in a mocking tone as he took the lead.
"That's what you think!" replied Dixie in the same tone and speeding up more... Until at one point, she stopped suddenly."Wait, wait, wait!"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Diddy asked, stopping too.
Suddenly, as they continued with their competitive game, they began to hear strange sounds that stopped them both completely.
"What is that noise?" Diddy asked, looking around.
"They sound like some... screams?" Dixie speculated, trying to identify those sounds until she could find where they came from. "I think they come from there."
Both began to follow those noises that were heard louder and louder. They were not going to give it so much importance at first, but the closer they got, the more heartbreaking the screams were heard... as if they came from someone in danger.
"HELP!" it began to be heard clearly.
"It looks like someone is in trouble! Let's go!" Diddy exclaimed, pointing to where those screams could be heard.
Diddy and Dixie continued to look for where the cries for help came from, which apparently was not from one, but from some beings who desperately asked for help. In fact, those voices seemed to sound somewhat high-pitched as if they came from little beings.
"Diddy, look!" Dixie pointed in a not-so-distant direction.
Suddenly, they realized where the screams were coming from: in the middle of some trees, there was a hanging net that was tied to ropes in the branches of the trees that ended in stakes stuck in the ground. Within that network, there were what appeared to be kong children... They screamed in desperation and struggled with their limbs to get out of there. Diddy and Dixie immediately headed towards the point where they were.
"Look, some monkeys! This way!"one of the children inside the net suddenly exclaimed, noticing Diddy and Dixie. "Help us, please!"
"Don't worry, we'll help you!" Dixie exclaimed, trying to calm them down.
"How do we get them all out?!" Diddy asked.
"Untie that rope from there!" one of the children motioned, pointing to the stakes in the ground. "The one on the right!"
Diddy and Dixie hurriedly untied the rope that the children had pointed out to them. It hadn't been so difficult, since within a few seconds, they managed to untie it.
"NO, NO, IT WAS THE LEFT- AAAAHHHH!"
Suddenly, the net instantly loosened and fell to the ground along with the children inside. Diddy and Dixie were alarmed that they had done the wrong maneuver and immediately headed towards the net to check on the children. As soon as they arrived, they rummaged through the net to get them out of there.
"Oh, no! Sorry, are you okay?!" Dixie said worriedly as she held each other's hands to help them out.
"Don't worry... We're fine," one of the children replied agitatedly, after they had got out completely.
Some four ape children came out of that net: they were two boys and two girls, all chimpanzees and, apparently, the same age as Diddy and Dixie. The two girls were blonde-haired, while the other two boys wore a lock on their heads and a propeller cap respectively. They looked very scared and looked tired, as they looked at Diddy and Dixie with some concern.
"We can't stay here! Let's go away!" exclaimed one of the girls before running off with everyone, including Diddy and Dixie, who were given small pushes to also run.
Diddy and Dixie were very confused by what they were saying, but anyway, they decided to accompany them and follow in their footsteps.
"What's going on?!" Diddy asked the kong children as he ran with them.
"There's a kidnapper gorilla on the loose around here!" replied the boy wearing the propeller cap, who was the shortest of the group. "He had caught us in that net!"
The group started running aimlessly, while Diddy and Dixie followed them, although they had no idea who they were or who the gorilla they mentioned was. They were running so fast, until minutes later, they stopped in an area far from where they had been recently. Suddenly, one of the chimpanzee girls fell to the ground as if she had lost her balance.
"Oh, no! Did you get hurt?" Diddy asked her worriedly, helping her to her feet almost immediately.
"No, don't worry. I'm fine," replied the girl, finishing getting up. But suddenly, everyone realized that she had hurt her leg as if it had been injured. "Ugh! My leg!" she exclaimed, showing pain.
"Oh, no! You hurt your leg, Mandy!" exclaimed the other girl going to help her.
"Oh, no, she must have gotten hurt with the fall," Dixie said worriedly and joined in to see her. "We are truly sorry!"
"No, don't worry, I'm used to it," replied the girl, rubbing her leg and regaining her posture, although walking with some difficulty. "By the way, thank you, for saving us! That very ugly and evil ape wanted to kidnap us and locked us in that net."
"Yes, be careful when walking in that area," added the shorter boy with a frightened expression. "That ape wanted to kill us!"
"Really?!" Dixie asked, looking shocked. "But what kind of ape was that?"
"We don't know, he's crazy," the other girl replied in kind. Then, he smiled a little at Diddy and Dixie. "But... I think that thanks to you we are safe."
"Yes, we didn't know how to get out of that net," added the taller boy, also smiling a little. "Seriously, thanks to you guys who showed up just in time."
The four children thanked Diddy and Dixie, which made them both feel very good about having rescued a group of unknown kongs from a dangerous situation.
"Oh, it's nothing," Dixie replied, smiling at them too. "How good that you have come out well."
"It's nothing," Diddy added in the same tone, before giving a look of strangeness. "And why did that ape kidnap you?"
"We didn't do anything to him, I think he's a psychopath," replied the girl who had hurt her leg. "Oh, and by the way... what are your names?"
"My name is Diddy."
"And I'm Dixie. Who are you?"
"I'm Mandy," replied the girl with the hurt leg, who wore a pink blouse and short blonde hair. "Nice to meet you, Diddy and Dixie."
"My name is Ricky," said one of the boys, who was wearing a yellow T-shirt and a lock on hair.
"I'm Jenny, nice to meet you," said the other girl with wavy blonde hair and a lavender and turquoise blouse.
"And I'm… Uhh…" stuttered the last boy, who was the shortest. "What was my name?"
"Ahh, his name is Melvyn," Mandy continued, laughing. "It's that he's a bit clueless."
"Clueless? What's wrong with you?!" Melvyn protested. He wore green overalls and his propeller cap.
"Oh, please, let's not start fighting," Jenny added, calming them before heading back to Diddy and Dixie. "Oh, excuse me, monkeys. And where are you from? Do you live around here?"
"Well, not exactly," Dixie replied. "We are only here on this island; refugees, so to speak."
"We live on another island far from here," Diddy added. "Do you live on this island?"
"No... Or well, yes, but it's that…" Ricky replied slowly.
"We don't have a home," Mandy continued in a somewhat low tone. "Well, we spend every day looking for where to sleep, we have no fixed place to live."
"Really?" Diddy asked them in confusion. "And... don't you live with your families or anyone?"
"We don't have any family, it's just the four of us," Jenny replied in a tone of seriousness.
"What?! So, you hang around alone?" Dixie asked, astonished.
"Yes, we've always been like this," replied the kong girl.
"By the way, do you know any place for us to stay?" Ricky asked them a little shyly. "It doesn't matter if it's temporary; we were looking for a space for ourselves these days."
Diddy and Dixie paused to think about it for a while. Until later, the two thought of the same place where they had been a short time ago.
"Well, here's an animal shelter," Diddy mentioned to the kong children. "You can stay there if you want. They'll receive them very well there, really."
"A shelter?" Jenny asked, somewhat doubtful. "Is that... with many animals?"
"Yes, in fact we were there when we arrived on this island," Dixie added. "It's a good place if you want to stay-"
"Uhh, no... Thank you for the suggestion," Mandy interrupted, smiling. "But we wanted a more private place. We'd just like a place for the four of us."
Diddy and Dixie thought about it again; the only place they could think of was the animal shelter. Obviously, they couldn't take them to Mr. Pinky's house without his permission. They kept wondering where they could take four lost children to shelter.
"I think I have an idea," Diddy said, smiling thoughtfully, before inviting the children. "Come, follow us."
Diddy and Dixie with the newly known group started walking for a while. Diddy guided the kong children to an empty tree house that he hadn't long ago found along with Dixie on one of his explorations of the island. That house was spacious, enough for about four little kongs, the only detail was that it was a little cracked in the walls and the roof was not completely covered.
"It's the only house we've ever seen," Diddy said to the four new children, pointing to it. "It just needs a few fixes and it'll be ready to inhabit it. You can stay here."
Everyone went up to the tree house to take a better look. The new kong children were watching the house in detail, and they thought for a minute, until they all made a smiling gesture later.
"Not bad!" Ricky commented as he continued to look at the house. "So, we'll stay here, what do you say?" he said to the other three in his group.
"Yes, I like it," Mandy replied in kind. "It looks to be sheltered from some danger."
"Thank you two so much," Jenny said to Diddy and Dixie, smiling. "I don't know what we would have done without you."
"No problem," Diddy replied, smiling back.
"Enjoy your home, and be careful," Dixie added in kind.
"Well, now if you'll excuse us... we have to leave," Diddy said goodbye to them. "See you later. It was a pleasure to meet you."
"Goodbye, nice to meet you too," the children replied simultaneously. "And thanks again."
After the little help to those four children, Diddy and Dixie happily said goodbye to them, and they also said goodbye to the two. Afterwards, both came down from the tree to leave and continue on their way to the lake where they planned to go.
"Hey!" the girl who was named Mandy called them from above, so they both turned around. "It's that... if it's not too much hassle... could you help us make some repairs to our house?"
Diddy and Dixie looked at each other for a few somewhat dubious seconds at first, as they both had their date pending at the time. But after thinking about it, it wouldn't be bad to lend a hand to those children to improve their new house; they always liked to help someone in trouble, so they agreed and went back up to the house to inspect it again.
"Hmm, I think it won't be difficult," Diddy said, looking closely at the house. "It'll only be necessary to cover the cracks and put a better roof on it."
"Well, we'll help you," Dixie added, smiling at them. "This will be fast."
The four kong children smiled at them too, and were somewhat excited.
Then, between the six of them, they worked as a team and began to do this "remodeling" of the house. It wasn't that hard after all; only a few pieces of wood could cover the cracks, and with a few branches and leaves they built the roof. While doing the work, out of nowhere they also began to talk a little.
"So... have you spent your whole life looking for shelters?" Dixie asked the children as they covered a crack.
"For as long as we can remember," Jenny replied, doing the same. "It hasn't been easy; we've had to survive a lot of things. But at the same time, living like this has allowed us to know many places and have a lot of adventures."
"Sounds great because of the adventures," Diddy said. "But difficult at the same time."
"As you can't imagine," Mandy added. "The hardest thing for us has been to make sure that some wild beast doesn't catch us."
"And why are you on this island?" the boy named Ricky asked Diddy and Dixie. "Are you on vacation or something?"
"It's a long story," Dixie replied. "Just telling you that we went through a zoo and a circus."
"And when we were about to return home, a storm brought us to this island," Diddy continued.
"A zoo and a circus? And why were you there?" Melvyn asked them, looking curious as a little child. "Were you circus stars?"
"No, I had been captured by the tamers of that circus, and Dixie went to my rescue," Diddy replied. "It was quite a hustle and bustle to cross that city."
"Wow, your story sounds exciting and funny," Mandy said, smiling at them.
"Oh, no, of course not," Dixie said in disgust as she recalled the circus. "If you knew the terrible things that happened there in that circus."
"In that circus, those tamers were complete savages," Diddy added in the same tone. "They were beasts."
"Wow... that doesn't sound exciting anymore," Mandy replied.
Several minutes later, the house was ready. Now it did look something more presentable and in good condition to live in. Everyone went out to the outside porch and was smiling when they saw the whole house completed.
"It turned out very well," Jenny commented as she looked closely at the house. Then, she turned again to Diddy and Dixie. "We thank you very much, seriously."
"You two are great!" Ricky said cheerfully to Diddy and Dixie. "You helped us a lot. Thank you, monkeys."
Diddy and Dixie felt great about saving and then helping a group of kongs children they had just met.
"It's nothing," Diddy said kindly. "Don't you need something? Maybe food?"
"Oh, no, don't worry," Melvyn replied, looking at them from his short stature. "We can take care of that. You have already done a lot for us. Thank you!"
"Oh, okay," Dixie replied, smiling at them. "It was a pleasure to have helped you."
"Hey, you guys look fun," Jenny said, smiling at them too. "Do you want to be our new friends?"
"Oh... Sure, why not?" Dixie replied in the same tone.
"Wow, we haven't had friends like us here," Diddy added with a small laugh. "Okay, we can be."
Diddy and Dixie, although in an improvised way and without knowing how it happened, decided to stay a while longer with those four kong children; it wouldn't be bad to make new friends in the middle of an island far from home. They both had liked the four new kong children very well and they had behaved very friendly with the two of them, so there would be no problem in sharing some time with them. For a moment, all of that reminded Diddy of when he had met Dixie, Kiddy, Tiny, and Chunky; he had also saved them from a dangerous situation and later befriended them. Likewise, Dixie remembered the same thing and, between times, she felt somewhat identified with those four new children; the situation was somewhat similar, so both of them didn't dare to ask those children any reckless questions.
The six were talking sitting in a circle on the floor of the house.
"So, you released all those animals from the zoo?" Melvyn asked them. "And did you fight those tamers in a helicopter? That's really impressive!"
"That's right," Diddy replied as they were told their recent history of the zoo. "In fact, all the animals are those that are now in the shelter that we had mentioned."
"Those from the circus are good friends of ours too," Dixie added.
"But now we can't go back to our island because of hurricane season," Diddy continued.
"And where are you living for the moment?" Jenny asked them.
"It's kind of funny," Dixie replied with a few small laughs. "But coincidentally we found on this island a teacher from the school where we went. He let us stay in his house until we could return."
"Mr. Pinky?!" the four of them asked with a shocked expression, which also astonished Diddy and Dixie.
"Yes, the same. Uhh... do you know him?" Diddy asked them, confused and looking at them strangely.
"Of course," Jenny replied, in amazement. "He was also our teacher when we went to school."
"Really?! What a coincidence," Dixie exclaimed, appearing surprised along with Diddy. "Do you go to school too?"
"Yes, for a year we went," Mandy said. "But school bored us and so we withdrew."
"By the way, did you go to school on your island?" Ricky asked Diddy and Dixie. "How was your classroom?"
"Bah! It was bad," Dixie replied, gesturing contemptuously. "Almost all our classmates were conceited, enlarged or unfriendly."
"And not to mention a group of four evil fools who always liked to bother us," Diddy added in disgust. "They were vandals."
"But were they cutes?" Jenny and Mandy asked them with a small laugh.
"Oh, of course not," Dixie replied. "One was a mocking mandrill with dusty, disheveled hairs. Another was a langur with red legs and gossip."
"Another was a monkey with a fluffy face and coffee hairs," Diddy continued. "Oh, and the most hateful was an orangutan with burnt-annatto hair. And no, we don't say it because they are, but because they were annoying and malevolent cretins who made fun of us."
"Can you believe that those stupid kids carried guns?" Dixie added. "They were thugs!"
"Guns?!" Ricky asked, showing himself shocked along with the others. "And... where did those kids get some of them?"
"They said their dads had them and so they stole them," Diddy replied. "But one day I took those guns off from them and threw them into the sea. I was friends with those kids, in fact. But from that day we ceased to be. After I did that, they threw me off a cliff."
"That's crazy," exclaimed Ricky, showing astonishment along with the group. "Those kids were really crazy."
"Oh, wow, so, those kids were terrible," Mandy said, frowning. "And how did you manage to take them off?"
"It's a long story," Diddy replied with a shrug.
"Wow, you guys have quite a few stories," Melvyn said with a shocked face.
Diddy and Dixie continued to talk to the group. They didn't know why, but they had liked those four children. The four were empathetic and very attentive to what they said, so Diddy had no problem telling them his story about his evil classmates; it was the second time he had openly told that story, and apparently he had no problem doing so anymore. In the same way, Dixie also told a little about her life since she had arrived on DK Island, although she didn't mention anything about her life before arriving there, as it was still a sensitive topic to tell for her.
A while later, it was being done later, and Diddy with Dixie still had a date pending, so they already had to say goodbye to the new children. They both got up and went out to the porch along with the four of them.
"Do you have to leave now?" the four asked them with expressions of still wanting to continue with the two of them.
"Yes, but we can come tomorrow if you want," Dixie suggested, smiling at them. "What do you say?"
"Of course," Ricky replied in the same way along with the group. "You just call us."
"Well, we'll see what time we can come," Dixie added. "It's that right now... we had a pending date."
"Are you two dating?" Jenny asked them curiously.
"Well... yes," Diddy replied, emitting small laughs with some shyness along with Dixie. "Yes, we are."
"Really?!" the four exclaimed, in amazement, and then the kong couple reaffirmed it.
"Wow, I see you're lucky, huh?" Ricky told them in a mischievous tone.
"Oh, how beautiful!" Mandy exclaimed in a tone of sweetness. "And since when have you been dating?"
"Not long ago," Diddy replied cheerfully before leaving with Dixie. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow. See you later."
"See you later!" answered the four of them.
Diddy and Dixie now said goodbye to them, came down from the house, and then left. Deep down, the two of them also wanted to stay another while longer, but they had their own date pending too, so they resumed their way to the lake where they were going to swim. It was more than mid-afternoon, but even so, they wouldn't miss other of their dates the two alone.
A minute later, they both turned to look again at the house that had been given to those new kong children.
"I liked them," Diddy said, smiling as he looked at the house.
"Me too," Dixie replied in the same way and with a few small laughs. "And well, what were we up to?" she added with a look and a defiant smile.
"No, no, I'll get there first," Diddy replied with the same gesture.
Both returned to compete for who arrived faster, without neglecting laughter and games. At the same time, they couldn't believe that from one moment to the next they had made new friends, which they never expected to happen to them on that island...
In the evening, Diddy and Dixie were again having dinner with Mr. Pinky at his house. They told him about their day, from when they had gone swimming in the lake until they had met their new friends, which was very new for Mr. Pinky. The two kongs told him how they had rescued them from kidnapping by a bad ape and then fixed a house for them to live in. The teacher was happy for them that they have made new friends of their age on that island, and much more that they have helped them from a dangerous situation.
"Wow, so you already have new friends, huh?" the teacher said to them, smiling. "Good for you."
"Yes, they are cool," Diddy replied cheerfully.
"And they told us they knew you, Mr. Pinky," Dixie added. "They say they were your students too."
"Really?!" the teacher exclaimed in amazement. "And... what are those children called?"
"Their names are Melvyn, Mandy, Jenny and Ricky," Diddy replied.
"Hmm... I don't think I remember having students with those names," the teacher replied, looking confused and thoughtful. "But with so many students I've had and so many schools I've taught, I don't usually remember the names much, unless there was a highlight moment."
"Well, they also told us they only went to school for a year," Dixie added with a shrug.
"That could explain things better," Mr. Pinky concluded.
The three of them finished dinner and left everything in order. Later, everyone went to their resting place.
Diddy and Dixie were now in their room. Both were sitting and swinging at low speed in one of the hammocks next to the window overlooking the outside. Almost every night they used to spend some time together before sleeping.
"Wow, I didn't expect to make new friends like us on this island," Diddy said.
"Me neither, it's fun to have new friends," Dixie added cheerfully.
"I just hope they're good friends, but they seem to be anyways," Diddy added before a moment of silence. "You know? I have been thinking, and I think this journey hasn't been all bad, that is, we saved a big herd of animals, we became friends with some of them, we are far from those foolish school thugs, Mr. Pinky is no longer overbearing, and today we met new friends."
"That's true," Dixie replied. "It hasn't been such a bad vacation regardless; it's been like an adventure. And this island is very pretty too."
"And best of all," Diddy added, starting to blush a little, "it's you, Dix... I wish all this happened between us earlier on DK Island, but even so, you have made these bad days not have been at all."
"Oh, Diddy. You've made me very happy these days, too," Dixie said blushing too, before hugging him affectionately, to which Diddy couldn't help but smile and blush more. "You are my favorite monkey."
Then, Diddy looked into her eyes for a while, as stroking her cheek, and then kissed her on the lips tenderly. When they parted, smiled at each other and emitted small laughs.
"By the way, I was thinking if we could go somewhere fun tomorrow," Diddy suggested after a while. "And... do you think if we also took those new friends we met?"
"I was thinking the same thing," Dixie replied, smiling. "What if we also took them to many more places? We can also play and explore this island with them."
"Sure, it sounds great," Diddy added excitedly. "Wow, this reminds me of when I had just met you, Chunky, Kiddy and Tiny."
"Me too," Dixie replied, laughing. "Some things that happen to us here remind me of that, we were also your new friends and you took us for a walk around DK Island."
"Yes, it's too similar," Diddy said before getting out of the hammock later. "Well, I think it's time to sleep. Rest well, Dix."
"Rest well, too, Diddy."
Diddy gave Dixie a kiss on the cheek, and then went to lie down to sleep in the other hammock. They both fell asleep, hoping the next day to see their new friends again; they hoped to get to know them a little more and wondered if a good friendship would emerge with them.