//------------------------------//
// Seething Swashbucklers 
// Story: Daring Do and the Tie Wearing Kong 
// by Amereep 
//------------------------------//

As the double doors to the tavern swung open, a gold coated pegasus traversed inside.  There were many creatures about the place; from flying griffons to robust minotaurs.  They paid no mind to the pony, but the one that did was the large looking donkey that stood behind the main counter.  "Daring Do!" The jack said with the sound of delight in his heavy accent, "It's been far tae long syne A'v last seen ye."

"Hey Tapper, how's it been." she replied sounding half interested as she made it over to a seat.

Tapper was an old friend of Daring's uncle.  She's known him since she was a filly and has always been a helpful source to get advice from.  He was covered in light brown fur, indicating that he was getting to that age of retirement, but his stubborn attitude refused the idea of it.  Tapper's face always appeared to be a stern and unfriendly looking one, but he was one of the sweetest guys around; almost as much as his sweet tooth.  If there was one thing that he absolutely loves, it would be candy and he often had quite a bit of it stashed away whenever he got a craving.  But as for now, he was more concerned of Daring's tone, "Sounds like the last excavation didnae gae very well."

"Ahuizotl got involved and I got into a bind where I had to destroy the Power Stone before he could use it."  The mare sat at the counter stool with a heavy sigh, "All of that effort and I end up with nothing."

"For one that makes quick decisions, ye certainly live up tae yer career bi dwellin on the past."

"I mean, I thought I saw the last of him when he pulled the wrong lever; but he just came back minutes with renewed ambitions."

"Aye, a wild haggis can be juist as connivin. Let yer guard doun for a moment an they run away wi yer best hat," Tapper rubbed his bald head.  "But tak a lesson from the McMules on hou they caucht one; Know yer enemy.  Once ye know whit they can do, then ye can outsmart thaim before they can outsmart you."

"And how did they manage to catch that varmint?"

"Used a box, a rotten apple, and a empty paper towel roll."

The mare looked skeptic on the idea, "Really?  That's just a bunch of garbage."

"Ay, but ane creature's trash is another's treasure. Ye juist have tae use it in yer advantage."

Daring rubbed her temple, "I just need to get my mind off it and get something to lighten my spirits.  Something........ something chocolate."

The bar keeper pondered for a moment, "....hold on."

As he left, Daring folded her forelegs and laid her head with a sigh.  She tried to get a moment of peace, but the approaching sound of footsteps and floor scratching only informed her that she wasn't going to receive any.  "I have some info that you may find of interest."  She rolled her head to the side and saw a friendly face that she didn't want to see.

Standing there in his patched vest and his ears pointed high, was a short gainsboro-furred diamond dog that goes by the name, Hound.  He was a shady fella that tended to get his nose into places where it shouldn't belong for profitable gains.  Word on the street, back alley deals; he had intel on almost everything that's happening.  He was well spoken by diamond dog standards, but his bark is worse than his bite as he tries to avoid conflict; which is why he's grateful towards Daring Do.  Ever since she saved him from a hegemonic technomagician for having knowledge about a millennium door, he's been seeing her as a partner and often leads her with information on lost artifacts of sorts in hopes of getting a little profit from her achievement.

Daring returned back to her resting position, "I'm not in the mood for any of your gossip, Hound."

"Just hear me out," he said as he hopped onto the stool next to her, "There's an artifact to the far east that many have sought to find.  They call it the Dewprism."  Hound leans in with a sly grin, "Does that sound interesting?"

She didn't reply or showed any sign of interest.

"I'm not hearing a 'no', so I'll continue.  Well, the client said that it cou-"

Daring shot her head up, "Wait wait wait.  Client?"  The pony shook her head at the canine, "I don't work with clients."

"But the threads of fate are calling," he pleaded, "She's even willing to pay a large amount of money for it."

"So was Duke Mercator, before he back-stabbed me and got a head start for The Treasure of King Nole."

"That was just one time!"

"Then what do you call the time that magical old bird tricked me into reviving a bloodsucker?  Not only that, she didn't even have a dime to her name!"

"Okay, untrustworthy clients.  But I have a good feeling about this one.  She's brash, a little snotty, but that's a princess for you.  She reminds me of that other trustworthy princess that wanted you to get that sword."

"You mean Lumina, The Sword of Luminescence?  Yeah, she was pretty trusting.  Too bad she forgot to tell me that the sword had a WIZARD OF DARKNESS sealed in it!"

Daring glared at him, "I don't work with clients, things always turn ugly when I do."  She huffed after making her statement final, "Besides, I hate being used."

"Alright, fine.  She won't like hearing this," grumbled the dog before he spoke under his breath, "Maybe getting her some pumpkin pie would soften the news?"

"So, are we done here?" asked the pony as she slouched back on the counter.

Hound stayed quiet for a few moments before he snapped his digits, "Well there was something that I heard that you might like to know.  Have you heard of a place called, 'Melee Island'?"

Daring waffled the name, but she couldn't paint a picture of it.

"Wouldn't blame you if you haven't.  It's an island discovered in the south-east about two months ago.  The place is quite tropical, from what I've heard, so it's become quite a popular place for harvesting; stuff like fruits, minerals, those kinds of things.  Many of the spoils they gather arrive in town once about every other day; both the substantial kind and the enlightening kind."

"Enlightening how?"

"Enlightening by culture.  The harvesters have been talking about a civilization that once lived there.  Talking about structures and the possible treasures that they hold."

"Sounds like you've been listening to wood nymphs again." Daring huffed, "So what can you tell me about the culture?"

Hound turned his head with a sheepish expression, "Well, that's the thing.  No one has any information about this society.  No photographs of temples, no artifact pieces on hand; No matter how much I scour about, I just get word of mouth that there once was an intellectual population living on the island."

She peered over at him with a baffling look, "You're always good at digging up the dirt on rumors.  And the fact that you're telling me that you can't find anything out about them makes this 'invitation' very unwelcoming."

"But even so, an unexplored island with the rumor of a civilization that houses possible artifacts is sure to catch the eyes of a few treasure hunters."

"Which means that It would be like digging for gold, but with a more than likely chance that I'll be coming back with nothing if it really is just a rumor."  Daring pondered on the thought, "Yet Hound has a good point.  There'll be a couple of seekers heading towards the island, rumor or not.  And even though the info is pretty weak, all rumors have a grain of truth to them."  She ruffled her mane, "This is a real wild card that I've been dealt here."

"If you're interested," the diamond dog said, very persusivly, "The next cargo ship heading for the island will be leaving in about an hour.  If you go now, you might make it."

"............."  The pegasus jumped off the stool and bolted for the door.

"HEY, DARING!"

She turned around and began fumbling with something that was just tossed to her.  Daring firmly gripped it in her wing, before looking at the old donkey that passed it to her.

"It's the chocolate ye wantit."

The mare took another look at what she held.  It was a 'Butterhooves' candy bar, "Really?  But isn't this from your personal stash?"

"Don't act aw surprised.  You always got a bit o ma stash whan ye played one of yer uncle's pretend treasure hunts.  You may have grown, but you deserve somethin after the hassle you went through."

Daring couldn't hide her smile from the endearing gesture.  "Thanks Tapper," she replied before galloping out the door towards her next adventure; reinvigorated in the success of it.





*YAWN*

Daring Do expressed her heavy fatigue as she paced herself through the jungle.

The sun was rising as her and the other kongs were returning back to the hangout after that night in the Earth Temple.  Dixie was asleep on the pony's back, as well as Diddy was on DK's, leaving the mare and gorilla to carry them.

DK got off of the rhinoceros hours ago, thanking for the trouble it got them out of and letting the bulky mammal return back to its own resting place.  "I'm still amazed that he's able to call wild animals for help by just simply clapping." Daring enthralled the technique before looking down at her hooves.  Her eyes trailed up to the tattered vest she wore, ripped apart from the skeletons last night.  "It's manageable, but I should consider getting a new one after this adventure is over with."  Which wouldn't be very long from now.

With the help the kongs have given her, Daring now carries the four necessary keys needed to open the door in the underground temple.  Many questions skimmed the tip of her mind on what this artifact she was after could be; but as long as she has the four keys in the backpack strapped around her, she'll eventually find the answer soon enough. 

They eventually made it back to the banana hoard cave.

DK gently laid Diddy down against a tree, taking caution of not waking him and proceeded to do the same with Dixie.  With the group safely back, the gorilla made his way inside the cavern; leaving a drowsy mare with two sleeping primates.

Daring gave a stretch before laying against a tree trunk.  She tipped her helmet over her eyes, allowing the sun to warm her up without the light to irritate her nap.  The pony took a deep inhale before slowly letting it out and began to nod asleep.

"OOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!!!"

Until DK's cry echoed out of the cavern and caused all three of them to jerk up at the yell.

The monkey, chimp, and mare share a look among each other before joining the gorilla in the cave.  They screeched to a halt to see an empty cavern, absent of the towering pile of bananas, and the frantic gorilla that once had them.  DK was looking everywhere for them; around stalagmites, between crevices, under rocks both boulder and pebble sized.  Yet his search only left him hanging his head down low.

"I guess having all of you helping last night, with no one guarding the hoard, was a bad idea."

DK shook his fist in the air and marched out the cavern with the other two kongs imitating his action.

"Wait.  Wait."  The pegasus flew outside with them, "Don't tell me you guys are going to get them now."

Gritting his teeth, DK pounded his chest to display his resolve.

Daring lowered her head into a hoof, her mind was a bit foggy from the fatigue and she was starting to have some trouble thinking straight.  She wanted to get some sleep after last night's exhausting events, but if she was in his tie with the keys at stake, she would do the same thing.  Even after all the help they've been for her, denying them would haunt her conscious from even getting any sleep.

"It's just a quick search for some bananas, not a dungeon.  We'll get this done in about an hour."  Daring nodded, "Alright, let's get your bananas back.  So do you know how you're going to go about it?"

The gorilla raised a finger like he was about to say something, but quickly lowered it as he looked up at his forehead; completely lost in thought.

"Why don't you let me lead the way this time."  Offered the mare.  "The amount of bananas he had would've been difficult to carry all at once.  They would've needed some help from another creature or use something like a barrel to carry all of them."  She peered at the jungle surroundings, "Even with the help, there would've been a path treaded upon by multiple steps. So...."

Daring's eyes scanned the conditions of the flora about them.  Many looked like healthy plants and stout bushes; but some looked trampled on and even had branches broken off them.  Those damaged parts of the jungle were going in a row, forming a sloppy path left by the thieves of the bananas.

"Alright," the pony said with the tap of her hat, "Follow me." 





The four traversed through the jungle, weaving and swerving around leaves and branches before they began to hear the sound of water coming in and out from up ahead.  A breeze hit them with a scent of salt in it and the dense forest began to thin out to reveal a small town.  With the sea in front of them, the boats docked ahead, and a tavern to their right; they arrived at the port Daring started at when she first arrived on the island.

The kongs were ready to move forward, but...

"Whoa, hold on." Daring halted the three of them and pushed them behind the tavern.

The back wall of the tavern bland with a locked door leading inside.  There was trash off to the side of the door; garbage inside trash cans, a yellow broom with a broken handle resting in a wooden barrel, and a crate of some empty glass jars waiting to be recycled.

"Let me get a higher view of the area before we go charging in."  Daring insisted.

The gorilla stuck his chin out with a huff.

"For all we know, we might be galloping right into a trap.  It'll only take a minute."

He gave a low grunt before he gave a nod.

With that, Daring flapped her wings up to the roof of the tavern.  The sun was peeking behind her as she looked over the side to the port below her.  It may have been a few days, but something about the place felt different to her somehow.  The inn still had the simple deals, she could hear the same music being played from the tavern; but the empty lot within the many warehouses seemed off.

Daring waffled over the thought, "....wait!  That's the same area where the fire was."  She was surprised at how fast it took them to clean the place up.  There was also a lot of building material near the lot.  "I think that tavern owner told me that there was something that's going to be built there."  Daring wondered.

"They're trying to salvage what they can from the wreckage, folks also say that there's going to be a factory built over it as well."

She shook her head, "I'm getting off track."

Daring refocused on the many ships docked at port.  Majority of them were armed cargo ships, some were basic crafts that could hold a small of twenty sailors.  She couldn't see any bananas in the open on either ship, but her eyes eventually caught onto the giant pile of yellow fruits that was undeniably what she was looking for;  On the colossal galleon ship.

"There they are,"  As she analyzed the ship, she saw five scrawny looking kremlings guarding the gangway from the port,  "Kremlings, huh?  Judging by that and the king sized ship, that's probably K. Rool's.  Hmm... I have no problem believing DK taking care of one or two of them, but I don't think the rest of us are up to the task of wrestling a gator before they start calling for backup.  Hmm...."

Daring flew back down to the trio of kongs, "Okay, they're on the galleon, but a group of Kremlings are guarding the gangway on dock four and who knows how many will be coming if they call for help.  So here's what I suggest, you guys go to dock five and I'll grab a rope from the galleon, tie it to the ship, toss the other end to you guys, you tie it to a post, you climb across, net the fruit, and make out like bandits."

There were no objections.  Daring peeked around the corner to make certain the coast was clear, "On my mark.......... now!"

The kongs ran towards their destination and Daring was about to join them, but the sight of a familiar face suddenly caught her in her tracks.  Plastered on the side of the building, was a wanted poster with her face on it.

"I guess that round leather bag of a king wasn't lying about placing flyers of me throughout the port," huffed the mare; though she felt uneased by the things she noticed about it.

For starters, where did they get that picture from?  The photo of her looked like she was attacking the camera; which didn't tell much, but the location of what looked like snowy rocks in the background seemed familiar.  The only time she was in an environment like that was when she was climbing a snowy mountain in search of 'The Lost Crown of Genghis Dullahan'.  And so was Caballeron at the time.

The second thing she noticed was that it didn't have a reward of any kind for her capture.  "Wanted.  Daring Do.  Requesting assistance for the famous archaeological adventuring pegasus.  Beseeching a request for an artifact found within the vicinity of the isla-....... hey wait a minute.... this isn't a wanted poster.  It's a request flyer that's asking for my help in a job."

Daring scuffed at the parchment, "This seems like a pathetic trick by K. Rool."  She ignores the trap and flies around the ship, avoiding the gaze of the kremlings.  She proceeds with the plan and finds a rope on board long enough to tie it up on the railing of the ship and tosses the other end from the trio of kongs.

As they tied up and made their way across the rope, Daring took a moment to examine the ship.  It was layered with four decks, each wide and large enough for a decent sized group to have plenty of elbow room.  The floor had dents and scratches on it, as well as some hatches that were most likely used to lower cargo inside the vessel.  There were the bananas of course, stacked in a pile on the main deck.  There were huge cannons on each side with openings of almost three hooves in diameter, they were designed to fire when a rope is pulled.  A hatch door with steps leading deeper into the ship was opened, the entrance appeared voided of anycreature inside.  The two door flaps had hooks that appeared to be designed to barred the door from the inside.

A thud suddenly brought her attention back to the kongs climbing on board.  Daring signaled them to quiet down as they made it over to the bananas.  "Alright, let's make this quick.  Daylight's coming and we gotta get home....... Clementia help me if there's a tarantula."

A sudden sound of a loud creak was heard below them and the team of four suddenly fell through an open cargo hatch.

They plummet through two more hatches before the four of them hit a wooden floor with their bellies.  Before any of them could get up, Daring heard DK grunting and turned to see him struggling with something.  Two blue hands gripped the ape's wrists and held them together behind his back; powerful arms belonging to a familiar Aztec creature she met yesterday.

"Ahuizotl!" blurted the mare.  Diddy and Dixie were suddenly pounced on by two of his feline followers, "But I thought-" Daring was suddenly pressed down on the floor by a heavy weight on her back.

"That this was my ship?"

She winched up and saw the large gut of the Kremling she was anticipating.  He had her pinned under his foot, placing pressure on the leg that he leaned on.  His red cape was draped over his shoulder as he smirked down at her with his sharp pointed teeth.  Daring tried to slide loose, but King K. Rool wasn't giving her any sort of freedom.  "You two are working together?!"

"Indeed we are," the kremling king stated, "After seeing the flyers about you, he came barging at me with a demand of your whereabouts.  We started conversing and I learned all about your history with him and the problems you have caused."  The gator waved a talen in a disciplining manner at the pony, "That was very unsporting of you for wishing that stone away.  And speaking of stones..." he extended his arm out to the side, flexing his claw for one of his cohorts to place a dagger in his grip.  Rool used the knife to slit the left strap of Daring's backpack and lifted his foot to slide the bag off her.

Daring gritted her teeth at the king, planning to kick the bag out of his hands and back into her possession; but before she could even begin to stand up, a burly gray muscled kremling gripped her vest and hurled the mare across the room.  She bounced on the wooden floor before sliding inside a prison cell, barred by steel poles.  Daring whipped her head back to witness Diddy and Dixie thrown inside with her.  She flew towards the door and was stopped by DK blocking her as Ahuizotl shoved him in.

The gorilla was struggling to free his wrists from the tyrant, but was ultimately pushed inside as a foot shoved against his back.

With a loud clanging sound of metal, the four of them were sealed inside the brig.

K. Rool unstrapped the flap to her backpack and looked inside, "One, two, three, and four.  That's all the keys."

Daring rung her hooves around the bars; staring daggers at the reptilian monarch, "Give those back!"

"Give them back?" he said as his bloodshot eye widened at her, "And after all that effort to deliver them to me?  Why I couldn't."

She knew that he wouldn't, that line never worked, but being trapped behind bars meant she could only resort to using words to reclaim the situation back into her favor.  Daring ground her teeth to think of something to say; anything that could help her somehow.  "What are you after, Rool?  What do those keys unlock?"

The kremling looked at Ahuizotl, "I'll be disembarking shortly."

"DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!"

"I'll leave the rest to you." he said to which the Aztec nodded.

With the flip of his cape, the king of the kremlings marched towards a set of stairs leading above deck.  "You better watch your back, Rool!" Daring threatened,  "Cause when I get out of here, I'm coming for you!"

He took a momentary pause on the steps to look back at the imprisoned pegasus and the kongs that reside in his brig.  He had a smug grin that bared his chompers, "Duly noted."

The gator continued his assent, leaving Daring to grumble.  "I'm going to make a necklace out of those teeth."

"You should be more concerned about yourself."

She turned her sights towards Ahuizotl and his statement.

"I can't say what'll happen to your friends," he peered over to the kongs that were returning his dirty look, "but me and Rool settled on an agreement; he gets the keys to the temple, and I get you," he clenched his palm over the sight of her.  "Soon, you'll receive a watery grave given by yours truly."

"So this is what it was." the mare replied.  "Your plan of ridding me once and for all was by teaming up with K. Rool."

"He's a crafty crocodile, that one.  It was his idea to keep our alliance a secret from you in hopes that it would spur you further at gathering all of those fangs.  And judging by the rings under your eyes along with the fact that you fell so easily into our trap by your fatigued mind," Ahuizotl smirked at her state, "shows just how effective his deceptive planning can be." 

Daring tightened her grip on the bars as the Aztec beast headed up the stairs, knowing it'll only be a matter of time before she'll walk the plank.





Nearly twenty minutes past as the four of them were coping with the reality of the situation in their own way.  Dixie was climbing, shaking, and squeezing through the bars to get free, but she was just barely big enough to get caught between them.  DK was whining and stretching his arm through the bars at one of the bananas of the pile brought down by the crew just to mock them for their imprisonment, making sure the yellow fruit was just out of reach of him.  Daring was laying against the back wall with Diddy, too dismayed and lost in thought to question where the monkey got the harmonica that he was playing.

The cell didn't have much to offer in terms of what they could see.  The Brig was in the Cargo Hold, the lowest part of the ship that acted like a cooler for the supplies the crew had; food and drinks in barrels, extra sails and ropes folded inside crates, and a few hanging lanterns dangling from the ceiling.  There were a few more containers like brown sacks that were double knotted and black iron pots sealed with latches scattered about; but they did little help as they were far out of reach as well.

With nothing helpful to snag and the occasional muffled yelling they heard above them...

"YOU!  THAT MAST IS NOT A SCRATCHING POST!"

...it all seemed hopeless on escaping their sentenced fate.

Dixie hopped down and bounce up to the dazed pony, "EH HEE HE EEEHEEHH!"

"I know.  I know."  Daring told the agitated chimp, "But I have no idea on how to get out of here."  She groaned as she glazed her eyes beyond the banana pile at the keys to the cell hanging on a hook, "The keys are too far for us to reach and the lock is too narrow for my feathers to pick open.  I wouldn't suggest breaking the wood of the boat since this is the lowest part of the ship; water would be rushing in if we did.  The bars are keeping a gorilla away from his bananas, so that means these bars are strong and they won't bend easily."  

Daring laid her head back, "No matter how I look at it, we're trapped in here."

The chimpanzee joined her disheartened friends from the truth they faced.

Daring shut her eyes as her mind wandered, letting the gentle rocking of the ship give her some tranquility.

"Ooooooh"

She peered over at the gorilla.  He was still whining as he kept trying to get one of the bananas.  "Oh for the love of Qualopec, just use your tie, DK!"

The ape looked at her in a blank stare, uncertain as to what she was getting on about.

As she huffed, Daring walked over to him and scooped the ring of the tie over his head.  "Look."  She swung it around like a lasso with her wing, "Try to wrap it around a banana and pull it."

He was returned the tie and did what he was told.  The first attempt missed, the second was completely off; but after a few more tries, he caught one of the bananas from the pile.  "Oh ho ho!" DK cheered at finally nabbing one.

It didn't feel like much of a victory to Daring.  She looked over to the keys on the hook, "Even with the little extra reach, we wouldn't come close to reaching those keys."

In his grip, DK squeezed the fruit and the banana shoots out of the peel for the ape to catch it in his mouth.

".....................Say," Daring began to wonder, "Give me a couple more of those."

The gorilla obliged and fished a few more for her.  She peeled one open and looked over at the other female of the group.  "Hey Dixie," Daring said with a clever look, "Why don't we give you a makeover."

"EH?!"





"CLOSE THE SAILS!  DROP THE ANCHOR!"  Yelled the fiendish, Ahuizotl.  A small crew of kremlings left behind obliged his order.  The Aztec focused on one of them, "YOU!  Go get the mare, and feel free to use any method on her friends to make it so."

"AYE."  Said a peglegged pirate.  He smacked a cat-o-nine whip in his clutches before heading below deck with a grin.

Ahuizotl snorts, "This salty air is simply irritating to the nose."  He glared at the Jolly Roger flapping in the wind; noting the face of a kremling skeleton.  "That reptile....." muttered Ahuizotl with a sound of disgust in his voice.  A conversation he had with K Rool earlier kept nagging at him and he kept reflecting upon it over and over in his head.

"Be careful with her."

"You have nothing to fear.  This isn't the first ship I've managed to sail."

"I was talking about Daring Do."

"Bah, you think she poses a threat anymore?  There's nothing she can do now."

"And how many times have you said that before your plans were thwarted by her?"

".........."

"She'll escape, so I'd take the few moments you have to think on how to counter that before she makes her move."

The blue Aztec gave a huff, "He may have a generous hospitality, but he obviously takes me too lightly.  I'm going to chain her up, throw her into a chest, and push her overboard; it's foolproof.  .......where's that gator?"

Ahuizotl looked out at the decks, but he didn't see Daring or the gator.

".....no......SHE DIDN'T!"

He quickly made his way down to the brig; passing by crew members, leaping down the stairways, and arriving at a pitiful sight of a muffled gator tied up in an open cell.  Ahuizotl ran up and slammed his hands on the door frame, "Where is she?" he asked the tied up pirate.

Before the muffled kremling could even say anything, Ahuizotl suddenly felt a powerful push behind him and began to slide off balance on something slippery.  He toppled over the gator and went crashing to the ground; soon hearing the door to the jail cell closing on them.  Ahuizotl flipped himself around and saw on the other side of the bars three kongs and a cocky pegasus tossing a banana in her wing.

"YOU!!!" yelled the Aztec beast before launching himself at her; only to be stopped by the cage.  "HOW?!?!?!"

"You know, these bananas are starting to grow on me." Daring tossed the fruit she held over to her gorilla friend, "Not only are they delicious...."

DK displayed the truth by eating it.

".....but they're also great traps to give others the slip...."

Diddy kicked a banana peel over with all the other peels that surrounded the cage

".....and helpful enough to get you out of a tight situation."

Dixie shook off the mushed bananas that covered her.

Ahuizotl looked at the bars holding him and saw the mushed banana remains covering two of them.  The blue beast roared and tried to bend the cage open, but he couldn't do anything to the iron bars that imprisoned him.

"Now then," Daring ignored his tantrum to focus on the primates.  With the keys in her tattered vest, they had nothing to worry about.  But as for now... "How are we going to get back to land with all of these bananas?"

The four of them looked at each other, anticipating an answer from one in the group.

"A paddle boat won't be able to hold all of us along with the bananas, and I doubt any of you know how to operate a ship of this size.  Not to mention, relaying is heavily needed in order to sail a ship; and honestly, our communication isn't the best."

".....Ohho!"  DK spoke up, "Ho ohoh ho oh hooh oh oohho."

The other two kongs seemed to like the suggestion, but Daring was left out of the loop of what he said, "Do you have an idea?"

DK pointed to himself, then at Daring, and ended with him beating his chest.

The mare's thoughts were immediately reminded of the last time he did those gestures back at the wasp hive and started to piece together the message.  "...........you want me and you to be decoys!"

He grinned at her answer.

"Huh," Daring returned the smile, "I guess I'm starting to learn their language."





Up on deck, the mixed crew of kremlings and felines were preoccupying their time within their own species.  While the cats sunbathed, the gators were scrubbing the decks; singing a shanty as they did.

Expand his jaw and shove a stick in.
Guzzle down some ocean water.
When he begs we'll band his jaw trap.
So early in the morning.

The expressions on the cats' faces didn't look very pleased with their performance.

*Whoosh*

A sudden sound of a flap perked up a few of the felines.  It was sudden and brief, but enough to cause a couple of them to look at the open hatch door.  As the panther of them stalked over to check it out, a few others followed close behind.  The black cat peered into the dimly lit room below and immediately jumped back as a gorilla jumped out.

DK pounded his chest and acknowledged his freedom for the whole boat to hear, "AAAWOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!"

All decks reacted accordingly to the ape's chant.  Ahuizotl's cats on The Main Deck quickly surrounded the kong, a kremling on The Forecastle Deck jumped down to Main's, and three more kremlings on The Aftercastle Deck looked down at the fight.  "Look alive," said the orange kremling on the Aftercastle, "We have a jailbrea-." before he could even finish, an empty crate from the sky fell on top of him.  Knocked unconscious, he laid there under a pile of broken wood as the other gators looked up to see a pegasus flying overhead.

As she soared above the buoyant vessel, Daring peered down at the deck of the ship.  "While DK works on the Main Deck, I'll tackle the higher decks and work my way down towards him.  There's about a dozen scattered amongst them on board, so this will be a cakewalk.  But....... I'm not seeing K. Rool anywhere.  Which means he's probably on land; heading for the temple."

*BOOM*

The sound spooked the pony and the next thing she saw was a pile of bananas soaring towards the shore.  Daring looked at the Main Deck, seeing Diddy and Dixie heading below and coming above the decks with all the bananas they could carry before shoving them into a cannon pointing it at shore.

"Not my first option for transporting fruit, but whatever works for them I gu-AH!!"

Daring was startled by a silver scaled kremling bouncing up; nearly grabbing her.  He fell back down on deck and bounced off his peglegs again like a pogo stick.

"If you can't fly," spoke the pegasus as she easily dodged him with a loop, "Stay out of the sky!"  And rams the gator; sending him into the ocean.

She then landed along the railing, glaring at the kremling in the large trench coat at the stern.  The gator lifted a large hook he had for hands and gestured to her to come over.

Daring shook her head at him and gestured that he come to her.

He bowed at her request and swung his arm; letting the hook fly off.  Startled by the action, she was hit by the metal object and fell overboard as the hook boomeranged back to the kremling.  "Hook, line, and sinker." he chuckled as he walked over to the rails to see her paddling in the waters, but she wasn't there.

"You betcha!" the gator heard behind him.  He turned just in time to see a pegasus smashing a hoof into his face before falling over the rails and into the ocean.  "Did you already forget that I can fly?" she said, readjusting her jaw from the impact.

"Ha HA!!!" She quickly turned towards the sound of a showboating voice that came swinging from the sky.  A small yellow croc with a pirate hat came swinging on a rope and dropped onto the deck.  Holding two large swords that were obviously too big for him, Daring recalled that this was the same showboating kremling she faced in the mines.  "Ye may've gotten the drop on me last time, lass.  But this time, things shall be different."

Daring rolled her eyes from the pathetic display of bravado and saw the cannon next to her.  With a mighty strike of a buck, she broke the metal ring that held the support rope around the gun.

"Hardy har har.  We be at sea, ye won't be besting me with the same trick on the scaffold."

She ignored him and tossed the rope aside, then wrapped a wing around the firing string.  Daring leaned back with a bland look at the showboating kremling.  He shifted his gaze between her and the heavy artillery on wheels.  When he stopped his sight on Daring's bored expression, she pulled the string.

*BOOM*

The cannon launched backwards at him and the shrimp was shortly carried by it.  He was rammed at the railing and the wooden safety hazard snapped apart; sending him and the cannon into the ocean.  The little kremling splashed about to stay afloat with his swords in hand.

Daring looked over the railing at the croc and simply shook her head at the sight.





"RRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Ahuizotl continued his struggle at breaking the bars, but his raging temper wasn't doing him any good.  He blew steam out of his nose, all he could do was watch the kongs run up the stairs with all the bananas they could carry before coming back down to gather more.

"mfff affmfbf ffee?"

The blue-furred Aztec panned his sight at the Kremling that was still tied up in the cell with him.  "I don't suppose you know how to get out of here."

"Ivvv bff." his cellmate's jaw was tied together, muffling his answer.

Ahuizotl sternly groaned at the reptile's attempt and he crouched down to untie his mouth.  "Repeat that again."

"I said, 'I do'.  I always keep a spare in my wooden leg."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER!!!" yelled the beast.

The Kremling was quickly untied and he pulled off his peg-leg.  He bopped the bottom a few times and a key fell out from opening on the top

Ahuizotl unlocked their cell and bolted out; passing by Dixie and pushing Diddy aside as he headed up the stairs.

"I'll teach yer for hog-tying me." The kremling spoke to the kongs as he snapped the rope that bound him.  He leapt at Diddy; the monkey jumped back.  The gator swung at the primate; Diddy leapt onto a support beam.  The reptile pounced at him; the kong bounced away and hung by his tail from some hanging ropes.  "QUIT DODGING, YOU TRAPEZE JUNGLE RAT!"

The Kremling whipped the rope at Diddy, but he drops down and the rope smacks a hanging lantern to the floor.

"You can't dodge forever!" 





Daring reached the main deck and joined DK in his fight against Ahuizotl's cats.  DK has been mostly tossing them overboard, but they're persistent on climbing back on deck.  "All right you spitwad hackers," Daring taunted the cats, "Which one of you wants to.. dish... it....... out.........."  She stared at one feline in particular that appeared familiar, a hairless house cat.  She was growling at the pony like it had a grudge against her, "M....Mitsy?" Daring asked.  The little white fuzzball that she left at the wind temple all stuck in bubblegum was baring her fangs with not a hair left of her coat on.  Daring was barely able to stifle a chuckle, "Like the new look."

Mitsy hissed at her with a cursing glare at it rushed forward.

Daring felt the thud DK made walking behind her and he bellowed a roar at the approaching cat.

Stopping on a dime, Mitsy looked up in terror of the giant gorilla that had the mare's back. ".........mew." she cried before running off the ship. 

"Would you look at that, she listened to you," the mare told the ape behind her.  "I always knew gorillas were good with cats."

"DARING DO!"

The pony and kong turned at the call of her name and saw that an enraged Ahuizotl yelled it.  He was fuming as he charged like a wild animal at the mare. 

Daring tightened her leg muscles, anticipating the fight she was about to find herself in.

Ahuizotl pulled his arm back with the intention to slam the mare to the floor.  He swung down at Daring and was caught by the hand of DK's.  The Aztec glared at the burly primate that was holding him back from the pony below them and threw a punch at the ape; only to be caught by the gorilla's other hand.  Ahuizotl focused on pushing DK aside, but the kong was giving him a run for his money as he was being pushed back as well.

"EH HEE EH EH!"

Daring was crouched down low as they were having their struggle match when she heard Dixie calling and flailing her arms for help.  "I'll see what it is," spoke the pony as she swerved around Ahuizotl and jumped over his tail that tried to grab her.

"Keep things clear topside, Dix." Daring asked as she passed the chimp.

Dixie agreed to the request and immediately regretted it when she turned to face Ahuizotl's horde of cats.   She was backing up as the felines were slowly stalking closer with hisses and growls.  Dixie jerked her head to each of them, panicking on what to do.

"Eeh....eeh......EH!"

Suddenly considering an idea, Dixie reached into her pink beret and pulled out their weapon of destruction, a stick of gum.  The cats froze as she chewed the gum; and when she popped a bubble, they jumped back in fear of ending up like Mitsy did.





Daring quickly descended the stairs to the lowest deck.

"AH HAA HA!"

She paused midway on the steps when she heard Diddy's cry.  Daring had her eyes on the kong, he was locked inside the brig again; shaking the bars to get free.  Diddy was agitated as his head was shifting between her and something else.

"He's locked inside?" Daring looked around and saw no other creature. "This is definitely a trap..... they're waiting for me to take the bait." 

Her eyes focused on Diddy's, hoping that a moment of staring at one another would share the thoughts of her mind.

The kong started to calm down at her gaze.

Daring pulled out the key and flew over to the cell's door in a calm manner.  Her ears were listening for any kind of sound that would trigger trouble for them, but she made it a priority that her actions didn't appear suspecting of a lurking threat.

She shoved the key in the slot and twis-

"AHH AAAHH!" Diddy screeched a familiar cry and Daring immediately bucked herself into the gut of the Kremling behind her.

The gator wobbled back, groaning from the wind that was knocked out of him and allowing plenty of time for Daring to free the captured monkey.  "You...little...urchins!" he coughed between words.

As Diddy hopped out to join the mare, the two of them started to hear a hissing sound.  They focused on the Kremling, who was also baffled on the sound.

"What in the seven seas is tha-*gasp*!" the reptile took a sharp inhale as it occurred to him at what the source could be.  He hurdled around some barrels and saw a black pot leaking steam from the lid that was locked in place.  The container was rattling from the heat of a fallen lantern resting next to it.  "NO!!!" yelled the Kremling, "NOT THE SUNDAY SPECIAL!!!!"

The kong and pony were stupefied as to why the pirate suddenly took a dive behind some containers.

*BOOM*

The two flinched as the ship rocked and the iron pot suddenly shot past them faster than the two of them could blink.  They turned and saw that it broke through the metal bars and was embedded  into the wooden wall.  While it was a startling sight for the three of them to see, the biggest sight was that it left a gigantic hole on the other side of the room; letting the water of the ocean to pour inside.

"This isn't good!" Daring gulped as the water already reached her torso.

"You bet your sea-legs it ain't!" agreed the Kremling, "No way we can fix a hole that size!  I'M JUMPING SHIP!!!" He yelled before running up the stairs.

Daring looked at Diddy, "Find some barrels and gather all the bananas that you can get in it.  WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!!"

As the monkey did what he was told, a concerning thought was clouding the mare's mind.

"I wonder how topside took that explosion?"





Locking their hands together to prevent the other from backing out, Ahuizotl and DK struggled for dominance.  Gritting their teeth, flexing their muscles; when one seemed like they would push the other off for control, the other finds the strength to push back.

"If you have any sense of critical thinking," the tyrant grunted, "then you should consider on backing down before you regret it.  I can be much more of a hassle than K. Rool could ever be for you."

DK tilted his head back and swung it back to headbutt Ahuizotl, only to fail as the Aztec beast used the third hand on his tail to catch the impact.  He chortled at the gorilla's failed attempt and pushed his head back.

*BOOM*

The ship tilted to the sudden explosion and rocked the two muscle weighted creatures off a steady balance.  Ahuizotl's third hand slid down the kongs face and began to cover his eyes.  DK was trying to shake him off his face and succeeded at letting it slide by him and allowing the ape to bite the Aztec's tail.

Ahuizotl lost his hold against the ape from the flinching pain and was suddenly lifted over the gorilla's head and tossed over the rails.

DK pounded his chest in victory as the Aztec splashed into the ocean.

The water slowed down Ahuizotl's momentum, yet it didn't cool his temper any.  He growled out bubbles and was about ready to swim right back up, but something caught his eye.  The giant hole that was pouring water into the ship began to make him grin with an idea in mind.

Up above, Daring and Diddy came running up the stairs, each carrying a barrel of bananas.  "Here," Daring requested DK to take the barrel on her back that she carefully held between her wings, "The ship is sinking, and these are all the ones we can get."

DK and Diddy shoved the bananas into the cannon and pulled the firing string.

*BOOM*

Shooting the bananas to the shore.

"Okay, we got the monkey, the ape......." Daring spun around and found the chimp, "Dix!  We're leaving!"

The mare broke Dixie's gaze on the main mast; the mast with all of Ahuizotl's cats are up on, fearing the bubblegum chewing kong.

Daring viewed the display of felines before turning to the kong behind her, "DK, would you do the honors?"

The muscular gorilla loosened up with a shake before he rammed his shoulder at the mast.  He did it again and a cracking sound of wood was heard.  With one more ram, the mast began falling overboard, carrying all the cats and splashing them into the ocean.

"Now how are we going to get back to shore?" Daring wondered before a blatant thought hit her. "Wait.  Let me guess..."

*BOOM*

"AAAAAAAAAAA!" Cried Diddy as he was shot out of the cannon towards shore.

"Yeah, that was it." The mare shook her head at their charming simplicity.

*BOOM*

"EEEEEEEEEEE!"  Yelled Dixie as she was launched through the air.

DK quickly followed by jumping in the large artillery, "Oh ooho!" The ape requested as he slapped the iron weapon.

"Alright, I'll pull the string," Answered Daring.  She plopped her pith helmet on him, "Not much of a proper helmet, but it'll do."

*BOOM*

"OOOOOOOOOOO!"

All the kongs were off the sinking ship, it was now time for her to fly.  Daring flapped her wings, and felt an abrupt pull on her tail.  She looked back; seeing that Ahuizotl was gripping her with his third hand.

Daring was suddenly whipped down below by the swing of his tail. She rolled across the floor and collided over a chest; a series of swords came sliding out from inside.  Daring pushed herself up and took a quick glance at the large confined space she found herself in; making sense of what just happened to her.

The first thing she noticed was the capstan, it still had some removable handles placed inside some of the slots.  Next were the three legged chairs that surrounded the short table; judging by the plates, bowls, pans, and eating utensils scattered and hanging about, that's where some of the sailors have their meals.  There were cannons stationed at all the gun ports, along with a hefty amount of cannonballs crates next to each of them.  The last thing she noted were the stairs that led to the lower level, revealing a flooded room that was nearly filled.

"Nocreature is going to protect you this time." spoke the Aztec beast behind her.

She peered over her shoulder and saw Ahuizotl placing a wooden plank on the bar lock that led to the top deck.  The lock looked like metal hooks nailed onto the door flaps.  He bashed the tip of the hooks; bending them into the wood and jamming the door shut.

His attention returned back to the mare and he began to stalk towards her with a vicious glare.  He stepped over the tipped chest, picking up two sharp curved Cutlasses in the grip of the hands on his arm and swiped a dagger with the one on his tail.

Daring rolled on her back and stumbled as she pushed herself away from the sight of malice the beast was implying to unleash upon her, "You're really serious about this."

"Like I said before, Miss Do." Spoke Ahuizotl as he raised a sharp blade...

"I.  WILL.  HAVE.  MY.  REVENGE!!!"

She back-rolled onto her hooves just as he slammed his blade on the wooden floor.  Her ripped vest flapped with her wings as she bounced backwards from a sweep of the other sword.  The mare hit her back on the capstan as she landed on her hind legs.  She dodged out another swing by quickly rolling along one of the capstan's handles and pulled it out as she did.

Daring gripped her wings and forelegs tightly around the wooden rod for protection.  She planted one end on the floor and used it as support to stand on her hind legs; evening her height with the pole she held.

"Pitiful." Ahuizotl heckled at her attempt of putting up a fight.  He swung at an angle and was deflected immediately by Daring.  She twirled the pole in her forelegs, spun it in her wings, and whirled it around her torso before cementing her stance.  The glare she gave him implied to back off, which only fueled his rage into relentlessly attacking her.

Steadily being pushed back, Daring had her hooves full from fighting off the three blades being swung by Ahuizotl.  Her ears twitched to the sound of splashing with each step they took.  Water was seeping in from below, it'll only be a matter of minutes before the entire floor would be undersea.

The tension was beginning to show on Daring's face from the trouble she found herself in.  "With the bar hooks jammed, how ca-!!!"  She couldn't even get a moment to think.  The moment her mind wandered, Ahuizotl dug a cutlass into the pole.  Her hooves were scraped across the floor as she struggled against the brutish power, using all her strength from allowing the blade to get any closer to her face.  The expression on the beast's face showed only one desiring to end the mare's days of interfering; he had no interest in his own survival from the sinking ship they stood in.

Daring gritted her teeth, planted a foreleg for extra support, and was starting to hear cracking sounds coming from the wooden pole.  Her eyes narrowed on Ahuizotl's glare before she shifted her site toward something behind him, a metal fork jabbed into a table. Daring winched as she felt the weight of the Aztec beast on her and she used that to her advantage.  She twisted her hold on the wooden handle and windmilled the pole as she moved to his side, disarming him of the sword that was embedded into the rod.  She quickly conked the pole at his head in hopes of getting a few extra seconds before tossing the handle aside and grabbing the fork.  

The pegasus soared towards the staircase with the hatched door that led topside and shoved as much of the fork under a hook.  She grunted as the mare began pressing the handle down, trying to pry the hook out of the wood; but tried as she might, the only thing she was bending was the fork.  "Come on, you just have to wo-IIIIRK!!!"  Daring shrilled when a knife thud into the wooden staircase.

She looked back, seeing that Ahuizotl threw the knife he held in his tail; he did not look pleased by the wallop she gave him.  He came charging, Daring tossed the bent tool aside and flew off, but was immediately yanked back by her clothes.  She glanced at her tattered vest, they were pinned under the knife.  Daring pulled, but she wasn't making any progress.  The villain growled as he aimed to thrust the cutlass at her neck.

Shrieking in terror, Daring hastefully slid out of her vest and down the stairs, dodging just barely before the sword stabbed the door.  Splashing from her hooves submerging into ankle-high water, she quickly turned to face him and made some distance.

Ahuizotl growled at the pony's persistence.  As he pulled the sword, he discovered that it's lodged and couldn't be removed.  Ahuizotl grunted and bellowed as he struggled to remove the blade out of the door.  He jerked and bashed at the wood with brute force; it was opening slightly with each strike he made at it.

"He's unintentionally loosening the nails of the hooks." Daring noted before the villain freed the blade and looked over to her.

Daring scanned the flooding room for something to defend with; pacing back as he sloshed his way through the water at her.  She looked left.  She looked right.  And she grabbed the only thing that seemed durable with her left wing and forehoof; a three-legged stool.

The Aztec creature pulled back the sword he had in his right hand and held out his palm with the left.  The posture came across to Daring that he was planning to pull her only protection away before striking her down; it would be foolish to get too close.

Walking in circles, the two were anticipating a move from the other.  With each passing second, the water level was only getting higher.  The room was flooded up to Daring's knees now, her movement was starting to become impaired from the density of the water.  Dodging would prove to be difficult for the mare, and the thought of it being the same for Ahuizotl, sparked an idea for her.

Daring slowly lowered her free wing into the water, making sure that it was out of her opponent's sight.  She let the liquid soak into her fur and feathers for her plan she had in mind.  With her wing good and wet, she swung at the villain to launch some water at him and charged quickly after.

Ahuizotl instinctively recoiled his arm to block the harmless droplets, dropping his guard to snatch the stool.  The mare rammed the furniture like a shield, bashing him off balance.  He staggered backwards and Daring swung the seat at his side to send him stumbling into the pile of cannonballs.
 
With her goal at giving him 'two for flinching' completed, Daring quickly flew back to the door with the furniture in hoof.  She rammed the stool at it, she pushed herself against it, and she swung the seat at the hooks; finally breaking it's hold on the door.

Ahuizotl pulled himself together when the room got brighter from the sunlight Daring let in.  She tossed the stool aside and gave him a 'better luck next time' salute and galloped upstairs.  The tyrant growled with utter rage at seeing her making another escape.  His eyes glanced at the cannonball pile next to him and gripped one of the iron spheres.





Above, Daring galloped across the deck towards the railing that had the view of the island.

*CRACK*

The mare screeched to a halt at the sight of a cannonball shooting through the wooden floor mere inches in front of her.

*CRACKCRACK*

Two more suddenly appeared behind her.

*CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK*

They were appearing everywhere around her.  She refused to stay on this ship any longer and jumped on the rails.

*CRACK*

A louder sound snapped Daring's attention behind herself.  In a horrendous display, Ahuizotl erupted through the wooden floor with his arm stretched out towards the mare and tightly grips his hand around Daring's torso.  The Aztec beast loomed over her as the two of them fell overboard and into the water together.

The two of them were sinking into the cold abyss of the ocean as this fight suddenly became severely one-sided.  Air was leaking out of Daring's nose as she pounded, pushed, pulled, and kicked her legs at Ahuizotl's powerful arm, but it did little to hurt him with the water slowing down her strikes.  She was quickly becoming desperate for oxygen, yet the Aztec beast that held her down showed no desire at allowing either of them any air.  Looking at his remorseless eyes, it was obvious to the mare that her doom seemed imminent.  Ahuizotl had a vile glare on him, but he was keeping his movement to a minimum to save his oxygen; prolong her torture.  Thirty minutes?  Forty minutes?  It looked like he could stay down there for as long as it took until the pony succumbed to drowning; there was no way Daring had any chance at holding her breath for that long.  He gripped tighter, forcing some air out of her and intensifying her panic state; staying calm proved to be unfeasible as she struggled for a way out of this.  But with each passing second, it became harder and harder to concentrate as her lungs were crying for a breath of fresh air.

Her eyes suddenly flared from a thought that might turn the tides.

It has to work, it was her best bet at surviving.  Daring pulled back her forelegs and swung them back to make a muffled clap of the water.  She pulled back and repeated the motion again and again, putting everything she had on continuing this effort.

The furrowed eyebrows of Ahuizotl started to become unleveled from her questionable tactic, but it didn't matter to him if she was clapping, pleading, or even praying; victory was assured for him.  He indulged in the satisfying knowledge that this thwart would soon succumb to her fate.  For years, she's been nothing but a pain in the rear for him; it was such a problem, that he could practically feel the inflicting turmoil it caused.

In fact, it felt a bit too surreal for him.

A sharp pain coursed through Ahuizotl's body as he tried to fight the urge, but he couldn't help but to yell at the discomforting sting he felt.  He loosened his grip on Daring and held his rear-end to comfort the aching soreness he felt from a sharp poke.

Ahuizotl saw a quick flash of something swimming from behind him and up to Daring.  It took mere seconds to understand what just happened, he scowled at the sharp nose creature that pierced him with such pain and the pony that grabbed onto the dark ocean blue fin of the swordfish that came to save her.  

As the fish carried the pony with speeds that Ahuizotl had no hope of catching; the tyrant savagely roared in the muffling water.




 
At shore, a few dozen or so bananas were floating in the ocean and were slowly being beached by the waves.  DK was collecting the one still in the water, tossing them onto a giant leaf on shore where Diddy and Dixie were collecting the beached bananas.

The gorilla tossed another banana and was soon greeted by Daring riding the swordfish that rescued her.  She was still wheezing for air, but she managed to say,  "How's.... *gasp* ...everything?" 

DK grinned with a thumb up.

"Good." She pants a few more times before she calmed down, "Now that you're settled, I gotta go wrestle a gator."  Flapping her wings, she flew as fast as she could past all of them while they waved at her.

Daring soared through the dense jungle with precision, spiraled into a dive as she dove into the lagoon, skimmed along the crevices of the rock formations, rocketed to the surface of the hidden cavern, flew into the shrine that houses the artifact that everycreature wanted, and flung water droplets from her flared wings as she stood in the temple.

Panting from exhaustion, Daring paused for a moment to catch her breath and to analyze the entrance chamber.  It was just as she left it back those many days ago; the walls with murals on them, the pool with the illuminating rocks that lit the place up, the statues of the Kremlings who posed in a dignified manner, and the stone head of a kremling that loomed over a now opened passage.  She paced herself in the pool, seeing the idol that bares its fangs now complete with a full row of teeth.  The four keys that she gathered were embedded in the empty slots.  They now appear dull and lacked the glowing shine it once had.

Daring stood at the open door, her eyes catching the torn backpack that was once hers lying on the stone surface of the floor.  "He's been here." Daring figured, "I just hope that he hasn't left yet."

Taking a deep breath, the mare galloped down the hall, but after ten seconds, she arrived at a small room that was barren of anything other than a purple crystal glowing on the ceiling.  The walls around her showed no passages to travel down, making this room nothing more than a dead end.

"No." Daring said dumbfounded, "After all that hard effort, after all of those temples that had a theme to them, I arrive to a small cubical?"  The pony hung her head as she pondered, "There must be something more to this."

With her eyes stared at the floor, she noted that there was one more feature to the room to make it look decorative; it was stone tiled in a three by three pattern.  Other than the lighting making the center square brighter and the others dimmer, there was nothing special or unique about them.

Daring took another look at the room; gaining a hint of déjà vu about it.  "A dark squared room with a single spotlight coming from above in the center.  ..................it's...........it's a lot like............THE EARTH TEMPLE!!!!!"  She slapped a hoof to her head, "There's no way I'd ever forget that risky test with the quicksand."  She took another look at the tiles and focused her sight on the center one "Perhaps...."

The mare psyched up for whatever might happen and leaped to the center floor tile.  

And a bright purple flash suddenly blinds her.





The unsuspecting shine died down and left the pony with a blurry vision.  She kept seeing purple orbs lighting up and fleeting away in the dim lit area.  As her sight cleared up, Daring began to notice that she wasn't in the same room she was in a second ago.  Her surroundings appeared to be a secluded grove, center between two tree trunks on her sides and protected by the pine thistles branches that curved a dome at where she stood.  It would make for a decent base or den for practically any creature to take shelter in, but there were dozens of purple orbs gently floating about that had already taken vacancy.  Daring lifted a leg as one of them approached, landing lightly and started to die down on the rim of her hoof.  She was transfixed as it dimmed to show a firefly resting for a few seconds before it's lower thorax glowed the purple light and flew off again.  Her eyes caught a brighter light source up ahead and she galloped forward; finding a sight that left her more confused on her current location.

She was in a gigantic underground cave that was as bright as day, brimming with illuminating colors brightly glowing from practically everything that resided in it.  The citrine colored grass sparkled the dew drops on them, the flowers danced their colorful ruby petals for the world to envy, the trees stretched to the ceiling for the shamrock mist that glinted above; all surrounding a zircon shining lake that formed the central point of this area.  There was oddly a staircase that led to nowhere near the pond's edge.  It had a black smooth surface like basalt with all fifty-six steps being colored gray like a path to follow.  It was unique, but what really got her attention was that at the center of the lake, hovering meters above the surface, was a giant octahedron.  Gently rotating as it did, it gave a light brilliant raspberry glow that made anycreature mesmerized on it.

"That floor panel I stepped on," Daring considered, "It must've been a teleporter."  She kept staring at the object, utterly stumped at what it could be.  "It doesn't look like a jewel, it kinda looks like it could be....." the mare rubbed her eyes, making certain that they've fully recovered from the flash of the teleport pad, but she could see something.  Inside of the three dimensional shape, was a stone structure floating inside.  "A barrier?"  The contents were fascinating, but the staircase was puzzling.  Daring switched her sight between the two, wobbling her jaw on a thought; and considered, 'why not'.

The mare went up to the stairway and gently placed a hoof on the first step.  She suddenly leaned back at the startling glow beneath her leg as the step lit up.  Surprising, yes, but what was really surprising to her was that's all it did.  Taking another step brought the same result as the one prior, leaving Daring to wonder about the reason for this prestidigitation.

She proceeded up the staircase, up towards the very top where she planted her hoof and a narrow wave of light shot towards the floating structure in shimmering fashion.  The octahedron shattered and the contents inside was freed for her to get a better look at.  It was a shrine made of erbium that shimmered a pink radiance from all the lights that bounced off it.  It began to fall; waves formed, flowers shook and even Daring's mane was ruffled by the strong gust of wind it gave from the plummet.  The shrine slowed down just before hitting the water and it started to levitate back up; positioning itself back into place from where it was originally held.

Daring was completely lost of any thought from the sight she was witnessing.  She trailed her eyes down the beam of light formed by the stairs; it started to look as if it could be a bridge leading towards the shrine.  Gently placing a hoof on the near-transparent path, she felt the firm surface underneath her.  Proceeding with the rest of her body, Daring was soon walking on the trail of light leading towards the floating temple.  The scenery was majestic; but the things that were happening were utterly extramundane.  "Is this even an ancient structure?  Teleporting pads, levitating structures, and now rays of light that can be walked on.  I've only been here for five minutes and this place has proven to be the most advanced location I've ever been to, even to modern day standards."

When she stepped up to the entrance of the erbium temple, Daring could hear her hoofsteps echoing down a hall.  A gentle breeze flowed out at her from inside, beckoning her to proceed.  She proceeded and a series of lanterns lit up along the reflective checkered floor of black and gray tiles.  This all seemed new to her, so fresh, as if it was a corridor that time failed to touch.

Arriving at a humongous dome, a giant statue of a kremling was resting at the other end.  It was from its head down to its torso, but it was almost as big as the dome itself.  Daring got closer and made out that the statue looked a lot like the kremling she saw on the mural in the Earth Temple, Mulungu.  He had his arms out in front of him as if he was controlling the floating object between his claws;  A golden scepter with a purple amethyst orb for the head.

"What's that?" Daring galloped towards it.

"STAY!"

The mare froze at the center of the dome after hearing a husky and menacing voice.

"Well done, Daring Do.  Your reputability is truly something else."

She spun herself around and saw a green light beaming at her from the hallway she came out of.  Daring covered the trail of green light from her eyes and saw the Kremling king standing next to the beam, applauding her accomplishment.

"K. ROOL!"  Daring yelled and firmed her stance.  She suddenly flinched to a loud banging sound by which she has never heard before.  The sound of pebbles bouncing quickly followed beneath her.  She glanced at the floor and saw that a small section of it was chipped off mere inches from where she stood.

"LAST WARNING!" The menacing voice spoke.

K. Rool waved his hand back, "Easy, Kroc.  She can do little to retaliate now."  He winced past her, "So is that..... Sweet Davy Krockett,  The genuine artificial, Mulungu's Scepter!"  Rool bellowed in laughter as he ran around the mare and cautiously clutched the relic in his claws.  "Oh," He cooed as rubbed his cheek on it, "The years I've spent looking for you."

Something about the statement struck Daring as being off, "Years?  But this island was founded months ago."

The gator chuckled, "You know, you're a lot like those 'fleabags'.  While you're obviously smarter than them, you're just as easy to direct; given the right motive."

"What are you talking about?" Daring said in a challenging tone.

"Tell me Daring, why was it that I appeared behind you when it was obvious that I got a head start?"

The thought didn't cross her exhausted mind.

"It's because I anticipated that you would escape from Ahuizotl's clutches.  Honestly, if I knew that getting this was just a stroll away, I would've gotten it myself before you came.  But if you were able to escape drowning once, you would have no trouble doing it again.  So I waited for you to search ahead for me."

"You anticipated it, huh?"  She smirked,  "Did you plan on having your ship sinking, too?"

"What?" Rool said flat out.  He scowled at her, wobbling his jaw from side to side, "Okay.  I may not predict what'll happen exactly, but I planned for every possible outcome.  Especially plans that were concocted by me.  Tell me Daring, how did you find the temple found in the caves?"

Daring Do was hesitant on whether she should answer that or not, "..........I found it while running away from some hornets."

"After finding that monkey in the hives." he added bluntly with a smile, "And that riddle; 'forging, cooling. softening. molding.'  It must've been a toughy."

"Ye..........yeah.  But I got it eventually from-"

"From finding inspiration when you rescued the chimp." he finished the sentence with his own words.  "Quite convenient that helping those primates helped you take a step closer to your goal.  Wouldn't you say?"

The mare glowered at him, "............."

And he returns it with a grin, "Now you're catching on."

"So ever since we met in the mines, you thought up this ploy?"

"Of course, after seeing that gorilla save you, it came across that you two were working together.  Whether it was out of the kindness of your heart or to simply use him for your benefit, I considered it a possibility of your teamwork.  So in a similar form to chess, I used the remaining two 'pawns' I had as a way to guide you towards gathering the keys to unlock this place and allowing me to 'check' you here."

Daring glared at the monarch, finding the fact that she was led here distasteful.

K. Rool formed a scowl and gave out a low grunt with quick glances at her wings. "But that's only the surface.  The truth is much more deeper than you know."  He reached into his cape and tossed something at her, "It started with this."

It bounced on the stone surface, making crinkled sounds as a scroll rolled towards the mare.  Daring kicked it open and saw a tatty document written in the Crocodian language.

"It's an old heirloom I found one day that tells of a kremling named Mulungu.  He was a philosopher that found particular interest in the natural element; water, fire, wind, and earth.  The gator was a genius and found that all of life originated from the four elements.  But then a thought came to him one fateful day, 'Where did the elements themselves come from?'  He took a journey to find that answer by surrounding himself in nature for many years to come."

"Through the years, Mulungu discovered many interesting things throughout his studies.  He learned that all living creatures possess the four elements inside them in some way, shape, or form.  He learned that cold-blooded creatures were more in tune with those elements than mammals were.  He also learned that those cold-blooded creatures could use those elements as well, such as the fire breathing dragon could.  But eventually, he discovered what he was searching for, and it left him completely astounded.  A fifth element, one that all the other four elements originated from, a master element if you will.  What was more of a discovery for him, was that he figured out a way to successfully harness that element into its rawest form.  Hence this, he created a scepter that allowed cold-blooded creatures to wield and use this elusive fifth element with a flick of the wrist."

"With this element, Mulungu returned with his discovery in mind of sharing it.  Everylizard took this too well and considered him to be a god; building shrines and temples dedicated to each element.  But after witnessing all of this honoring and praising from his fellow kremlings, Mulungu soon realized that what he held was a power that others simply couldn't comprehend.  So he hid this scepter in an inaccessible place somewhere on this island, hoping that one day, kremlings would view this element not as a key to being a deity, but as a tool to be built upon like all the other natural elements."

"For years I sought this relic and eventually found that underground temple.  I tried to enter that chamber by force, but whether it was by explosions or bashing a battering ram at it, I just couldn't break down the entrance that needed those four keys.  It took some time, but I found a few temples that held them.  However, those temples were deathtraps, sprinkled with that fifth element within each of them.  No creature with any common sense would dare to enter such a place."

K. Rool paused for a moment, "Is it coming together now?"  The king smiled with his bloodshot eye getting wider at the mare, "Have you realized yet the place that you stand in this story?"

Daring loosened her focus on the gator to reflect on those words.  "What's he getting at?" she considered what his next course of action would be.  And her eyebrows began to rise at the realization.

"That's right." he began grinning his sharp teeth at her, "I was the one who spread the rumors of this island to bring treasure seekers like you here to get those keys for me."

"Caballeron was the first hunter to arrive on the island and I intercepted him with my request.  After telling him the situation, he declined with the same thoughts as me about its perils.  So I offered him the job of ridding me of those primates.  He agreed and did a decent job; but then, you came interfering."

"I was informed about your history from him and after listening to all of your great accomplishments, I knew I found my treasure hunter.  Caballeron warned me that you would never accept the offer, but I still felt that this was my best shot and I sent a subordinate with flyers back to town that sought for you; tucking away the thought of your disapproval."  

"He was right." Daring grind those words through her gritted teeth, "I hate being used."

"Yes, I could tell by that fighting spirit I saw in those eyes of yours when we met.  I'm all too familiar with eyes like those, so that's when I considered on a different approach, one that made it where I was a rival that was trying to get the scepter first.  All I had to do was give a little motivation of some inception and... well.. monkey see, monkey do." K. Rool huffed, "That's a befitting name for you now that I think of it, Monkey Do.  I can read you like a book and all I had to do was grind the street organ to a tune that my little puppet would dance to."

Daring crouched low, arching her back and giving a small growl as she flared her wings.

The gator smiled as he calmly walked to his right, "Ahuizotl did an excellent job as well at pushing you further.  I was testing your credibility at the water temple to be honest, but he was trying to take over your job as well as getting rid of you.  He tends to be a bit overconfident, doesn't he?  Letting simple things slip by him without much concern for the aftermath."

He stopped walking and looked past the pegasus.

"As for me, I consider the possibilities."

"And remove them."

To the sudden sound that echoed through the temple; Daring flinched.

There was a sudden sensation running through the mare that she never felt before.  She felt unbalanced and placed a hoof forward to steady herself from falling.  The gentle breeze that flowed through the temple brushed her fur; it was comforting, but the caressing feeling suddenly took a sharp turn when she felt it hit her right wing.  The cold air left a searing sensation upon her that made the pony ball over in severe agony.  It was intense, it was insufferable, and it made her yell out at the harmful experience that her wing was shot.

K. Rool leaned over, examining the pegasus that was clenching her wing tightly.  "Excellent precision!  I believe you avoided hitting the bone."

The pain was too much.  She couldn't think of anything other than the fact that her wing was hurting her.

"You'll survive.  After all, you're The Great Daring Do."  The overweight king patted the pony on the head, "Why I might even require your expertise again sometime down the line." She fell on a knee as the gator walked past and flapped his cape.  "Come Kroc, my legacy awaits." K. Rool tossed the scepter in the air and caught it as he marched towards the entrance.

"WHERE!"

The overweight overlord turned back at Daring.  She was getting back up and turned to face them.

"Where," the mare said before taking a sharp inhale through her teeth as she tightly held her wing with a hoof, "...do you think you're going?"  She nearly tumbled when she took a step forward, "After all that trouble I went through, I'm not letting you leave with that scepter."

The green light from the shadows shined a dot on the middle of her forehead, but K. Rool waved his arm in the way, "Return back to the factory.  I'll arrive shortly."  At his command, the light vanished and the sound of footsteps running away could be heard.  "Alright, Daring Do.  You want this?" he extended it out in front of him, "Come and get it."

Daring wobbled at keeping her balance as she walked forward.  She slowly began to sprint forward and was soon galloping at full speed.  She jumped at it and was suddenly bounced backwards into a fall.  It felt like she was hit, but it looked like K. Rool didn't even move a muscle.  She didn't know what happened, all she saw was the color purple for a brief second.

"Well?  I'm waiting."

She pushed herself up and lept at it.  The mare saw the purple again and fell back.

"You won't get anywhere by just sitting around."

Daring got back on her legs and walked up;  Suddenly bumping her face on something solid.  She placed her hoof on a glass surface that covered K. Rool in a purple orb.

"Did I forget to mention what this thing does?" he said with a grin that told he intended to keep it a secret.  "This scepter allows cold-blooded creatures to tap into the fifth element, 'Magic'.  Which means I can do this," the scepter glowed and Daring was suddenly being lifted off the ground by a purple aura.  She was shot backwards like a tennis ball from a strong force and tumbled into the statue of Mulungu.

"This." K Rool points the scepter at the statue of Mulungu.  With a glow from the purple gem on it, he transformed the face to look like DK's.

"And..." the scepter glows in a strong bright light, "THIS!"  A beam shoots out from the tip and obliterates the head into pieces for Daring to cover from.

K. Rool bellowed out a laugh, "By my girth, this is exhilarating!"

Daring brushes off the fallen rubble to the best of her efforts, "What are you going to do with it?"

"Well it's very simple.  You know how we take the things we learn from the past to help pave the way for the future, right?  Well I'm going to rediscover what Mulungu has kept hidden from the world by studying this scepter; finding out how to harness and creating magic in its purest form.  With an endless fountain of mana at my disposal, I shall mass produce this element to make a legion of magic wielding Kremlings, forming a nation of unrivaled proportions."

"I'm..." The mare tried pushing herself up, but she's staggering from the pain again.  "I'm not... gonna.."

"Oh Daring Do, wake up and face the facts.  I've won, you lost, and there's nothing you can do to turn that around.  I have the authority power, luxurious wealth, countless loyal workers, cunning intellect, superior technology, perfect physique," he slapped his bulbous belly to make it jiggle.  "And now, possess the enchanting source of magic.  While you're just a basic mare, that just gets by, with dense comrades, a sensible intellect, zero technology, currently fatigued, and now have a broken wing.  I am an impervious wall that at best you could only scuff."

The scepter glowed as he swung his hand around, "Farewell Daring Do!  And pray that we won't meet again."  His voice echoed through the chamber as his body started to become transparent, "For the next time we meet, I'll be more powerful than your princesses put together!"

Daring slowly pushed herself up, adjusting to the pain she was feeling.  "He said that this was like a chess game to him, huh?"  She clenched her wing, there's no way she'll be able to fly for at least a couple of days, "Well, I'm more of a poker kind of mare."  With the buckling of her legs, she stabled herself, "And frankly..."

"I'm not ready to fold."