#//the saddest separation scene ever lmao dad why

[simiansmoke]

@koopzilla

It had been the usual twilight hour - one that DK often spent in a make-shift gym along the ocean shore a few steps shy of one of the kingdom's many boardwalks. To call it a gym was a stretch as it was more of a fallen coconut tree next to its stump, but that was all that was needed to bang out some bench press sets.

One moment he was getting ready to go for a PR with Diddy to spot, but mainly to add more weight onto the tree, and the next - he was being showered in the distant heat of the approaching burning castle. Ah great, what did that bozo want? Catching his little buddy's gaze after shaking loose of the sky scene, DK nods. They had been through this sort of drill before. "Grab Dixie and keep'em outta town. I'm going." Not waiting to hear of any protests, DK turned and raced off with knuckles thundering the salt-washed wooden roads. The city had just started showing signs of awareness to the sky visitors when he reached the bottom of the capital's towering fortress and began to climb.

It was a lot quicker to reach the top by kart, but he had more than enough power to clamber up and hoist himself over the edge. "Dad, hey Dad!" He hollered, figuring Cranky would be out and gathering some security to deal with the unannounced invasion. Once he found his balance, he caught a glimpse of his dad a ways off, cross-armed and peeved behind the iron bars of his personal sized cage.

"Yes, yes I'm aware." Sounding more inconvenienced than worried (the old bastard), Cranky squinted down at a device strapped to his wrist and tapped. "-and your response time was far from your last record, might I add!"

"Is this really the time to time me?!" DK huffed, regarding the group of squat invaders in their red rain slickers and hockey masks worked on hooking the cage to a pulley system that would lead it up to the floating base. "Hey! Step a-way from the old man...-!" Having begun his charge forward, and bowling through several minions in the process, he was close to leaping on top of the cage and ripping it open from the top when a rather spikey Koopa slid a spear through the bars to press against the Kong king's cheek. Cranky himself didn't seem to notice, but he was pretty gifted in the art of becoming a statue to the point where he scared the shit out of DK at times walking down a corridor filled with them.

"Stop there! That's as far as you go."

"...seriously?" Poised halfway on one arm, a fist curled tight at the end of the other. "What are you losers doing here anyway? Let my Dad go!"

"All in good time, all in good time." The Koopa assured and gestured toward the platform lowering to the cobblestone roof. "You are wanted in the main hall. We will escort you." As if on command, a few of the shy guys approached DK from all angles.

"Uh huh, right. YEAH right." The Kong snorted, slamming his hands on the ground hard enough to rumble it and cause a few of the poor shy guys to fall over cursing. "Why would I do that for?"

"Forgive the boy, he's a bit on the slow side." Cranky side murmured.

"Because! Bowser has demanded an audience, and if you don't go - your King will!"

A long pause later fraught with a side-long look towards Cranky's cage, DK heaved a sigh of annoyance, gaze dropping to his knuckles. "...fine, I-"

"Just take me up there already, the boy is no negotiator for this kingdom." Cranky interrupted, ornery as always and inconvenienced by the unexpected drop-in.

"Ugh! Can you like, believe in me for five seconds, Dad? I might let you out when I get back!" His fur twitched furiously as the shy guys slid up by his side again. He wanted to slap them all off the platform as they all headed up, but the Koopa's spear still remained in place by the side of his prisoner. The brief flicker of concern in Cranky's eye is the last thing DK sees before turning his head to regard the gap between platform and base that he hopped to and scrabbled up on his back legs.

It wasn't a long walk to whatever the main hall was, but he was a tad pissy when he got there. Mainly because the shy guys thought he needed six different ropes tied around him (like seriously is there one looped around his thumb too?) Standing on his back legs just to upset the little shits holding onto the ropes tied around his wrist (and partially drag them into the air) DK huffed. "Seriously - I said I was coming, dude. What are these even for?"