Snow Kingdom
As Mario gets led in, the lead penguin dives right into introductions. "When I heard of your encounter with a Kong, I could not stand by and let him massacre you."
"Are we-a beefing with the same guy?"
"We have our own reasons. They have power that would be safer in our hands."
Mario's face goes flat. "..I'm in the middle of a war now?"
"More of a power struggle."
"That's a war. What's going on?" he asks.
"Cranky Kong is overprotective of his kingdom. Tries to force his ideals on future heirs ever since that day.." the kings beak lowers. "It was a tragedy what happened to their family. It will be a tragedy if Cranky brings yours the same fate."
"How'd you know?"
"I wasn't born yesterday. Same hair, same outfits, same mustaches, and even a Yoshi..surprising. Yoshi's never go to war." The king explains.
"He's a brave one..so what's this 'power' you're on about?"
The penguin smashes his staff down, as an ice block forms. A few flakes of snow brake off and form the outline of a..Star?
"This is a Power Star. One grants you immense power, but if you collect all seven: you become the most powerful in the world. We believe that power is safer with us." He explains. "We already have one. The Kong family does as well. Cranky's possession of the Power Star has led to a few certain kingdoms getting wiped over the tiniest of offenses. Except for the Kremlings. They earned it."
"Ohhhh I see what you're getting at.."
"We will aid you on your quest, but with one condition: we get the Kongs Power Star. With it out of Cranky's possession,
Mario lifts a finger. "He's violent? His guard's so nice about it though."
"Even if the third Kong appears polite, he's too loyal to his tribe to stray. He's powerless. They fight at Cranky's whim."
"Oh.."
"Newcomers get that twisted."
"Ah…well, I'd love my family back so it works out for me." Mario says. "You won't betray me right? You look cute but could become-a savages."
That gets a hearty chuckle from the leader. "Ho Ho Ho..i respect your strategy, but we keep our promises." The small yet mighty fighter waddles to an ice wall, and uses his beak to send it right. A penguin suit is the first thing Mario spots.
"Am I gonna be a furry?"
"No.." He answers, rolling it his way. "It will help with the environment."
"Can I ever change back?"
"Put on the suit."
"I've got so many—"
*Mario literally turns into a penguin with red overalls. He's like "..am I high?" The rulers like "you will get used to it. You can always take fatal blows to get it off. I'm confident a Kong will do it for you."*
The king hurls that suit at the plumber, forcing him into a strange transformation. His coat gets taken over by blue and white, he feels a warm sensation on his skin.
"..am I high?"
"You will get used to it."
"HOW?"
"A few fatal blows should get you back to normal." The king assures. "I'm confident a Kong will do it for you."
The mustached penguin blinks. "Yay….hngh."
"Cheer up. There will be victory snowcones!"
"Oooo.."
Jungle Kingdom
Cranky and his grandson are meditating on a cliff, with care waters below. For once, both Kongs are at peace. Just taking in the breeze.
"Watch out!"
DK can't rip that moment from his head. The man he was told to be "disrespectful," the man he was told to be "selfish", took the bullet for his loved one. Was he really THAT bad a guy? Or is Cranky just bitter about all the losses?
He knows his grandpa isn't perfect. He's not a squeaky clean hero. He's initiated battles just to get a Power Star. All that, to make sure they don't get hurt again.
"Have we been harsh on the humans?" He asks.
His grandad mutters to himself, before getting a blunt one out. "He made us look bad."
"I'm also talking about his boy."
"Ah.." Cranky adjusts his rusty glasses. "Guilty by association. Listen kid, if you wanna be king you've gotta see who's looking out for you, and who's tricking ya. You picked wrong."
"Wario is annoying, but good partner. Without him as shield, I would not catch up." DK informs. "Maybe we should be more open."
"No."
"Are you s—"
"No. You don't wanna argue with me. Can we get back to the session?"
That cutoff gets a grunt from DK. "NO. I put foot down."
"Boy—"
"No. No 'boys.'" DK interrupts. "We could end violence from this kingdom..but you call shots and cut us off."
"Why are you all of a sudden caring about these people? What happens if we give these people a chance, huh? They stab us in the back again?! I'll be damned if I let them do what—"
DK slams his fist down. "They are NOT Kremlings…" he takes a second to catch his breathe. "I miss father with all heart..but how do we move on, when you stop his change? Other tribes used to come around. I harmed a Yoshi on your orders, just to satisfy you…yet you still scorn me."
"I'm doin what this kingdom NEEDS."
"You're holding it back."
His words earn Cranky's scornful eye. "Watch. Wario's gonna sneak around and cause US trouble. Let's face it kid: you've gone SOFT."
DK's eyes shoot open. "You've gone STUBBORN. We don't need wars. We don't need to shut everyone out. Not true peace!"
"Then what is?!" Cranky snaps. "Leaving ourselves open? We can't beat the enemy like that.."
DK opens his mouth for another counter, but nothing comes out. "You want to be that way? Fine." He cuts the session short and leaves his grandpa alone.
"Where are ya going?"
"A reflective walk."
Cranky clenches his toes after that. His own grandson raises his voice at him. "He's gonna learn.."
.
.
Jumpman's lying in his cell, swinging his legs back and forth..but ones involuntary. A large shadow snaps him out of his trance.
"Who's 'dat?"
Donkey Kong blocks any light from seeping in. "Me."
"I'm ready for whatever you got. Give it to me."
"I judged you too harshly."
Jumpman blinks a good dozen times. Did a Kong just…admit their faults? What world is he in? "Ok.."
"It wasn't until your sacrifice..and a good reflective walk that I come to you."
"Musta' been a damn good walk. Cranky king hear you out?" DK lowers his head. "Oh..well go figure! Guy acts like a victim anytime he loses."
"In one case, he was. But was years ago."
Jumpman nods. "So you lettin' me go?"
"No." The man frowns. "The kingdom wouldn't take my side..but I can give you words of affirmation."
His words didn't affirm Jumpman at all.
.
.
In town, Wario's taking a stroll around. He's got a banana in hand, sniffing around. "Grh..there's gotta be something good around here." A golden trail of smoke enters his nose. "Ahh.."
He follows that trail, and comes to a clerk. "Welcome to the—"
Wario just tosses the banana behind him. That clerk dives for it, while he snatches the register! Fortunately for him, there's no Kongs around. Some are on their breaks, others aren't even there to begin with. He shakes the register, and golden coins fall out. He sweeps them into his gear.
He sets that register back in its place. The clerk gobbles the banana just in time! "MMF..like anything?"
"Naaaah. I'll come later." Wario says, leaving that booth behind. His eyes are just twitching, desperate to stop himself from grinning like a maniac.
"You ok?" A blue Kong asks.
"Yes..my jaws acting up."
The second that ape leaves, Wario pulls a coin out and sniffs it. "Ahh..I can smell gold from a mile away.." he drops that back in and eyes the castle itself.
SNIFF.
SNIFF.
"My crime senses are tingling."
DK's Summit
Mario and this new group of penguins burrow in the snow, getting a good look at this new location. There's tall cabins standing in the snow, massive mountains in the background, and Shy Guys snowboarding. One hits a sick trick on the half pipe! GO DUDE!
"This is sicker than anything Brooklyn has.."
"This base is flattering..but we must take it first." The king explains. "We'll collect information for a brutal attack. Taking them upfront is a death wish."
"So we take them from behind…"
"You understand." The king praises. "You must have grown into a fighter."
A few red Shy Guys come over, saying incomprehensible words. Nobody can understand the "herms" and "hums", all they do know is they need a plan NOW.
"Follow my lead.." the king whispers.
Suddenly, the penguins pull the Shy Guys into the know, pounding them into dust before ripping their disguises off. Mario's dead silent at what he's seeing.
"And I thought they were cute…"
A Shy Guy whacks Mario upside the head with his snowboard. He looks for a second shot, but Mario snatches it and returns the favor! He grasps his outfit. "Sorry bro…"
.
.
After a few minutes of changing, the squads decked out in Shy Guy style. Mario's taller than the others, but as long as he acts normal, he should be ok. "We..actually did that. Just ripped everything from 'em."
"Don't think too hard. All is fair in war." The king assures.
They head to the cabin, where a Shy Guy's watching them with his special grade binoculars.
"Herm…"
The tall one and his totally innocent comrades head up the stairs. He blocks the top. "Hurm hur!"
"Hello my fellow Shy Guy, may you let us through?" Mario asks, getting looks from his own crew.
"Herm?!"
"Oh screw it." Mario decks him in the face, pinning him against the wall. "Tell us what we need to know."
"Mario.." the penguin king interrupts. "Inside."
.
.
When they get inside the high cabin, Mario pins him against the wall again. "Tell us what we need to know."
The penguin king just brushes him to the side. "Her hur hum."
"Herm."
"Hur her."
"Hur."
Mario throws his hands up. "I don't know how they do it."
The penguin king releases the hostage. "He's given us a route. All we need to do is make the journey. As a bonus..they will work with us for a price."
Mario applauds. "That-a was nice!"
"Why do you clap?"
"Do you know what 'applause is?"
"The name doesn't matter, it's disrespectful in our culture."
Mario's face drops. "This is too much…"
Well, Mario's found himself some new allies in the Snow Kingdom. Lucky for him, their goals aligned, and if they didn't..he'd be a fresh popsicle for the mobs out there. Looks like they'll be attacking the Jungle Kingdom from behind, and with the not-so-smooth Invasion of DK's Summit, they've got the Shy Guys at hand too.
Now for a big point. Cranky and DK finally having an argument over what's next for the Kingdom, and what happened all those years ago. Seeing a sacrifice play really got DK, and might have made him more lenient on the humans. Cranky still doesn't trust them, but does he really trust anyone?
Oh yeah, and Wario's already robbed someone. Lovely. His look at the castle may end up Proving Cranky right though…we'll see what happens there.
Next chapter, we're hitting a massive part of the story. Only a few chapters left to go until the adventures all over! Stay tuned, Ticket out :)
