Chapter 69: Caught Red-handed
The herd of evil apes went up the second floor to the lab, with Diddy and Dixie in their arms. During the tour... Diddy and Dixie caught sight of some silhouettes running at the end of some corridors; of course, it was the quartet of mechanical children, who fortunately, neither the apes nor the other quartet saw them. Even so, both begged that neither would see them, since they knew that they would be finished off if the apes would find out about the recent procedure they did with those four kong children.
The herd of apes entered the laboratory and immediately placed Diddy and Dixie in the chairs where they initially had the kidnapped kong children, while keeping their guns pointed at them all the time. The apes pressed buttons on the chairs, and with those they activated shackles that tied Diddy and Dixie by the hands, legs and torso. The quartet of bully children were also in front watching them.
"Well, now we can start," the lead orangutan said, looking earnestly at Diddy and Dixie. "Escaping from here is not a good option at all, monkey children. Now... we're glad to have you back," he added, looking at them menacingly.
The menacing gazes of the group of mandrills and orangutans made them both too tense; it was such a strong tension that it even made them limit themselves to just thinking about DK Island and their relatives there.
"Kids!" the brown-lapel mandrill said to the quartet. "You've done something good in catching this pair, we're proud of you," he added before smiling and patting Rocky, who was his son.
"You haven't done things wrong after all," the red-lapel mandrill added, smiling and heading towards Melenky and then hugging him.
"We really needed that pair of monkeys," the blue-lapel mandrill added, patting Mandrew subtly.
"Good job, guys! You're going to be rewarded," the lead orangutan added as he carried Jemky in his arms.
Suddenly, the apes were making congratulatory gestures to their respective children, except for the black-lapel orangutan, who didn't seem to be the father of any of them, but who nevertheless showed himself with the same expression. It was a scene that, apparently, was not so common in that family.
"Alright!" the brown-lapel mandrill exclaimed as he put Rocky down, whom he had carried. "Now let's bring all those little brats to start!"
"And we have to prepare things," the lead orangutan added. "Manny and Terry, help me by ordering these quartzes by color," he said to the blue and red-lapel mandrills respectively. "Will and Rusty, get the devices ready," he added to the other orangutan and the other mandrill.
"Are you also going to teach us how to do mechanization?" Melenky asked the group of apes with a look of supplication.
"Just because we need to finish this quickly, son, we're going to teach you," the red-lapel mandrill replied, before changing to a fixed, serious look. "But just don't go out with some antics or mischief, okay?"
"Hey, by the way," Jemky said after a while. "Have you also caught a gorilla that walks through here?" he asked the adult apes curiously.
"A gorilla?" the brown-lapel mandrill said while preparing some equipment on a countertop. "Ah, yeah, that gorilla. We haven't told you, but we caught him a few days ago; he's hypnotized in case you're wondering. And we ordered him not to harm any of you, so don't fear him."
"We're going to do that mechanization to him later, by the way," the lead orangutan added.
Diddy and Dixie instantly looked at each other in panic upon hearing that and realizing that they weren't so wrong in their assumptions.
"His name is Pinky, isn't he?" Mandrew added in the same way.
"What?!" the lead orangutan exclaimed, turning to look at them with some astonishment along with the other apes. "And how do you know he's called that?!"
"Well... he was our last teacher we had in school," Rocky replied.
"What are you saying?!" the blue-lapel mandrill exclaimed. "Hmm... We did know he was a teacher, but... are you saying he was your teacher?"
"Yes, he was, really," Melenky replied. "Although he was only in the last two weeks before the end of the scholar cycle."
"And you never told us anything either," the lead orangutan said, raising his gaze seriously.
"Please, let's not start arguing again," Jemky replied, looking at his father with the same expression, before being somewhat confused. "And wait, so you knew him?"
"And why did you kidnap him too?" Mandrew asked them with a look of strangeness. "Weren't you going to mechanize only kids?"
"Uhh, well…" the lead orangutan replied, showing some hesitation to answer along with the other apes. "You see, it's a long and tedious s-story... But yes, we know him... And he has to pay us something, that's why we caught him."
"What?!" the quartet exclaimed, showing more confusion.
"And what did Mr. Pinky do to you?" Rocky asked them rather curiously. "And at what point did you catch him?"
"It's a long story, now is not the time to talk about it!" the brown-lapel mandrill replied. "And we managed to catch him because we knew that at this season, he frequented the place where we went to look for a school for you, at the time of enrolling you in Kong Kollege."
"But what did he do to you?" Melenky asked again. "Did he do something wrong to you? Did he ruin any of your plans or what?"
"There's nothing more to say! So, let's leave it at that," the lead orangutan replied. "Now we better start with everything; we have to bring all the little brats to mechanize!" he added, ignoring the quartet.
Diddy and Dixie were looking at each other while they had been extremely shocked by what they had just heard... Mr. Pinky having to pay those apes anything? They both wouldn't think it was a bad thing, as Mr. Pinky never proved to be evil; they didn't know what to think anymore... Even so, both were still worried about the herd of kong children and Mr. Pinky, as all of them were already on the ship outside the building, and they knew that it would be a huge danger to everyone if the apes found them again.
"Wait a minute!" the black-lapeled orangutan suddenly exclaimed. "What... is this?!"
The orangutan was looking towards one of the countertops where some devices and containers were... The same ones that Diddy and Dixie were manipulating recently to "revive" the Jenny and company's quartet.
Diddy and Dixie glanced at each other again while they were tense to see that they had forgotten to pick things up, and now the apes could discover them.
"Oh, no! You guys!" the brown-lapel mandrill shouted towards the quartet after seeing that too and taking the containers. "Were you doing something here with our stuff?!"
"Huh?!" Jemky exclaimed, looking confused. "What are you talking about?!"
"Well, about this!" the mandrill pointed towards the devices and the containers with remains of mixture that were in the countertop. "What have you been doing recently?!"
"But what are you talking about?!" Mandrew replied in the same way. "Those stuff are yours, what do you want to accuse us of now?"
"These devices are for mixing!" the mandrill replied.
"And wait a minute," the lead orangutan added, heading to take the same jar in which Diddy and Dixie had put the final mixture. "What... is this mixture?!... What were you trying to do with this?!"
"Which mixture?!" Jemky exclaimed. "We don't even know what that is."
"This..." the lead orangutan exclaimed, moistening his finger with the remains of the mixture and observing it in detail. "This has... sapphire dust?!... You were spending our sapphires! We were going TO NEED THESE SAPPHIRES!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Rocky interrupted firmly along with the other three kids. "First of all, we have no idea what you're talking about! And second, we hardly walked through here! We've only come here to look for the monkeys!"
"Wait a minute!" Jemky exclaimed, turning to look at Diddy and Dixie, quite suspiciously. "The monkeys... Maybe the monkeys did something here! I recently saw them walk out that door!"
"Wait, that's right!" Mandrew added likewise. "They spent quite some time hanging through the building... They might have something to do with this!"
Diddy and Dixie, although suppressing their urge to scream, remained quiet for a few seconds, but then regained their posture so they could respond.
"W-what?! What's wrong with you?!" Diddy exclaimed, trying to pretend as much as he could that he knew nothing. "What are you talking about?!"
Jemky took the jar from his father's hands and took it to Diddy and Dixie to show them.
"You both were doing this, weren't you?" Jemky asked, staring at them. "I saw you get out of here before you caught me and locked me up!" he added, raising his voice.
"What?!" Dixie replied. "What are you talking about?! We didn't walk through here either!"
"Don't play dumb!" Jemky exclaimed. "Even when you brought me here, I saw that book on the countertop!" he added, pointing to the instruction book as well. "Confess it! What were you doing?!"
"We didn't do ANYTHING!" Diddy replied, raising his voice more.
"Ask these monkeys!" Jemky said to the group of apes. "I know it was them!"
The apes and the rest of the quartet headed towards Diddy and Dixie as they all threw hard glances at both of them.
"Yeah, it must have been them," Rocky said, crossing his arms. "And I don't know what else they did because I heard them go up and down the stairs several times."
"We didn't do anything!" Dixie replied, defending her position.
"Hmm... Actually, I don't think it was these monkeys," one of the mandrills commented, which disappointed the quartet. "Tell us rather what you were doing!"
"Hey!" Jemky replied with the rest, pointing to Diddy and Dixie. "We're telling you we've seen these monkeys walking through the building!"
"Stop the fallacies and tell us!" the lead orangutan replied. "Tell us!"
"I TOLD YOU IT WAS THESE STUPIDS MONKEYS!" Jemky shouted, losing patience.
"IT WASN'T US!" Dixie reaffirmed, maintaining seriousness. Suddenly, an excuse came to her mind. "And stop accusing us or else... I'll say what you wanted to do to us with those sapphires!"
"Huh?!" the quartet exclaimed, showing all confused at what Dixie said.
"And what are you talking about, you bonkers?!" Mandrew replied.
"Don't pretend!" Dixie exclaimed, trying to sound as natural as she could. "You wanted to hypnotize us with that mixture! You tried to create another hypnotizing mixture and used those materials!"
"Hey! What the heck are you saying?!" Jemky exclaimed furiously. "We weren't even around here!"
"So, you tried to create ANOTHER HYPNOTIZING MIXTURE!" the apes shouted at the four children, staring sternly.
"NO! Of course not!"
"That hypnotizing mixture is not made with sapphires!" the black-lapel orangutan shouted at them. "That hypnotizing is made with a plant! The sapphires are for the mixture that we are going to apply on those four little brats that we mechanize first! They're to bring them to life! And now you have spent the darn sapphires!"
"That is NOT true!" Rocky reaffirmed, defending their claim. "Now I don't know what this girl is talking about! They must have manipulated these materials themselves!"
"No, no, no, it was you!" Diddy exclaimed, going along with Dixie. "Oh, and not only that! You also tried to restore the memory to Mr. Pinky and the other kids!"
"WHAT?!" the four kids exclaimed.
"SAY WHAT?!" one of the mandrills shouted, looking very furious along with the other ones. "WHAT ANTICS WERE YOU TRYING TO DO?!"
"NO!" Mandrew replied. "These monkeys are crazy; how the heck are we going to do something like that?!"
"But it's that these sapphires are also for RESTORING MEMORY!" the mandrill revealed... catching Diddy and Dixie's attention instantly. "Where did you get that information, by the way?!"
"What?!... Wait, wait, wait!" Jemky calmed them down, shaking his head from side to side. "Those monkeys are defaming us! Why would we make a mixture first of all?! We were just trying to catch these mon-"
"DON'T PLAY DUMB!" the lead orangutan interrupted, in the loudest voice he had. "Tell us the truth!"
"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, DARN IT!" Jemky shouted at them, furious and stomping.
The lead orangutan, faced with that attitude, took Jemky's ear tightly and held it like that for a few seconds.
"Hey, beware that tone and that vocabulary, little boy," the orangutan warned Jemky as he held him by the ear.
"BUT IT'S TRUE!" Mandrew added in the same way as Jemky. "Rather stop wasting time reproaching us for things we didn't do and let's get on with what we were! Don't be stupid!"
Those words only made the apes angrier, who after grumbling, gave each of the four kids a couple of slaps.
"But I didn't say anything!" Melenky replied, rubbing his face.
"Me neither!" Rocky added.
"SILENCE!" the lead orangutan shouted at them, before speaking to the other apes. "You know what? We'll take over going to get new sapphires later. Let's go to the cells to get those other little brats so we can start with that at once and for all!"
"But I say this will deserve another punishment," the blue-lapel mandrill said, looking sideways at the quartet. "It'll be later, but it'll be as soon as we finish mechanizing all those children."
The apes looked at the quartet angrily even before leaving the lab; they looked so furious that the congratulations they had recently given seemed to have been in vain. Even so, the quartet only rolled their eyes the moment their dads walked out the door, and then turned to Diddy and Dixie, whom they looked at furiously at the slander they had just been given.
"You!" the quartet shouted at Diddy and Dixie.
"What the heck did you say?!" Jemky reproached them, taking them both by the ears. "Why do you defame us, you pair of dumb monkeys?!"
"What the heck with you two?!" Mandrew added, pulling Dixie's hair and then Diddy's ear. "After you don't even say what you were doing, you accuse us of something we haven't done!"
"You're darn scoundrel!" Rocky added, slapping them both in the face. "Now you better say what you were actually doing while we were LOOKING for you!"
"Confess it!" Melenky shouted, giving them both one last slap.
Diddy and Dixie, even though they needed to rub their respective faces due the attacks received by the quartet, just looked at them, and for a moment, they couldn't hold back a little laughter.
"I'll just tell you something," Dixie said, looking at them mockingly. "It seems that you don't like being slandered and accused of something you didn't do, and even with fake evidence, right?" she ended by pointing with her eyes to the devices and materials they had used.
"You really went crazy!" Jemky yelled at them. "How the heck are you going to say that we wanted to make a mixture with those sapphires?! And you even say we wanted to restore the memory of those stupid kids and Mr. Pinky! Where on earth did you get the idea that we would do SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"
"Ahh, yeah, I see, you don't like to be slandered," Dixie replied to him, her expression mocking. "Just like you did with me with your darn photos, your darn letters, your darn painting and your darn smears! And you three too as darn accomplices!"
The whole quartet looked at them both with a scowl, but then they began to laugh little by little until they let out a laugh at what Dixie had said.
"You know what made me laugh the most out of all that?!" Jemky told them, laughing and switching to that topic. "That the monkey fell and believed everything and afterwards that Dixie found him with Jenny and thought he was cheating on her!"
"Hey, you darn burnt-hairs!" Diddy shouted, furious and trying to wave his feet in the air. "I knew at the time that Jenny wasn't even a real girl... And don't make me mention that the one who tried to make advances on me was actually you."
"Yeah, yeah, say it without crying now that Dixie is your ex-girlfriend," Jemky replied in a mocking tone. "And by the way... you kissed another girl!" he added, pointing at him and letting out a laugh.
"Urgh, you're darn vermin and cold-blooded!" Diddy exclaimed, shaking his feet again. "And don't change the topic! Accept that you like to slander but not that it's done to you!... By the way, you also owed one to me for your darn wrench trap!"
"Oh, and are you going to tell me that you didn't like receiving a kiss from a girl like Jenny?" Jemky continued sneering.
"Urgh, you're still on about that, you burnt-annatto-hairs!" Diddy shouted, losing patience and wanting to get out and confront him if he could.
"And Dixie is also another fool who fell and believed it!" Melenky added before laughing along with the group.
"Ugh, you idiotic, stop throwing that whole topic in our faces!" Dixie shouted, waving her feet. "And let's go back to the beginning: I see that you don't like to be defamed!"
"Yeah, yeah, you know what? You better talk whatever you want," Jemky told them mockingly. "Anyway, you can't defend yourselves there as you are, and soon our dads will make you robotic puppets like your four 'friends', the 'Jennies'."
"Only the one with the biggest horns between the two of you won't be mechanized," Mandrew told them in the same way.
"Hey!" Diddy and Dixie shouted in unison, waving their feet in the air.
"Exactly, neither of you actually had them," Mandrew added. "So, both will be like your friends… the Jennies."
"Anyways!" Rocky exclaimed, getting serious again. "Now, you'd better tell us: what were you two doing here in the lab?"
"And do you really think we're going to tell you?" Diddy replied mockingly.
Suddenly, the door slammed open and the group of mandrills and orangutans returned... They were all seen breathing hard and furious... So furious that they seemed as if they were ready to slaughter their children at that moment.
"GUYS!" The lead orangutan exclaimed. "WHERE THE HECK ARE THOSE BRATS?!"
"Say what?!" Jemky exclaimed, confused along with the other three kids at the sudden yells of their dads.
"The children!" one of the mandrills shouted. "They are not in their cells! WHERE ARE THEY?!"
"What are you saying?!" Rocky exclaimed, showing shock.
Diddy and Dixie opened their eyes to the fullest and felt an enormous tension within them at what the apes came to say. They only prayed that the herd of kong children wouldn't be found, because if so, they wouldn't want to imagine the reaction of the group of apes.
"What did you do with them?!" the lead orangutan asked, walking angrily towards the quartet. "Where are they?!"
"W-what?!" Melenky replied defensively. "We don't know anything!"
"Ohh, no, no, no!" interrupted Rocky before staring at Diddy and Dixie sternly. "This must be very clear! Maybe now it was the monkeys! There is no doubt about that!"
"W-what?! HEY, NO!" Diddy shouted from his position. "And now what are you talking about?!"
"Aha! So, you did that, didn't you?!" Jemky replied, looking furiously at them before looking at the great apes again. "It was these monkeys! We are sure now!"
"NO!" Dixie shouted. "STOP ACCUSING US!"
"WHERE ARE THOSE BRAT APE CHILDREN?!" the lead orangutan shouted too furious as if he wanted to massacre everyone present.
"That is the monkeys' fault!" Rocky replied. "Ahh, sure. That must be why I heard them several times going up and down the stairs," he added, looking at them furiously.
"Say it now, it was you!" Jemky insisted on both of them.
"NOOO!" Diddy shouted, trying to wave his feet in the air.
The group of apes also turned to Diddy and Dixie. Then, they stared at them for a while as if they were looking at their faces in detail, which made them both more tense.
"You…" the lead orangutan said to Diddy and Dixie with a menacing look. "Have you tried to free all those children?"
"N-no! Of course not!" Diddy replied.
"But you did release the blonde chimpanzee, didn't you?" one of the mandrills asked Diddy, hardening his gaze.
"Uh... W-well, yes," Diddy replied, looking at them with hatred and fear at the same time. "B-but I don't know anything about the other children."
"It was the four of them!" Dixie added, hurriedly pointing at the quartet with her eyes, trying to 'fix' the matter.
"Hey!" Jemky exclaimed defensively. "We didn't do that!"
"Of course it was you!" Dixie replied. "Especially you, Jemky! You told me you all would take those kids out if I agreed to be your girlfriend!"
"Hey, what's wrong with you?! I didn't tell you that!" Jemky shouted angrily. "Stop talking nonsense!"
"Oh, yeah, just play dumb!" Dixie replied, sounding as natural as she could. "And also, that you would help us to make them recover their memory! That's why you wanted to teach us how to make that mixture!"
"But what the heck with you!" Jemky replied. "Stop saying fallacies! We DIDN'T DO NOTHING!"
"But it's true!" Diddy shouted, going along with Dixie. "You proposed everything, Jemky! You who love Dixie SO much!"
"I don't love that fool, what's wrong with you, stupid monkey?!" Jemky shouted.
"Stop saying your stupid fallacies!" Rocky ordered them both firmly. "I know it was you and are trying to blame us!"
"Besides, I heard them walking around our room a couple of times!" Melenky added, pointing at them both.
"And I saw them in the kitchen downstairs!" Mandrew said in the same way. "They even took the instruction book from there!"
"SILENCE NOW!" the lead orangutan exclaimed, silencing them all. He stared at the quartet for a couple of seconds with a threatening expression before speaking to them. "You four! Go up to the countertop there!" he ordered them pointing.
"What?! For what?!" Rocky asked, looking confused.
"GET UP!" one of the mandrills shouted.
The quartet looked at the apes with some confusion, therefore, they just stood still without obeying the order of their dads. But then, the apes were even more furious and took the ears of the four to drag them to the countertop.
"Hey!" Jemky exclaimed, trying to resist them. "And now what?!"
The apes took the four by the torso and lifted them to the countertop they had indicated, in a way like if they were taking some dolls.
"Hey, but what's wrong with you?!" Mandrew replied, trying to get off. "We're telling you it was those monke-"
"SILENCE!" one of the mandrills interrupted at the same time that they held the quartet so as not to let them escape.
"Will! Pass us the whips!" the lead orangutan ordered the other orangutan.
Immediately, the black-lapel orangutan had taken some whips and handed them to the other four apes, who then took and waved them in the air while looking menacingly at their kids.
"NO, NO, NO, WAIT!" Jemky shouted, trying to cover his head with his arms. "WAIT A MIN-"
"STAY STILL!" the lead orangutan ordered them as he held Jemky by the locks tightly. "And I'll beat you twice, you devil boy!"
The apes, without further thought, began to whip their whips, each against their respective children. The quartet tried before to escape, but this time, the apes didn't allow them. Each of the four tried to cover themselves with their arms as best they could while they emitted shrieks with each lash they received from their dads.
Diddy and Dixie, from their positions, made gestures of pain while listening to how their archenemies were punished with lashes; even if it gave them satisfaction in having taken some revenge, it also caused them some discomfort to see how they were treated by those apes, since the lashes they gave them were so strong and savage that they made them feel as if they were being given to themselves.
"HEY, STOP! STOP!" Rocky pleaded as they continued to be whipped. "STOP NOW!"
After a while, the apes stopped with the lashes, but the lead orangutan continued to give Jemky additional lashes that, as he had been warned before, were double what they had given to the other three kids.
"Naughty boys, you don't learn!" one of the mandrills shouted at them.
The four kids just stared with some resentment towards their dads while they rubbed different parts of their own bodies. In fact, they looked very sore that for a moment they seemed like harmless children.
"And you, Jemky!" the lead orangutan exclaimed, taking him by the ear and twisting it. "I don't want to hear again that you've done any mischief for that chimpanzee girl," he said in a threatening tone. "The next time you're going to get a triple beating, and don't even scream at me afterwards!"
The orangutan let go of Jemky's ear abruptly, while he maintained a look of resentment towards his father, even seeming to no longer feel like responding defensively.
"Well!" the lead orangutan exclaimed after taking the quartet down from the countertop. "Let's go find those little brats! Anyway, they mustn't be far away; they might be somewhere in the building."
"Hey, by the way, Ray," the red-lapel mandrill interrupted the lead orangutan. "What will we do after all with those two monkeys?" he asked, pointing to Diddy and Dixie.
The lead orangutan stared at Diddy and Dixie for a while. The two of them, while being watched by him, began to tremble again and be frightened to the extreme.
"Well, about the monkey boy... We can include him with the other children," the lead orangutan said, staring at him. "I'd say let's kill him right now, but I think one more kid to the herd of mechanical kids is not a bad idea. About the chimpanzee girl… In fact, we won't do anything to her for now... but we'll take her to tell us where her siblings are! No one is left owing us anything!"
"Okay, so, we'll take over for her as soon as we're done," the mandrill said.
Both Diddy and Dixie felt their entire circulation at speed at what the apes were saying; they kept begging for something miraculous to happen at that moment so they could continue to escape, but little by little they also felt their hopes beginning to wane.
The group of apes began to leave, but not before taking the arm of the quartet to take them as well.
"And you're going to tell us where those children are!" one of the mandrills ordered.
"Oh, keep believing whatever you want," Rocky replied in a tone of resentment. "But we had nothing to do with the disappearance of all those children!"
"You'll help us look for them then!" the brown-lapel mandrill replied, who was taking Rocky.
"Let's check the basement first!" the lead orangutan suggested.
The apes along with the quartet left the lab and left Diddy and Dixie alone. Both remained trapped in their respective chairs without being able to get out of there. As soon as all the apes got out and closed the door, both began to struggle to untie themselves from the shackles that had the chairs, they even tried to get their hands out from those which had them bound, but it didn't work. Both had to give up while they were quite desperate.
"Oh, no, no, no," Diddy exclaimed, waving his feet in despair. "These chairs are too strong!"
"I don't know what else to do," Dixie replied, looking hopeless. "Those apes will kill us soon… and it'll be worse if they find those children and Mr. Pinky!"
"No, no, Dixie... I know there's going to be a way out of here," Diddy told her, trying to stay calm, even if he couldn't. "No matter what it takes, we'll get through this situation... We will go out."
"They want to take me to DK Island to go for Chunky, Tiny and Kiddy... But they want to do that atrocity to you right now!" Dixie exclaimed, beginning to despair. "And when they find them on DK Island, they will also kill us... And even the other kongs there may be in danger!"
Suddenly, Dixie's eyes began to fill with tears and she almost wanted to let them out in masse, which made Diddy about to get the same way, but he continued to try to stay strong and keep the few drops of hope he had left.
"No, Dixie! Of course, we're both going to get out of here... And we'll return to DK Island," Diddy said, remaining serious, but at the same time, it was in vain. "Oh, who am I fooling... I don't know what to do now either."
Dixie didn't feel like saying anything more and started to let tears roll down her cheeks. Diddy, helpless, just stretched out his hand as far as the shackles of the chair allowed, and took Dixie's hand barely reaching her fingers. Both looked at each other in an anguished way while thinking thousands of things at that moment, about all... each of the two thought about their mistakes that had led them to live the whole journey they had gone through since they left DK Island to the present.
Suddenly, the door of the laboratory slammed open and the lead orangutan entered along with the blue and brown-lapel mandrills respectively, the latter with gun in hand. The three of them headed toward Diddy and Dixie, and then the orangutan took out a rope and immediately began to wrap it along Dixie's hair.
"W-w-what's going on?!" Dixie asked, barely having the strength to do so.
"You'll go to the cells again, little girl!" the orangutan said.
"W-what?!"
Dixie panicked instantly, but she couldn't express it well with the apes in front of her. The orangutan then pressed buttons on the back of the chair, and its shackles were deactivated, leaving Dixie's hands and feet free. But instantly, the two mandrills pointed their guns at Dixie while now the orangutan placed other loose shackles on Dixie's hands and ankles. Instantly, the orangutan took Dixie in his arms and began to carry her away.
"No... No, no, no! Wait!" Dixie yelled at them, trying to shake her limbs in vain as she was being carried. "WAIT!"
"NO, NO, LEAVE HER!" Diddy shouted at them too, instantly becoming desperate. "DON'T TAKE HER-"
"SILENCE!" the lead orangutan ordered and quickly hit Dixie to stay still, while one of the mandrills hit Diddy and pressed the gun against his head, looking at him menacingly to silence him.
The apes took Dixie away, and now they left Diddy alone in the lab. Both looked at each other from a distance to the last, while they could not even say a word to each other due to the presence of the apes. Even when the apes withdrew completely, Diddy also began to fill his eyes with tears, this time without being able to help himself. Even so, he wanted to continue with strength to go ahead and began to struggle from the chair without stopping; he spent like this for a couple of minutes trying to at least remove his hands from the shackles. He was going into a severe panic that he couldn't think of anything but Dixie; at least he needed her to be safe.
On the other hand, Dixie was being moved by the three apes to the cells. She had to stay still and quiet during the way, even if she needed to yell at the apes and confront them if she could.
The apes, upon reaching one of the cells on the top floor, introduced Dixie inside and, immediately, activated the bars to lock her up. Dixie couldn't think well at the time; she only felt her whole body tremble and all her blood circulating to her feet continuously. The three apes approached the bars to speak to her.
"Don't worry, girl," the lead orangutan said with a serious look. "We won't mechanize you… But after this, we'll take you to DK Island and you'll tell us where you live with your siblings!"
"N-no... Don't even think I'll tell you!" Dixie replied, challenging them with a trembling voice. "Don't think I'll allow you to harm my sister and cousins!"
The apes immediately gave a warning look at Dixie's attitude, while she looked at them with a grudge and tears at the edge of her eyes.
"Hmm, so you're such a defiant child," the orangutan said, crossing his arms. "But let me tell you that nobody defies us, much less you, who because of you and your family we ran out of animals, they left us almost in ruin... But this won't stand this way."
"Were your parents the pair of apes who accompanied you and your siblings when you all were here?" the blue-lapel mandrill asked, raising his gaze.
"T-they were m-my aunt and uncle," Dixie stuttered with hatred and shedding tears.
"I see... Because they didn't get out of the building that time you escaped."
"DARNED!" Dixie shouted too angrily at that moment, waving her feet. "YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE! YOU ARE-"
Suddenly, one of the mandrills pointed and pressed the gun to Dixie's head to make her understand to keep quiet. Dixie just let her tears roll continuously down her cheeks and made small sobs.
"Shut up or you will suffer the consequences," the mandrill threatened her firmly.
"Tell me something, girl," the lead orangutan said. "Is that little monkey with a red cap that's with you your boyfriend?"
"N-n-no," Dixie replied reluctantly as her tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "Because of your son, not anymore."
"But I guess you're still loving him," the orangutan added, raising his gaze. "So, you're going to have to tell us later where your siblings are on DK Island; if we find them, we might consider leaving that little boyfriend of yours alive. But if you don't want to tell us... we will make you see with your own eyes how we mechanized him," he said in a threatening tone. "And don't even think that's how you save yourself; we'll mechanize you later too and we'll go to DK Island to look for them... And who knows if we also take a few apes from that island."
"NO!" Dixie shouted at them again furiously. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HURT ANY OF THEM-"
Instantly, the lead orangutan pulled one of Dixie's curls, causing her to even slam herself against the bars.
"We don't like that attitude of yours at all, little girl!" the orangutan warned her. "One more and we're going to go right now for that monkey boy and kill him in front of your eyes... And anyway, we leave you with that warning so that you can decide later what will be your fate."
The three apes kept their gaze threatening towards Dixie and, a few seconds later, turned around and started walking to retreat. Meanwhile, Dixie stayed behind bars still with her tears rolling down her face... This time, without knowing what she could do at that moment...
On the other hand, in the laboratory, Diddy was still tied to his chair and struggling constantly to try to free his hands, but to no avail. He was getting so desperate that he didn't know what else he could do anymore. He began to remember Donkey, DK Island and the last night he was there, wishing more and more that he had not gone out that time.
Suddenly, one of the doors of the laboratory opened, and no one but Jemky appeared. Instantly, Diddy rolled his eyes at the sight of him and already assumed that he would go to bother him; just seeing him caused him enormous indignation and a desire to give him his comeuppance again if he could.
Jemky walked towards Diddy in normal steps, but looking at him seriously as if he wanted to reproach him for something.
"You can't attack me right now the way you are, monkey," Jemky said, smiling a little mockingly. "Now tell me... Where did you leave those children? We already know you made them disappear!" he added, taking him by the shirt and raising his voice.
Diddy just looked at him seriously, not wanting to answer that question.
"Tell me!" Jemky insisted, waving his shirt.
"No," Diddy replied coldly. "I won't tell you anything."
Jemky raised his gaze and looked at him mockingly, before letting go.
"Well, anyway…" he said, resting his hand on the back of another chair, "they couldn't be off this island, so our dads are going to find them... And they'll mechanize you too!" he added, letting out a few laughs.
Diddy, unable to respond and defend himself to that, just started grumbling and waving his feet in the air even though he couldn't.
"Oh, what's wrong, little monkey?" Jemky said in a mocking tone. "Oh, I know, are you also worried about Dixie?... Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to her; I'll prevent them from doing that mechanization to her and I'll take care of her and keep her. And you can stay with Jenny; after all, you're going to be just like her."
Diddy grumbled at him again, this time with more force and wanting to get out and confront him if he could at that moment, while Jemky laughed at him in front.
"Look, be thankful I can't beat you up!" Diddy yelled at him. "And I'd appreciate it if you get out of here right now, because I'm not happy with you at all!"
"Ah, I see, you still love Dixie," Jemky continued mockingly. "But what a pity, because she surely doesn't love you anymore because you didn't believe her that she had never cheated on you with me," he added laughing again in front of him. "You know something, Diddy? You are a fool; you believe everything, since we were on DK Island... But now, Dixie won't have a stupid monkey as a boyfriend anymore, because I'm going to stay with her and I'm going to love her much more than you, because seeing how you were, you're a cowar-"
"Urgh, shut up, Jemky!" Diddy interrupted, grumbling. "Stop throwing that in my face! You just want to compete with me! You only care about having Dixie to believe you're the best!... But do you know one thing? I don't want to compete with you, and yes, I dislike you, but I won't! What's more, believe me that if Dixie loved you, I'd let you both be happy if she wanted to, I wouldn't do that childishness that you made us to separate us... I'd obviously beat you up if you treated her badly."
There were a few seconds of silence as Diddy continued to look angrily at Jemky, who after Diddy told him that, just remained silent and confused.
"B-but... n-no, of course not!" Jemky stuttered. "How could I want to compete with you, monkey?! If you are stupid and credulous!"
"Hmm, and I see you're not willing to admit it," Diddy said, raising his gaze and rolling his eyes. "Envious orangutan."
"Urgh, but anyway... I'll stay with Dixie after all!" Jemky replied, in a position not wanting to give up. "And you, you're going to die and become a robot like Jenny and those other three kids! You can stay with Jenny later anyways," he added laughing again, while Diddy continued to look at him with hatred. "Oh, wait, I forgot that you don't like pretty girls like Jenny... In addition to being a coward and credulous you're a coward-butterfly monkey."
"I'm not going to be criticized by an idiotic who thinks that by insisting he's going to get someone to respond to him," Diddy told him seriously.
Jemky stared at him in shock for a few seconds, but then was furious and slapped Diddy's face.
"For your information, I have been responded; a lot of girls," Jemky said mockingly. "It's called perseverance and it's something you don't have; I see you don't even have it with Dixie. But I'll win her love and I'll make her love me, much more than you, because I'll love her better!"
"Yeah, yeah, of course, whatever you say!" Diddy replied with a shrug. "Anyway, you don't love her! You don't care about her! You only care about having her to yourself, but you don't really care about her! You didn't even care about hurting her being Jenny... And you call 'perseverance' groveling yourself for someone."
"You need to learn more, monkey," Jemky said, laughing a little. "I don't even know how you won Dixie over; girls don't like cowardly monkeys like you, they never want them! They like the brave, the rough, those who dare, those who do say nice things to them! You couldn't even tell her you liked him; she had to do it for you to top it off," he told him before starting laughing.
"Look, stop meddling in my life, burnt-hairs!" Diddy yelled, losing patience with him. "You really are tremendously envious! And I don't want to believe myself better than you, but if you do, then let me tell you that with all that you say about me, Dixie loved me, not you with your 'perseverance'."
"Urgh, you're a darn... fool monkey!" Jemky replied by taking him by the shirt and smashing him into the chair a couple of times.
"And just look how you react!" Diddy said in a mocking tone. "You have nothing more to say. It hurts you because you know it's true."
"Oh, really?!" Jemky exclaimed furiously. "Well, you know what's going to hurt you the most?! That I will have Dixie this time! Dixie will be mine! And I'm going to love her more than you and she's going to love me more than you! I'll stay with her!
"Well, keep her if you want!" Diddy shouted, emphasizing. "Keep her, it's okay! Anyway... now I love another girl."
"Huh! But what are you saying?!" Jemky replied, making a sarcastic expression. "Did you say... another girl? You're already talking foolishness, dumb monkey!"
"Well, yes! It's another girl!" Diddy replied. "And you know who?!"
"And who else are you going to love?!"
"You, beautiful Jenny," Diddy replied, giving him a mischievous look.
Jemky looked at him with strangeness and confusion for a few seconds, but then he began to grumble at him gradually, this time much angrier that he even gave Diddy a strong slap and left him stunned for a couple of seconds... But then, Diddy started smiling at him mockingly.
"You make me laugh!" Diddy said, starting to laugh harder.
"Darn stupid monkey!" Jemky yelled, beginning to hit him continuously in the face.
"Oh, what's wrong? Don't you love me anymore, Jenny?!" Diddy said mockingly as he continued to be attacked. "You who insisted so much to me too!"
Jemky grumbled much more and now took him roughly from the shirt and smashed him continuously against the chair. Diddy, trying to pretend he wasn't hurt by the attacks, just laughed in Jemky's face. Even so, a while later, Diddy was already reaching the limit.
"Hey!…" Diddy yelled as Jemky continued to attack him. "Let me... burnt-hairs! Do you hate me so much?!"
Jemky gave him one last slap while staring at him furiously.
"Burnt-hairs, annatto-hairs," Jemky mockingly imitated him. "You wish you had this shiny fur like mine!"
Suddenly, a silhouette entered through the door where Jemky had entered before.
"Oh, no!…" Diddy whispered, being shocked to see who it was.
Jemky turned to look and saw none other than Melvyn, who had walked into the lab as if he were a curious little child. Diddy began to panic as he tried to signal Melvyn to leave.
"What the?!" Jemky exclaimed, confused, but then regaining his normal posture. "Oh, is it serious, Melenky?! Why did you take Melvyn out right now?" he said to Melvyn. "You have to go help our dads look for those kids!"
But Melvyn, now with 'autonomy of his own', just ignored Jemky and went to Diddy to take him by the hand as if he were a little child who wanted to play.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?!" Jemky asked Melvyn. "Why are you pulling the monkey's hand?!"
Diddy just remained serious as if he didn't know anything, and didn't answer any word to Melvyn. Even so, he tried to signal with his eyes to give him the order to leave that place, but that was in vain.
"Melenky!" Jemky told him, pulling him away from Diddy. "Hey, what's wrong with you?!... Oh, Melenky! I'm going to look for you right now!"
Immediately, Jemky headed to the door and left the laboratory, retreating completely, which was a small relief for Diddy... But now, he had Melvyn in front of him, who kept pulling his hand.
"Melvyn! What are you doing here?!" Diddy whispered desperately. "You have to leave here! Go, get out of here!"
But Melvyn ignored him and kept trying to insist that he get out of his chair.
"Melvyn, get out of here, please!" Diddy insisted. "Those apes are going to see you! You should leave!"
Suddenly, another silhouette peeked through the door... This time, it was Jenny, who also as soon as she entered, was heading towards Diddy.
"Oh, no, no, no! Jenny, no!" begged Diddy. "Please leave here too!... No!"
Without giving him a second, Jenny went straight to hug Diddy as if she was excited to see him. She, while holding him up, began to smile at him in a flirtatious way and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"No, no, Jenny, please, no!" Diddy continued pleading as he couldn't get away from her this time being trapped in the chair.
Jenny started kissing Diddy more on the face, which was making him uncomfortable and he tried to move away with just his head.
"No, no, leave me, Jenny!" Diddy exclaimed, stretching his head up and sideways and waving his feet. "Oh, stupid Jemky, why did you teach her to be like that too?!" he whispered to himself.
Jenny continued to kiss him more, so Diddy kept trying to push his face away as best he could.
"N-NO, JENNY!" Diddy shouted as he managed to get his face away from hers and got her to calm down. "No! Don't be like that burnt-hair Jemky trained you! Forget what he taught you… And don't hit me if that's what you plan to do now!"
Jenny gave him an angry look and only showed him her tongue as a sign of mockery and contempt, and then turned away from him.
"Now... I would appreciate the two of you leaving here," Diddy ordered Jenny and Melvyn. "What's more, go to the top floor here and leave this building, then get on a ship that's out there, also tell Mandy and Ricky if you find-"
Suddenly, an idea came to Diddy's mind, and he smiled at them both for a moment.
"Uhh, wait, wait, don't leave yet!" Diddy told them before looking around. "Listen! Get me out of this chair," he whispered. "Just press a few buttons that are here behind the backrest."
Jenny and Melvyn looked at him strangely for a few seconds and just shrugged and ignored him, then turned around and headed for the door.
"Hey!" Diddy exclaimed, waving his feet. "Don't leave! Help! We're friends!"
But they both went on their way and were about to walk out the door. Diddy, not wanting to give up, came up with one last alternative to be listened to.
"Jenny! Come here!... Uhh, I love you, Jenny!" Diddy said quickly, which got her to at least turn to see him. "Yeah, yeah, I love you, pretty Jenny... Can you come a moment?! And bring Melvyn too!"
Jenny remained still for a moment, but then, she took Melvyn's arm and they both headed back towards Diddy.
"Okay... Uhh, Jenny, you love me, right?" he asked with a forced smile, to which Jenny smiled too and nodded to him. "Well... If you really love me, how about... you take me out of this chair by pressing some buttons that are back here? And I'll be your boyfriend next month so you can kiss me as many times as you want," he added, keeping his forced smile, trying to sound natural and hoping Jenny and Melvyn would give in that way.
Jenny began to smile little by little and, along with Melvyn, went towards the chair where Diddy was...
A/N: In case there is any confusion, these are the names of those criminal apes:
-Ray: Orangutan lead of the group, who wears a green-lapel and is Jemky's father.
-Manny: blue-lapel mandrill and Mandrew's father.
-Terry: red-lapel mandrill and Melenky's father.
-Rusty: brown-lapel mandrill and Rocky's father.
-Will: black-lapel orangutan.
I don't name them that in the dialogues because they're enemies that appeared recently (well, they appeared in chapter 2 and Dixie has also mentioned them before, but it's just now where they already have more participation in the story).
And I don't have their designs because I still don't know how to draw adult kongs well.
