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The sun shone through a bedroom window, illuminating colorful walls. A big lump of blankets were scattered across the bed, the slight breathing movement only visible to those that looked long enough. A loud knock on the door followed by a call that breakfast was ready echoed through the room. A muffled groan followed by rolling movement as the pile of blankets were kicked and tossed every which way. A figure slowly stretched and cracked their bones before sitting up, revealing a mess of shoulder length pink and blue hair.“Kassie! Hurry up before your food gets cold!”Rubbing the sweet sleep from her eyes, the girl responded with a loud groan before slowly crawling out of bed and out into the hallway. The loud chatter of her family in the dining room quickly assaulted her ears as her aunts and uncles threw playful comments at her. Plopping down in her chair next to her green clad brother, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.“Y'all do remember that I get home around 2:30 each night, right? This is not enough hours of sleep.”“Well sweetheart, I do keep telling you to find a different job. Or to finally find a man that’ll take care of you and then one of you can give me some grandkids.” Her mother replied.Visible discomfort spread across Kassie’s face as she tiredly ate her breakfast. “We are not having this conversation again, Ma. I quite like my job and I don’t have any desire for a relationship right now. Thanks for breakfast.”Kassie stood from her chair, grabbing her plate to put in the sink before heading back to her room. Mario and Luigi looked at each other before getting up themselves and following after their little sister.Their mother sighed. “What am I gonna do with that girl? She’s never gonna find a good husband at this rate, especially with how she presents herself.”Her aunt then gave her own opinion. “Maybe she just needs a little push in the right direction. Perhaps a little game of matchmaker is the thing she needs.”Her mother pondered the idea, maybe that was just the push Kassie needed.Luigi knocked on his sister's door, opening it a crack before pushing in the rest of the way. He and Mario closed the door and stared at their baby sister splayed across her bed on her back, arm covering her face. The brothers sat on either side of her, Mario then spoke up.“You know you’re gonna have to tell her sooner or later Kass, the longer you wait the worse it’s gonna be.”Kassie’s arms fell to her sides. “I know, I know! I also know that she’s gonna flip her shit once I tell her, but then she’s gonna get mad at you guys too since you helped me do it. It’s bad enough that her only daughter got her tubes tied behind her back while she keeps trying to push me into finding a husband and having kids, and the rest of the family is not helping! I’m already on thin ice with my hair, septum and tattoos, that’s gonna be the final blow.”Luigi put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You can do this! We know Ma is a little old fashioned but Mario and I will be right beside you. Besides, she can’t stay upset with you forever.”Kassie sat up and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thanks guys, you’re the best. Wait for me to get dressed and I’ll walk out with you, I don't wanna be home today.”“No problem baby sister, we’ll wait for you.”The brothers gave their sister one last hug before taking their leave. Getting ready didn’t take her long, maybe 15 minutes max. Pulling on a pair of high waisted shorts, a simple tee shirt, and hightop converse, she grabbed her backpack and met her brothers at the front door. Quickly yelling a goodbye to her parents, she fled out the door before they could stop her.The trio walked in silence as the brothers made their way into their work building. “So what’re you gonna do all day? You could always come with us to our work calls.” Luigi asked.Kassie chuckled “As tempting as that is, I’m probably going to walk around the shopping district. Some retail therapy might do me some good. Plus, if I do end up going with you, then I’m gonna have Sir Big Beard breathing down my neck the entire time.”As if on cue, the boy's boss burst through the door. Kassie muffled a quiet curse before turning to face the man. “Is that little Kassie?! You finally decided to take me up on my offer~?”Kassie forced a smile “Spike, it’s never a pleasure.”A large hand clutched his chest “Oh come on sweetheart, don’t be like that. You know that sooner or later, you won’t be able to resist me~”Spike slid close to Kassie, very much invading her personal space. Luigi was about to walk up and say something before Mario grabbed his arm. He knew she could handle herself, and boy was he right.The boys watched their sister as Spike continued to get all up in her business. Kassie sighed “You know what? You’re right. You know Spike, I have always felt something for you. I just couldn’t figure it out until recently.” Kassie grabbed one of his hands and slowly explored his arm. “Maybe it’s your sense of style, the cologne you use, the way you carry yourself. There’s so many things to choose from, but I think my favorite thing about you..” She rested her thumb on the crook of Spike’s elbow and looked up at him, her smile turning almost scary “..is how foolishly moronic you are.”Squeezing her thumb into his elbow, Spike’s eyes rolled back and he fell limp on the floor. Luigi stared in horror, what the hell had his sister just done?!“Don’t worry Lui, he’s just knocked out. He should wake up in about ten minutes max, so I’m gonna head out before he does. See you tonight!”And with that, Kassie stepped over Spike and walked out the door, leaving one brother dumbstruck and the other wearing a proud smile.The day passed by quickly, time in the shopping district passed by like minutes. Kassie did find a few items that she simply couldn’t resist and soon made her way home, almost forgetting the conversation from this morning.Walking through the door, she was met with silence, which was highly abnormal for her family. Something was wrong. Kassie made her way into the living room and was met with her family all staring at her like they were holding an intervention. Mario and Luigi opened the door right after her and were just as confused.“Uhh, what’s going on?” Kassie slowly asked.Her dad spoke up “Sweetheart, you know we love you.”Then her mom “We’ve been talking and we all think it’s a good idea to give you the push you need. So we set up a date for you! He’s your aunt's friend's son, very attractive! And he’s willing to look past all..that! We think you two would make such a cute match and make even cuter babies!”Kassie’s face fell to a mix of horror and rage. They couldn’t be serious! “I’m sorry, WHAT?!”“Oh come on sweetie, this is just what you need! We just want you to have a good life and you’re not getting any younger!”“So you thought it was a good idea to set me up on a blind date with a guy that’s willing to ‘look past’ everything that makes me who I am?! Mama this has gone too far. You want to throw me into a life that I want nothing to do with and you will never stop trying to shove your values down my throat! Well newsflash Ma! I don’t want a relationship right now and I am NEVER going to have children, I made damn sure of that!”Everything was still. Her secret was finally out. Her mother looked at her in disbelief, her eyes full of anger. “You did what?”“I got my tubes tied two months ago while you guys were out of town, Mar and Lui drove me to all my appointments. Ma, I’ve known for a long time that I don’t want kids. I was going to tell you, I just didn’t know how. You can be mad at me all you want but what’s done is done and that’s never going to-”A loud slap rang through the room, gasps and wide eyes stared in shock. Everyone was frozen. Kassie’s hands began to shake and tears fell down her face, her cheek was bright red and it stung. It was then that her mother realized what she had just done, her face falling to instant regret. “Oh no baby I’m so sorry, I don’t know wha-”Kassie ran out the front door. The yelling from her family faded as she ran, she didn’t care where she was going, she just ran until she couldn’t breathe anymore. The tears wouldn’t stop and she was close to hyperventilating. She ducked into an alley and slid to the floor, hugging her knees tight. She stayed there for a good bit until she began to calm down.Slowly standing, she walked out onto the sidewalk. She looked around and realized that she had no idea where she was, she had never been to this part of town before. Pulling out her phone to check her location, she cursed as her phone was dead. She had a powerbank in her backpack and plugged it in, it was then that she heard whispering. She slowly looked around and saw a group of three men staring at her, their expressions less than comforting. As calmly as she could, she began walking. She heard footsteps behind her.She knew how to handle herself, but against three guys? She turned a corner and broke into a sprint. It didn’t matter where she went, as long as she got away from the guys. She heard them yelling and running after her. She turned as many corners as she could and she thought she was losing them, until she turned down an alley and ran into a dead end. Dread shot through her bones. She looked around for anything to use as a weapon until she spotted a sewer cover.She could hear the men getting closer. “Fuck it!”The men ran into the alley and yelled in frustration “Where the hell did she go?!”“Little bitch must’ve slipped past us.”“She can’t have gotten far. Come on, I wanna have some fun~”The group of guys took off the way they came, running right over Kassie underneath the sewer cover. She gripped the ladder for dear life and released a shaky breath. “I think they’re gone. But I can’t go back out there. Looks like a sewer sleepover tonight.” She descended the long ladder and shuddered at the smell. It was gross but she soon got used to it.She sat on the ground for a little while. Her phone was charging but there was no service down there. Her head rested against the wall and she was close to falling asleep, until she heard a noise further in. She shot up, and against her better judgment, followed the noise. She turned several corners and walked for a bit before stopping. “What the hell am I doing? Now I have zero clue where I am! Goddammit!!”Her yelling echoed and shook some of the pipes. She froze for a moment before releasing her held breath. Suddenly a pipe from the ceiling fell and swung right at her. “Fuck!” Quickly jumping out of the way, the pipe slammed into the brick wall and went straight through to the other side. Letting the dust clear, she slowly walked into the hidden room. Thick cobwebs littered the room and machinery that looked ancient caught her eye. No one had been here in a very long time.Kassie scanned the walls for anything until her gaze landed on a giant green pipe hidden in the corner. “What the hell?” The pipe was big enough for her to fit and the inside looked almost pristine, no cobwebs or dust at all. She slowly stepped inside, her curiosity getting the better of her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the endless blackness did unsettle her a bit though. She turned to walk out of the pipe but froze, multicolored sparkles began to form around her. She began to feel weightless and something started to pull her further into the pipe until she shot down into the darkness, her scream echoed and faded through the sewer.Her arms covered her face as she flew through the empty blackness. Suddenly light flooded her vision and she looked to see endless miles of sunset clouds and several other portal tubes like the one she was in, the same green pipes somehow disappearing into piles of clouds. The sight was mesmerizing. Off in the distance, she could see a tube that headed to what looked like mushrooms and another that led to black smoke and lava. Zipping past the sights, she was suddenly jerked around and sucked into a branching tube. Twisting, turning, and tumbling, she lost all orientation until a straight drop. She screamed as she was once again engulfed in darkness but it wasn’t long until she saw light once more.Before she knew it, she was spat out of the pipe and flew for a few seconds before hitting the ground and rolling. She groaned in pain and took a moment to get her vision back. She rubbed her eyes and as her vision cleared, she saw trees and vines and colorful plants. She looked around and it looked like she was in a jungle “Where the hell am I?”She heard a rumble and looked behind her. The pipe she came out of was protruding from a decorated cliffside and that cliff was currently falling apart. Rocks started to crumble and fall, Kassie quickly ran behind a thick tree as the rocks fell and crashed against the ground. When the falling stopped, she looked for the pipe and her stomach dropped. The pipe had been completely covered by the rockslide and it was most likely destroyed. Kassie fell to her knees as hopelessness filled her. She was stuck here, wherever she was, and her family had no idea where she'd gone. She was stranded.“Oh shit..”

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“Ohhh no, no, nononononono!!!”Her breathing was heavy, so many thoughts were racing through her head all at once. Where the hell was she? How was any of what just happened possible? What’s going to happen to her fami-Her family. Kassie’s body went limp. Her shoulder began to shake and tears started to fall “I’m never going to see them again. They’re going to think I’m dead and after what happened..*hic* oh god, Mama I’m so sorry!” Kassie grabbed fistfuls of her hair and rocked as painful sobs broke through her.A loud rustling caught her attention and she was immediately on high alert, she was still in a jungle afterall, who knew what kind of creatures it held. She shot to her feet and ran in the other direction, she didn’t know what made that noise but she was not about to stick around to find out. She ran through the trees and plants and could hear the rustling following her, the path slowly descended and she began running downhill.She shot a quick glance behind her, seeing nothing. She was about to slow down but her foot caught on a root and she went tumbling down the hill. She desperately tried grabbing at anything but the spinning disoriented her and she felt pain all over her. She tumbled for a good ten seconds before finally reaching the bottom. She landed on her side, short and heavy breaths as she rolled onto her front. She tried pushing herself up but pain shot through her left arm, causing her to fall back down. Her shoulder must’ve dislocated on the way down.Struggling to sit up, her leg began to burn and lo and behold, a large gash ran down her leg. She shuffled to a nearby tree, carefully removing her backpack before her back hit the rough tree trunk. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she stared at the tree line and blue sky. So much had happened in this short span of time and god she was tired. Her eyelids felt heavy, she would feel better after a quick nap. Maybe this was actually some scary lucid dream and she would wake up in her bed and everything would be fine.Her head slumped to the side and her vision went black. It felt like no time had passed as she teetered between consciousness, swearing she heard voices and she almost felt weightless. She could feel soft warmth against her fingers and cheek, snuggling further into it as sleep enveloped her. Just before sleep fully consumed her, she swore she felt something tighten around her, just a bit.Kassie started to stir and soft light clouded her vision as her eyes slowly opened. She moved her arm to rub at her eyes….why couldn't she move her arm? Was it asleep? No, there weren’t any tingles. Her eyes shot open as memories from the last hour flooded her mind. She froze as she slowly looked around the strange room, stone covered the walls and a window to her left let the sunlight shine in. Her arm was in a makeshift sling and her leg was thickly bandaged. The wooden door opened and someone walked in “Oh! You're awake, wonderful!”It was a woman's voice, soft yet firm. Kassie was about to bombard the woman with questions but all that came out was a quick scream. Standing in front of her was a slightly older monkey in a white coat and glasses. Words refused to form and all that came out was panicked garble.“Sweetheart, calm down. You’re going to send yourself into a panic attack. Breathe and use your words.”The woman said, soft yet firm. Kassie took a few shaky breaths before finally speaking “Monkey. You’re a monkey, that can talk. H-How is that possible?? And where the hell am I?!”The doctor seemed confused for a moment before answering “Technically speaking, yes, I am a monkey that can talk. Everyone here can. And you’re in the Jungle Kingdom. Thankfully those kids were out exploring the jungle and found you when they did, you were pretty beat up when they brought you in. Your shoulder was dislocated and the gash on your leg was on the brink of infection, not to mention you were covered in scrapes and cuts with a possible concussion. How did you end up that deep in the jungle?”“There was this weird pipe that sucked me in, I flew through this place in the clouds, I went down a different way and got spat out into the jungle. The pipe I came out of was on the side of a cliff, rocks started to fall..it ended up covered and destroyed..and I ended up stranded here.”Now the doctor was very confused. She had never heard of a pipe coming out of a cliff side. The fact that Kassie was human was what confused her most of all, the only other human she knew of was the princess from the Mushroom Kingdom.“Well hun, just take it easy and get some rest, okay? You were out for a day and a half. I’ll be back in a little bit to check on you, and the kids that brought you in have been wanting to see you, so expect some visitors soon.”With that, the doctor left Kassie on her own. She still couldn’t believe that this was real but the dull ache all over her body sure seemed real. She slowly sat up and rested her feet on the cold floor. A chair next to her bed held her clothes and backpack, she quickly reached for her bag and felt relief that nothing was missing. She pulled out her phone, the bottom corner was cracked but it thankfully still worked, save for zero service. She had to do a double take when she caught her reflection, she really did look worse for wear.She slowly stood and made her way to the window, jaw dropping at the sight she saw. Wooden roads and streets littered the area, small huts selling wares and some homes, giant stone mountains with more tracks circling around them, all atop a beautiful blue lake that stretched for miles. Multiple waterfalls fell from the mountains above, creating a soft mist that blew in the breeze. Varying types of primates walked and conversed, others drove down the wooden roads and ramps at high speeds in high tech go karts. Holy shit were some of them hang-gliding?!Kassie was mesmerized at the sights, she had never seen anything like this before. One thing was for sure, she certainly wasn’t in Brooklyn anymore. She almost didn’t hear the door open as three primates walked in.“OMG you’re okay!!”Kassie looked at the three, the girl that just spoke wore light blue sweatpants and a sports bra with a multicolored beanie and long blonde pigtails. She was the tallest of the three, and so far the loudest.“We are so glad that you’re alright! You looked really bad when we found you but you’re okay now! I’m Tiny, the one in pink is my big sister Dixie and the guy in red is her boyfriend Diddy! What’s your name?”“Tiny! Calm down, this is a lot for her to take in. I’m sorry about my sister, she can get overly excited. As she already said, I’m Dixie and this is my boyfriend Diddy. His uncle that was with us is still making his way here, so you’ll meet him soon. We are really glad you’re okay. We heard the rockslide, then crying, and then we found you.”“Thankfully DK was with us, he was the one that carried you back here. He’s also the biggest of all of us, so he’s the only one that was able to.” Diddy spoke up.And speak of the devil, a muscular gorilla with soft brown fur, light chocolate eyes, and a hair curl atop his head squeezed through the slightly too small door frame. The other three greeted him with smiles, Kassie simply couldn't stop looking at him. He was tall, the top of her head reached to about his chest. He finally looked at her and smiled “Hey! You’re up and walking! You honestly had me a little worried when we found you. Name’s Donkey Kong, but call me DK.” He flexed his chest and shot her a quick wink.A faint blush crossed her cheeks, his deep voice vibrating in her chest. She rubbed the back of her neck and finally broke eye contact. “Um..thank you, you basically saved my life. And the fact that you brought me back at all, you could’ve just left me there, but you didn’t. So, thank you.”The thanks seemed to catch him off guard, he stumbled for a second before clearing his throat and softening. “I couldn’t just leave you there, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something bad happened. Uh, anyway, we should leave you to rest! I’ll be back when doc says you can go.”The smaller three were shuffled out of the room and DK was right behind them, but before he left, Kassie stopped him. He turned to look at her and she gave him a soft smile.“Kassie. My name is Kassie.”

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Kassie had stayed in the medical hut for about a week, her shoulder regained motion after a day or two and her leg needed a few more days until it was fully healed but she could walk just fine. Tiny, Dixie and Diddy came to visit her a time or two and answered any questions she had about this world, and boy did she have a lot.Throughout that week, she had a lot of time to herself and her thoughts. Some nights were better than others, she wondered how her family was doing, she cried a lot and went through the seven stages of grief. A previous conversation with Dixie confirmed that there was no other known way back. If she was going to be stuck here, she didn’t want to be miserable.The doc finally gave her the go ahead that she could leave, and to her surprise, DK was there waiting for her, just like he said he would. Before she left, her clothes were washed and she was able to take a bath, so her hair was wavier than it normally was. DK smiled when he saw her, the slight surprise on her face causing him to chuckle.“Look who’s finally free! What? Didn’t expect me to actually be here?” The ape said with a playful smirk.Kassie chuckled “To be honest, not really. The fact that a prince wants to give me the time of day was a little shocking. Yeah, Tiny told me.”A large hand clutched his muscular chest, feigned offense crossed his face “Hurtful! This prince has a lot more to him than some would think. But onto other business, my dad wants to meet you. I told him about you and he wants to meet you before deciding if you can stay in the kingdom.”“Oh..well, that’s not nerve wracking at all.” Visible nervousness coursed through her, what would she do if the king didn’t let her stay? DK could see the panic slowly start to creep in and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, holy god his hands were huge.“Don’t worry, he may be cranky but he’s not cruel. It’s gonna be fine. Now, how about a little tour around the place~?”DK stepped to the side to reveal his go kart. That perked Kassie right up! DK led her to the cart, leaning in and pushing one of the several buttons. It began to shake as the back opened up and a singular raised seat popped out. Her jaw dropped and a smile formed, excited giggles and happy little stims escaped her. Before she could climb the cart, DK scooped her up with one arm and helped her up. The squeak that she released caused her cheeks to darken, but her embarrassment was quickly replaced with excitement. DK jumped in and shot her a quick glance “Hold on tight~”That was the only warning she got before the ape sped off down one of the many roads. The wind whipped her hair in every direction and she held onto the kart for dear life, but she couldn’t help but laugh. DK pointed out different buildings as they drove past and it wasn’t long until he started to show off his driving skills. The sound of Kassie’s laughter fueled something within him and he wanted to hear that sound all the time.He had shown her all around the main area of the kingdom, which meant it was time to meet with his father. He sped to the ramp to the palace, pushing the gas as the incline approached. Kassie’s grip tightened and she braced herself as they shot up into the air, only falling for a few seconds before a hang-glider popped up above her and they cruised to the slowly opening mouth of the palace.The landing was surprisingly smooth. DK hopped out, offering Kassie a hand and helping her to the floor. Large stone pillars lined the walls and a long line of muscular guards in gold armor stood on either side of the two, it put Kassie a bit on edge but she pushed the feeling away, soon stopping in front of who she could only assume was Cranky Kong. Cranky stared down at her, assessing her almost.“Hey dad! Always good to see you!”DK attempted to make casual conversation but Cranky only shot him a sideways glance. DK awkwardly coughed then cleared his throat “Dad, this is Kassie, the human I told you about.”“Yeah, I can see that. She showed up out of nowhere and now needs a place to live, well why should I let her stay?”Why? She was quick to get annoyed. Kassie walked in front of DK, more than ready to rip this old chimp a new one. “Why? Because that’s common fucking decency and called helping someone that needs it! Trust me, getting sucked into a different universe and being ripped away from everything I knew wasn’t exactly on my to do list but here we are! Your son saved my fucking life, without him I would probably be dead in that jungle. He showed me compassion, I would really hope that you’d do the same, but perhaps you’ll surpass your namesake.”As she spoke, she stepped closer and closer to the king. One of the guards grabbed at her, now she was pissed. “Don’t, fucking, TOUCH ME!” She struggled in his grip, she couldn’t best him physically, but she could do one thing. Freeing her arm, she reached for the guard's elbow and squeezed. The guard froze before falling limp on the floor.Everything was silent, save for her heavy breathing. ‘Huh, honestly I wasn't sure if that was gonna work.’ She thought to herself. DK’s jaw was on the floor, where the hell did this tiny human pull that out of?! Suddenly the throne room was filled with laughter. Both Kassie and DK looked to Cranky, who was close to falling off his throne and hacking up a lung.“Heheh! You got spunk kid, I like that. Alright, she can stay, but if you want her here so badly then she’s your responsibility son. I’ll have a hut built for her next to yours, until then, she can stay with you.”The laughing and praise threw her for a loop. She was confused but she could stay! DK cheered and put an arm around her “See! I told you everything would be fine! Thank you dad! You will not regret this! Come on Kassie, let’s go!”He grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the cart. Before he could help her up, Cranky called him back over.“Uh, yeah dad?”Cranky leaned in close, looking DK right in the eye “Son, don’t mess this up.”DK didn’t know what his father meant by that, so he simply nodded before heading back to his cart. Kassie had already climbed in so the two sped out of the throne room and flew out of view. Cranky watched the two leave before smiling “I think that girl is just what that numbskull needs.”

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Kassie’s hut would be ready in a few days, until then, she was staying with DK. He insisted that she take his hammock and he would sleep right outside for the time being, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s done it. His hut was a ways away from anyone else, so he definitely had his privacy as well as a small little beach. It was bigger than her bedroom back home and was stocked with fruit, as well as a drawing board on the wall and a dresser. His hammock was another story, not only was it absolutely huge but it was just a little too high off the ground for her. The sun had already started to set, so the two decided to stay in for the rest of the night.Tiny, Dixie, and Diddy did stop by for a little bit to say hi and drop some things off for Kassie. Tiny brought her some clothes as well as a blanket, which Kassie was very appreciative of, and even some other essentials. She almost couldn’t believe how nice everyone was to her, she was basically a complete stranger. The group talked for a little while before the trio took their leave, leaving Kassie and DK on their own.Kassie quickly changed into a pair of baggy sweatpants and bid DK goodnight. It took her a few tries to get into the hammock but she soon launched herself up, covering herself with the blanket and grabbed her phone and headphones to listen to some music. At first it was peaceful, much better than the medical hut, but she just could not sleep. She tried to go to sleep for well over an hour but to no avail, her mind wouldn’t stop wandering no matter how hard she tried to shut the thoughts out. The kingdom had been asleep for a while, if DKs soft snores from outside were anything to go by.She was starting to get restless. She put her phone away and clambered out of the hammock, wrapping the large blanket around herself and walking down to the sand, plopping down and pulling her knees close. She stared at the dim torch lights of the village in the distance and listened to the soft waves. Thoughts of her family wouldn’t leave her alone no matter how badly she wanted to ignore it, it had already been a week. A few stray tears fell down her cheeks and a shaky inhale escaped her.Despite how it may seem, DK was actually a bit of a light sleeper. Some kind of sound woke him up, was that crying? He stood from his sleeping spot and was going to check on Kassie, but instead saw her sitting on the beach. Another shaky sniff confirmed his suspicion. He slowly made his way over, softly greeting her as he sat next to her, making sure to leave some space.“Hey. Couldn’t sleep?”Kassie quickly wiped her cheeks “Something like that.”“Do you wanna talk about it?”She was quiet for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. “It’s just, I’ve been here for a week now. I can’t help but think about my family and how worried they are, that they think I’m missing or worse. And I miss them so fucking much, as annoying as they were at times. My mom and I got into a disagreement and she..she hit me. She instantly regretted it and that doesn’t make it okay but I ran away and that's when I got here. And the thought that my mom is probably killing herself inside is killing me! The thought of my family mourning me and having no answer to what happened to me is fucking torture. If I could just let them know that I’m okay and that they don’t have to worry, that would be enough.”More tears dripped down her cheeks as she spoke. DK looked at her and his heart broke. He wasn’t the best at comforting people and he didn’t want to overstep “What was the disagreement about? If you wanna talk about it?”“It’s stupid, but for a while now my ma and the rest of my family have been getting on my case about finding a husband and having kids. She wanted me to be like her and be a stay at home mom. They’re kind of old fashioned. But I was perfectly content being on my own and I’ve known for a long time now that I didn’t want to have kids, just the thought of being pregnant scared the ever loving shit out of me! So I decided to get my tubes tied. My brothers were thankfully very supportive and helped me with getting the procedure done. They drove me to all my appointments and took care of me during recovery while the rest of our family was out of town. I knew that my mom was going to be upset once she found out, hell I was already on thin ice with my appearance. She didn’t like it but she tolerated it. But that night, I get home and my entire family is waiting for me like they’re holding a fucking intervention and then spring on me that they set up a date for me that was willing to look past basically my entire appearance and once again pushed the kids card. I lost it. And that’s when I finally told her, hence the disagreement.”DK was flabbergasted! “What?? How could she not love it, you look so cool! I’ve never seen hair like that and your body art is sick! And any guy that doesn’t think you look cool is a fucking moron!”Kassie chuckled “Thanks DK. I’m definitely the black sheep of my family, but I do things like this because it makes me happy, it makes me feel beautiful and comfortable in my own skin. Ma never really got the point of it.”“You know, while we’re being honest, my dad’s kind of the same way. He never outright says it, but I can tell that he’s judging me, simply just for being who I am. He thinks I’m a joke. So I like to show off a little, so what? Everyone else loves it, but his opinion is the one that hurts the most.”Kassie put a hand on his arm and smiled at him “I haven’t known you for very long, but I know you’re not a joke. A jokester? Absolutely! But not a joke. From what I’ve seen, you are caring and compassionate. You make people happy, you’re funny, and you have a sweet side that not a lot of people see. I know your dads opinion is important, but what’s more important is that you are happy with who you are.”The two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, slowly moving closer without realizing. “Thank you for this. I had been avoiding thinking about it so finally talking about it really helped, I think it did us both some good.”“Yeah, me too. Anyway, it’s late, we should try and get some sleep.”DK turned to stand but Kassie grabbed his arm “Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could you stay with me? Just for a little bit! I..don’t really wanna be alone right now.”He smiled and sat back down. “Yeah, I can do that.”They once again sat in silence, Kassie then laid down and stared up at the starry sky. “The stars are beautiful. You don't see very many back home, too much smog and light pollution. But here, it’s amazing.”DK laid down beside her and looked at the stars. He never really thought much about it, but they really were beautiful. He turned his head to look at her, the moonlight illuminating her face. He couldn’t help but smile.“Yeah, they are.”

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Kassie’s hut was finished in no time, they even made her a normal bed instead of a hammock. Her hut was only a few feet away from DK’s so they were still very close but now she at least had her own space. Since she was DK’s responsibility, the two were always at each other's side while they wandered about the kingdom. The two were currently walking around the market with Tiny, Dixie and Diddy.While they perused the stalls, DK kept getting stopped and pulled into conversations. Kassie just thought it was because he was a prince, so she brushed it off until Diddy spoke up.“Everyone must be excited for his next fighting match that’s coming up!”This caught her off guard “Wait, fighting match?? I thought they were losing their minds because he’s their prince.”Tiny replied “Oh that’s another reason, but it’s mainly because he’s the fighting champion. He has a fight around once or twice a month and he’s been the undefeated champion since he was a teenager. Sure he’s the prince but everyone loves him for his fighting skills.”Kassie didn’t know how to respond to this new information. She never would’ve pegged him for a fighter but then again she had only seen the softer side of him that he didn’t show anybody. Dixie added her own piece “It also helps that he’s a complete showoff and knows exactly how to get a crowd hyped up. His matches are honestly pretty fun to watch, you have to come with us for the next one, we always get great seats.”“Alright, bet. Never been much into fighting but I can always give it a go.” Kassie was actually kind of excited, it would be nice to see the side of DK that everyone else sees and loves. She wandered to the next stall and locked her eyes on a sketchbook with several colored pencils. She picked it up and admired the leather cover, it would be perfect for a pass time. She was about to call one of the three over but was quickly silenced by an arm wrapping around her shoulders.“Well well, if it isn’t the prince’s little human pet all by herself.” A large gorilla with black fur spoke, uncomfortably close to her face. Great, so the jungle kingdom did have its arrogant assholes. Just wonderful.She tried to get out of his hold. “Please, don’t touch me.”“Oh come on now, there’s no need to be like that. I’m just being friendly.” The ape caressed a finger down her cheek. Panic began to sink in, she knew where this would go if she didn’t get away from him. She slapped his hand away and struggled against his strong grip. “I said don’t fucking touch me!”This caused a few heads to turn and unfortunately excited her captor “Oh, so she’s feisty! I bet princey has all kinds of fun with you, he really should learn to share. How about we go somewhere a little more private~”Suddenly the ape was yanked off of her and tackled to the ground. DK held the ape down, anger oozing off of him “What the hell do you think you’re doing. She told you no.”The offending ape simply laughed “So princey’s protective! Not surprising, I would be too if I had a brand new toy to play with, especially one so small and cute~”DK punched him. And then he punched him again. Grabbing the collar of his vest, DK pulled him close and snarled “Come near her again and I’ll kill you myself.” He dropped the ape and made his way to Kassie while several guards held the ape down.He gently cupped her face and looked into her glossy eyes “Are you okay? He didn’t do anything, did he?”She shook her head “I’d like to go home now.”DK nodded and asked the trio to take her back home and stay with her until she calmed down. He stayed behind and promptly took care of this little problem. About an hour had passed when DK came back. The trio had left already as Kassie insisted that she was okay, but honestly she just wanted to be alone for a bit.DK knocked on the outer wall of her hut and scanned the room, finding her huddled in a corner. He got her attention before walking over and sitting next to her “You don’t have to worry about that guy anymore, he’s been dealt with accordingly.”“Thank you.”“Are you sure you’re okay? You looked pretty shaken up.”“Yeah, I’m okay, now anyway. I guess I thought that guys like that wouldn't really exist in a place like this so it caught me off guard, turns out they’re everywhere.”They were silent for a moment. Dk took a breath and quickly changed the subject “Well, on a happier note, I got you something.”This piqued Kassie’s interest. DK left her hut for a moment before returning with something behind his back. Sitting back down next to her, he moved his arm and revealed the sketchbook. “I saw you looking at it before that guy showed up.” He rubbed the back of his neck as she took it from him.She was at a loss for words, she didn’t think he would’ve noticed. She couldn’t resist the huge smile and blush that grew on her face. Before she could think, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. DK was frozen for a moment and the hug ended as soon as it began. Kassie cleared her throat “Um, thank you. I really wanted this, it’ll be nice to get back to drawing again.”They each looked away. Quickly changing the subject, Kassie brought up his fight. “So, the trio was telling me that you’re a fighter and about your upcoming match.”DK immediately perked up. He went on a tangent about how much he loved fighting and hyping up the crowd, he told her stories of some of his favorite fights, and how excited he was for her to see him fight for the first time. She couldn’t help but smile at his passion and enthusiasm as he spoke. If he got this excited from just talking about fighting, she could not wait to see him in action.About a week and a half had passed and it was finally the day of DK’s match. He had to leave early to prepare so she wished him good luck and threw in a playful threat “You better win, it would be a shame if the first match I see is a loss.”He was going to win anyway but now he was more determined than ever. The trio came by to pick Kassie up about an hour before the match started and they made their way to the..FLOATING ARENA?! Okay she did not expect that. Tiny had to hold her hand on the way up but she calmed down once they were in their seats. In no time at all, the arena was filled with cheering and excitement.She sat between Tiny and Dixie and was quickly introduced to Chunky Kong. She looked around the arena, still baffled that the platforms, blocks, and even the damn arena itself were just floating. Tiny gave her a rundown on how this fighting worked and the different power ups they could get, but they were only really used if DK wanted to add some spice to the fight or his opponent got desperate.Suddenly one of the entrance doors opened, the match had begun. Out jumped a white gorilla, not the quiet one in the sportcoat, and the crowd began to cheer. DKs doors opened and the crowd was silent. Suddenly soft thumping could be heard, quickly getting louder and louder until DK launched out into the air. The crowd went nuts. Banners and flags with his logo waved through the air.A funky beat began to play as he stared down his opponent, the guy had his own theme song. Two barrels were thrown towards him and he caught each one in his arms with ease, effortlessly smashing them together before flexing his muscles and..oh god he was making his pecs dance. Kassie burst out laughing, now she could see why the crowd loved him so much.Tiny bumped her shoulder, shooting her a smirk “Seems he’s showing off more than normal, I wonder why~”She elbowed the chimp as her cheeks darkened, focusing her attention on the match. The gorilla’s stared the other down, each getting into position. Scanning the crowd, his gaze landed on Kassie. He smirked and shot her a wink before a horn blew, officially starting the fight. She didn’t even have time to be flustered as she became enveloped in the match. Jaws were punched, barrels were thrown, brick blocks were broken, and bodies were launched. Within minutes the white gorilla was on his back, knocked out cold. The crowd roared and Kassie couldn’t help but join them and clap for DK.He waved and flexed for the crowd, even doing a celebratory body roll. Kassie slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too loud and risk snorting. He then made his way back into the doors and Tiny grabbed Kassie’s arm, pulling her along. The chimp dragged her through several stone hallways until they reached a door. Pushing it open, they found DK winding down and cooling off.He looked towards the door and instantly perked up “So? What did you think~?”“One, that fight was fucking amazing! I can see why everyone loves you so much. Two, you are a massive dork.”“Oh am I?”“Yeah, you are..”Tiny smiled, quietly backing out of the room and closing the door, leaving the two to their playful banter undisturbed. She soon met back up with Dixie, Diddy, and Chunky.Dixie greeted her sister, then she looked confused “Hey, where’s Kassie? I thought she was with you.”“Oh she’s fine. We found DK and the two got absorbed into their own conversation, so I left them alone. I bet they haven’t even noticed I left.” Tiny chuckled.The group began leaving the arena, engaging in their own conversations about the fight. Tiny then looked back at the stone walls and grinned.“Those two idiots will realize their feelings sooner or later.”

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A good few weeks had gone by since the fight and the two did in fact not notice that Tiny had left them alone. Some nights were better than others and DK would comfort Kassie as she cried in his arms, holding her close. Since the match she had been on the fence about asking DK to show her how to fight, or at least properly defend herself. Sure she had her elbow pressure point trick but that could only get her so far and she wanted to be sure she could defend herself. After finally mustering up the courage, she asked him. It certainly caught him off guard, and he was admittedly apprehensive at first, but he soon agreed.So since then, DK had been training her twice a week. They didn’t go all out, he just taught her some of the basics and how to hold her body. To say that the feeling of his hands holding her body and adjusting her stances didn’t send shivers down her spine, would be a complete lie. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and chalked it up to not having much physical touch in a long while.Once DK felt she was properly prepared is when he introduced her to powerups, and that's when the real fun started. She wasn’t a fan of the mushroom aspect, she preferred the aesthetic of them over actually eating them, but soon pushed through it. DK also didn’t like the idea of accidentally hurting her but she assured him that she would be fine.The two were currently in the middle of a training session before DK had to attend a meeting with his father, which he would bring Kassie along for. Since Kassie was smaller, it was easier for her to slip away from him. She had so far been able to evade his hits, even landing a few of her own. He grabbed at her and she had managed to slide under his legs, quickly grabbing one and yanking him to the floor. She jumped to a higher platform to get a powerup but DK grabbed her leg midair and slammed her against the floor, quickly climbing on top of her and pinning her arms above her head.It only took a second for them to realize their position, their faces inches apart. Neither moved as they stared at each other with wide eyes, breathing heavy and cheeks red. DK quickly got off of her, coughing and clearing his throat “U-Um, I think that’s enough for today. Come on, we’re gonna be late for the meeting.”He offered her his hand, head turned away from her. The two quickly made their way to Cranky’s throne room, neither saying a word. Kassie tuned the talking out, her head was swimming with so many thoughts at once it was almost overwhelming. The meeting was over before she knew it. She only caught a few words, one of them mentioning the princess from the Mushroom Kingdom.Kassie had heard about her a few times and after learning that she was also human, she wanted to meet her. She was going to ask Cranky about it but he called her over first. She approached him, wondering what he would want to talk to her about.“Something’s on your mind, I can tell. Did something happen between you two? You’re normally more chummy during these meetings.” He asked, motioning towards DK who was waiting for her at his kart.Remembering their position from earlier, her cheeks darkened and she sputtered out a garbled response. “Psh! What?? No! No no no, nothing happened, why-why would anything have happened?”Cranky simply looked unimpressed. “Your reaction is giving me my answer.”Kassie deflated “We just got into a..predicament..during training today, that’s it. It was awkward and I would prefer to forget about it!”Realizing she just raised her voice at the king she quickly apologized. “Sorry, I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately. We’re just fine, I swear. But I did actually want to ask you something, about the mushroom princess actually. I want to meet her. While the jungle kingdom is great, it would be nice to meet another human. I figured it would be better to ask you instead of just going.”Cranky thought about it for a moment. “Alright, you can go. Tell my son he’s taking you, it’ll be good for him to visit the other kingdoms.”She smiled “Thank you sir! I’ll be sure to keep an eye on him.”Cranky chuckled as she ran to his son, surely telling him her plans. It was like their previous tension had never existed. He seemed excited as well and the two drove off.They decided they would leave for the Mushroom Kingdom first thing tomorrow and DK was excited to show her the shortcut, he knew she was going to love it. The next morning couldn’t come quick enough and Kassie was more than eager to hit the road. She had packed everything in her backpack and the two drove into the auto shop.“Hey, while we’re here, why don’t you make your own kart? We can race!” DK asked as he drove through.“Oh, no I’m okay. I don’t know how to drive, plus..driving kind of scares me. So I’m content just being a passenger.”He didn’t push the subject further. Pulling up to the shortcut entrance, he nodded to one of the guards and the wall raised. Quickly making sure Kassie was situated, he sped down the road. The intricate statues and roaring waterfalls captivated her. They drove for about a minute before Kassie saw the vertical ramp up ahead. “Uhh, DK?”The ape smirked “Hang on tight~”Slamming his foot on the gas, they approached the ramp quickly. Kassie hung on for dear life as they ascended and launched into the air. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Forcing her eyes open, they descended through the clouds and all she could see was bright sparkling color. The landing tossed her into DKs back and she held onto his shoulders. Pure wonder painted her face, they were driving on a freaking rainbow!! All she could muster was a breathy ‘whoa’.“Welcome to Rainbow Road!”Short breathy laughs escaped her chest, her smile growing wider and wider before she yelled out “Holy shit!!”This was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen! The sky changed from bright blue to a dark and starry sky the further they went, it looked like they were driving through space! DK glanced back at her and smiled, her wonderstruck expression warming his chest. He knew she was going to love it. Raising her arms to the heavens, Kassie couldn’t resist shouting for pure joy, laughing as her cries echoed through the endless sky.The entire ride was filled with laughter, excited screams, and pure wonder. Her cheeks were red, but not only from the excitement. Staring at the back of DKs head, her mind couldn’t help but wander to thoughts of them. Did she like him? Or was she feeling admiration? The thought had been on her mind for weeks but she kept pushing it away. If she did like him, would he even like her back? Was it weird to like him like that? He was a talking gorilla from a magical land, it couldn’t get much weirder than that.Her thoughts were cut short as the sky slowly turned back to its bright blue and giant mushrooms began to sprout into view. DK exclaimed that they had arrived and it would only be a few more minutes to the kingdom. Off in the distance, she spotted a white and pink castle, soon coming up on a city. DK parked the kart at the edge and helped her down. “We’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way, my kart is too big and everything in this place is tiny. So you’ll fit in perfectly~”She slapped his arm, suppressing a smile. He had told her about the toads that lived here and to try and ignore them, but it was hard to do when every single one of them was staring at them like they had two heads. They reached the castle within minutes, DK did have to pick her up a few times so he could climb or jump to the next level.The castle was even more beautiful up close. Pink and white with a gorgeous stained glass window of who she could only assume was Peach. They approached two toad guards and the two yelped, stammering out a response.“P-Prince Donkey Kong! To what do we owe the unexpected visit?”He silently cringed at the formal title. “I’m here to see Peach, I’ve got someone that’s been wanting to meet her.” He stepped to the side to reveal Kassie who waved awkwardly. The guards gasped, quickly opening the palace doors “Right away your majesty! She should be in her study.”Calling over another duo of guards, they relayed the orders to take the two to Peach. Walking through endless halls, they finally reached a large pink door. DK shooed the guards away and knocked on the door, opening it with ease.Peach looked up from her desk and was taken aback at seeing the gorilla. “Donkey Kong! To what do I owe the pleasure?”“Hey Peach, nice seeing you again. I actually have a friend that's been wanting to meet you. Peach, this is Kassie.”Moving aside, Peaches eyes widened at the sight of Kassie. Quickly walking over, she circled Kassie several times. She was taller than Kassie and god she was pretty. “You..You’re a human!!”Kassie chuckled “I am! And you are too! I’ve heard about you a few times and I really wanted to meet you, not only because you’re also human but a human girl! I’ve been surrounded by nothing but monkeys since I got here. Oh, no offense DK!Peach couldn’t contain her excitement, another human! And a girl at that! Peach linked their arms and began walking off, calling back to DK. “Sorry DK, it’s girl time! You can use my obstacle course if you get bored!”The doors shut before DK could object. Each girl asked multiple questions and the two became fast friends. Kassie told her how she arrived and how DK helped her and Peach shared what it was like to grow up in this place and the human girl things she had to deal with and learn on her own. Before they knew it, several hours had passed. The two had ended up in the kitchen and were waiting for lunch to be finished.When the plates were served, Kassie almost cried. She had eaten nothing but fruit and fruit based dishes since she arrived so an actual meal was very appreciated. With their food finished, the girls made their way to a balcony and enjoyed the view of the kingdom.“Hey Peach, can I ask you something?”“Yeah, what’s up?”Kassie took a deep breath “Okay, so I know we haven’t known each other long, but you’re pretty much the only person I can get an unbiased opinion from. So, hypothetically, if you were to..have a crush on..someone. If it’s even a crush at all. But you aren’t sure if said someone likes you back or even thinks about you in a romantic way and you aren’t sure either. But every time he looks at you a certain way your mind goes blank and every time he touches you it sends a shiver down your spine, or the way his dorky laugh makes your chest feel all warm and fuzzy.”Whoops. Did not mean to go on that tangent.. She looked over at Peach, who looked like she was gonna scream. The princess was practically vibrating before she finally burst out “You like DK!”Kassie loudly groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know! I mean, maybe I do! But I don’t know if he would even like me back, and if he doesn’t then it would be awkward between us and ruin our friendship! Plus, I live right next to the guy. Can’t really avoid him when he’s your neighbor and you’re his responsibility.”Peach smiled and put a hand on Kassie’s arm. “Kassie, from what you told me, I’m sure he does. You’re never going to know if you don’t take the jump and go for it! And if you keep ignoring it, it’s going to eat you alive and you’re going to regret it.”Kassie sighed “You’re right. I want to tell him but every time I think about it, there’s always this nagging in the back of my head saying that something’s gonna go wrong. None of my previous relationships ended well, either I thought that I liked them but actually didn’t and ended up breaking their heart or I finally found someone that I genuinely really liked but they only ended up using me in the end. And it was because of that that I practically gave up dating, and I was honestly fine with being on my own. Yes the idea of being in a relationship again sounded really nice but then my family started pressuring me about it and the idea kind of turned sour. And then I ended up here and that mother fucker showed up and literally sweeped me off my damn feet!”Peach couldn’t help but laugh at Kassie’s dramatics. “Well, I’m a personal believer that everything happens for a reason. So you never know, maybe meeting DK was fate.”“That’s certainly one option. But is it weird to like him like that? I mean, he’s a whole ass gorilla. There’s kind of the whole different species aspect.”“I don’t think it’s weird. He’s got his own personality and his own voice and opinions, the outside is just a little different. You’ve at least got it better than I do, I have an evil turtle that’s madly in love with me.”“I’m sorry, evil turtle???”“Bowser. He’s the ruler of the darklands and he’s a freaking psycho. Not only does he have some anger problems but he destroys with no remorse! And for some godforsaken reason, he’s in love with me!”Kassie gently patted her shoulder “Yeah, that doesn’t sound fun.”The two continued to talk for a while longer and soon the sun began to set. Kassie decided it was probably time to head home. Before leaving to find DK, Peach pulled her back into the kitchen and gave her several containers of varying sweets and snacks that had been made recently. Somehow able to fit them all in her backpack, Kassie pulled Peach in for a hug.She thanked the princess for her advice and hospitality. “Of course! Come back any time, I wanna know the update on you and mister monkey man~”Bidding the princess farewell, she went to find DK and soon the two were back on rainbow road. With the initial excitement calmed, the drive was honestly pretty peaceful. Kassie apologized that he got left alone all day but he assured her it was fine and that this trip was meant for her.Arriving back at their huts, the sun was gone and the sky was dark. They bid each other goodnight and Kassie stayed up a little later, doodling in her sketchbook and thinking back on her conversation with Peach. Finally voicing her thoughts had cleared her head a bit, the nagging voice was still there but it was much smaller now and easy to ignore.She decided she would tell him. Not tomorrow, maybe not even a week from now, but she was going to tell him. She just wanted it to be at the right time.

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Several weeks had passed and Kassie still hadn’t told DK that she liked him. Every time she had a chance, she either chickened out or the two were interrupted. Their training sessions had come to a close as DK felt there was nothing left he could teach her, but the two still sparred on occasion. She honestly felt that he was drifting. They still spent a lot of time together but something just felt..different.She was currently laying in a small hammock outside, attempting to doodle but nothing stuck. Closing the book, she sighed. Should she even bother telling him at this point? Maybe he was finally getting sick of her and he was just being nice so it wouldn’t be awkward.Before more negative thoughts could cloud her mind, DK came tearing around the corner. “Kassie! How would you feel about exploring the jungle? You’ve been looking a little down lately so I figured getting out of the kingdom and exploring could be fun!”Hmm, that honestly did sound like a lot of fun. She hadn’t really left the kingdom much since getting here, save for her visit with Peach. She smiled at him “Yeah, I think that would be a lot of fun!”Pulling on her shoes, she jumped into DKs kart and the two sped off towards the entrance to the kingdom. Greeted by the white gorilla with the sports coat, DK explained they were gonna go exploring and they would be back later. With a curt nod, he opened the stone doors and the two were on their way.They drove through the trees for a while before finding a good place to start. Parking the kart, they hopped out and began walking on foot. “Hey, stay close to me. I don’t wanna end up by myself.” Kassie mused.The two walked for around an hour, finding all sorts of creatures and simply enjoying the peace of nature. They sat down on some rocks to take a quick break and talked about DK’s match from a week ago.“Okay but you gotta admit, that guy was good. He almost had you!”“Oh please, the only reason he got so close was because he used a power up! I had no choice but to match the strategy.”“True, but even then he was still pretty good. I wonder if there’s anyone out there that’s actually gonna beat you~”“Nah, in case you forgot, I’m unbeatable! There is no one, in the whole damn universe, that can beat me.”DK proceeded to flex his muscles and Kassie couldn’t help but laugh, his confidence was astounding. She looked to the sky and saw it was starting to get a little orange “We should probably start heading back. It’s probably gonna be dark by the time we make it back to the kart.”Just as they were about to start walking, DK suddenly stopped. “Do you hear that?”Kassie turned to look at him, thinking he was trying to scare her. “I don’t hear anything.”“No, I swear I hear..”Suddenly heading in the opposite direction, Kassie had no choice but to follow. “DK where are you going?!”He hadn’t answered her, determined to find whatever it was he heard. Suddenly she heard something too, was that running water? It was faint but at least she knew that DK wasn’t trying to scare her. Catching back up to him, he pushed through bushes and trees until finally he found it. Pushing apart the last bit of thick foliage, the two stepped onto a rocky beach. They had found a beautiful watering hole surrounded by rocky cliffs, vibrant plants, and a roaring waterfall that pulled the whole place together.DK smirked at her, “Told you I heard something. Come on, let's go for a quick swim before we head back!”Before she could protest, DK ran up the cliffside and cannon balled off the edge. She shook her head but couldn’t help but smile. He resurfaced a few moments later and called for her to join him. “Come on! When are we gonna get a chance like this again!”She sighed “Fine! But only for a little bit!”She took off her shoes and socks and started to walk into the water but DK quickly stopped her. “Nope! You gotta jump!”He gave her a look, silently saying that if she didn’t jump then she was going to regret it. She playfully rolled her eyes and made her way up the cliffside. Slowly inching towards the edge, she looked down into the water. It was about a 20 foot drop.“Uhh, I don’t know about this.” She called down to him, her nerves starting to rise.“You can do it Kassie! Don’t think, just jump! I’ll be right here, you’ll be fine.”Taking a few steps back, she took a deep breath and ran. Her head was screaming at her but she couldn’t stop now! Nearing the edge, she kicked off the last bit of rock and launched into the air. For a few seconds she felt completely weightless. She could hear DK cheering for her and she quickly began to fall. Tucking her legs for a cannon ball, she hit the water with a large splash.The few moments under the water were actually kind of peaceful, she would’ve stayed under longer had she not needed air. Breaking the surface, she quickly wiped her eyes and pushed her hair back before spotting DK and laughing.“I did it! I fucking did it!!”“Fuck yeah you did!!”He splashed water at her and the two played and laughed. DK went under and Kassie looked around for him, suddenly she felt a large hand grab her leg and yank her under the water. She sputtered for air and glared at DK who couldn’t stop laughing.“Oh you think that’s funny?” She swam up to him and pushed him under but he grabbed her waist and pulled her with him. Wrestling underwater wasn’t the easiest thing so the two quickly resurfaced, gasping for air.“*cough* White flag! I surrender!” DK exclaimed.They couldn’t stop laughing as they neared the shore, sitting on the rocks. Soon they calmed down and everything was still, they were once again inches apart. Kassie looked into his eyes and before she could chicken out again, she pushed forward and kissed him. She quickly pulled away and looked at him, DK’s eyes were like saucers and she honestly couldn’t tell what he was thinking.“DK..please say something.”Grabbing the sides of her head, he pulled her forward and kissed her again. Her shock lasted a singular second before she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. One of his hands moved to rest on her waist and he pulled her closer. This moment was absolutely perfect.Slowly pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”Kassie smiled and connected their lips once more, this time with much more fervor.The sun had long since set when they finally arrived back at the kingdom. The white gorilla raised an eyebrow and Kassie avoided his gaze, her face a bright red. They soon arrived back at their huts and decided to lay in the sand, admiring the stars just like they had their first night together. DK wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Kassie rested against his side, her head pillowed by his shoulder.DK didn’t know how much time had passed but Kassie was fast asleep. He smiled at her sleeping form and held her just a little tighter, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. Now that he finally had her, there was no way he was ever letting her go.

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Since finally expressing their feelings towards one another, DK and Kassie were happier than ever. Very rarely did they sleep without the other and whenever they went out, they would sneak quick touches or a kiss if they were feeling risky. The two had agreed to take things slow and keep their relationship a secret at first, just until they knew that this is what they both wanted or in case something happened and they ended things.But they had nothing to worry about. After about a month and a half, the two were still very much attracted to each other. Small spats were talked out, feelings were communicated, and they never wanted to be apart. So they had both agreed it was time to tell their friends and Cranky. Surprisingly, the general reaction was quite similar.“Took you two long enough!”The trio wasn’t all that surprising, but Cranky threw them for a loop. “Heh, glad to see you didn’t mess this up, son. Let me guess, she made the first move?”Well, at least Cranky wasn’t opposed to the two of them together. Since making their relationship public, DK was insistent that everyone knew that Kassie belonged to him. They would hold hands in town, he would sit her on his shoulder, or he would just straight up carry her in his arm with zero care. On the rare occasion that he spotted other men looking at her, he would, quite dramatically, kiss her to get them to back off. Kassie honestly found his jealousy to be adorable.DK had given it some thought, and he wanted to take her on a proper date. He had written Peach a letter, well Tiny wrote the letter for him since every time he tried to write the pencil would snap. He explained their relationship and that he wanted to treat her to a nice dinner but he needed help. Peach was more than happy to assist!He and Kassie were currently driving down Rainbow Road towards the Mushroom Kingdom, DK had suggested that they give Peach a visit since they hadn’t seen her in a while so his secret date plan was a go!He parked the kart and they made their way up to the castle, hand in hand. Peach was waiting for them and squealed when she saw them, giving Kassie a hug and punching DKs arm. She led Kassie into the castle, quickly shooting DK a wink as the girls walked off. She suggested giving Kassie a makeover and offered some dresses for her to try on. Kassie didn’t think much of it and was more than happy to get a little dressed up.Kassie picked a beautiful red off the shoulder dress with golden details. Peach curled her hair for her and let her borrow some makeup, gold heels, and some simple gold jewelry. If she was being honest, she picked those colors because she knew they were DKs favorites and the thought of him being speechless made her giddy.She walked out from behind the changing divider and Peach gasped, she looked so proud. “Girl, you are going to knock the tie off of him!”Kassie blushed, very rarely did she get to dress up fancy like this and feel pretty, and god did she feel pretty. Maybe she would ask him out to dinner once they found him. Peach grabbed her hand and the two went on the search for him. Kassie thought he would be at the obstacle course but quickly got confused when Peach led her to a large set of doors guarded by two toads.“Is he ready?” Peach asked.The guards nodded and proceeded to open the large doors, revealing an extravagant ballroom. A beautiful crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling and a decorated wooden table sat in the middle of the room, several lit candles were placed across it. A small group of toads sat against a wall, instruments at the ready. The light from the setting sun cast the room in a romantic glow. Standing next to the table was DK, he wore a gentle smile and swapped his signature neck tie for a classy black one, he even styled his hair tuft.When he laid eyes on Kassie, his eyes widened and his mouth fell ajar. She looked absolutely stunning. She slowly walked to him and he met her in the middle, neither taking their eyes off the other. He grabbed her hand and stared into her sparkling brown eyes “You look beautiful. You always look beautiful to me, but right now..wow.”“You’re looking pretty handsome yourself. Did you plan all of this?”He rubbed the back of his neck “Yeah, I’d been wanting to treat you to a proper date and Peach was more than happy to help.”Kassie turned to look at Peach who simply smiled as she closed the doors. She chuckled and looked back at DK “This is the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me.” She pulled him in for a kiss and the toads began to play a slow romantic tune. He led her to the table, pulling her chair out for her and pushing her in before taking his seat across from her. Their fingers intertwined across the table as they spoke and within minutes another toad came in with a rolling cart of food.“You arranged a three course meal??”DK smiled, “I wanted tonight to be perfect.”Kassie smiled back at him, “Just being with you is perfect.”The two enjoyed their entrees and the main course was delicious, the dessert wasn't overly sweet and the music made everything perfect. The night was filled with stories, tangents, and endless laughter. DK stood and walked to Kassie, holding out his hand for her.“Care to dance?”She nodded, holding his hand and following him to the empty space. She rested a hand on his shoulder, the other intertwined their fingers and his hand found place on her lower back as they swayed to the toads tune. DK couldn’t resist twirling her and the giggle she made caused warmth in his chest. He pulled her close and rested his forehead against hers, basking in her presence.He looked into her eyes and placed a hand on her cheek. “Kassie, meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me. I’ve never felt this way for anyone like I do for you. I love you.”Kassie’s eyes widened, her vision started to blur as tears built up and slid down her cheeks. She smiled so big her face started to hurt and her voice cracked “I love you too.” Pushing herself up to kiss him, he picked her up and held her tight, lips meshing together like they were a perfect fit.He held her in his arms for a while, resting their foreheads together and feathering soft kisses across her face. This night was everything he had hoped and more, it was absolutely perfect.

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Kassie had been in the jungle kingdom for a long while now and her relationship with DK had begun to blossom. The two were annoyingly adorable around each other, it almost made their friends sick from the sweetness. But with their budding relationship, other feelings began to come to light. At first Kassie was able to push the thoughts away but soon the idea of climbing the gorilla like a tree enveloped her every thought. Needless to say, the girl was pent up.Unfortunately, there weren’t any proper toys in the kingdom and she was not about to go searching for one, she would rather die, so she had to improvise. She and DK were hanging out in his hut for the night, cuddling in his hammock. He laid on his back and she laid on top of him, chest to chest. She was showing him funny videos she had saved to her camera roll, it was a peaceful night full of giggling.His large hand rested on her lower back, his thumb softly rubbing side to side. Her giggling made him smile, which made him hold her just a little tighter. He looked at her, gently placing two fingers on her cheek and turning her head to look at him. He held her cheek and caressed her bottom lip with his thumb, moving to the back of her neck as he pulled her towards him and kissed her.Her phone now abandoned, Kassie closed her eyes and rested her hands on his broad shoulders. They kissed soft and slow, lips gently parting, tongues barely brushing against the other. This was bliss. Spicy thoughts quickly invaded Kassie’s mind, and she wanted nothing more than to deepen their kiss and grind against him, but the two agreed to take things slow and she didn’t want to jump the gun.She slowly pulled away and just stared into his eyes, leaning back down for just one more kiss before resting her head on his chest. Her cheeks were burning at the scenarios her mind came up with and the burning between her legs was not helping.For her own sanity, she painfully bid him goodnight and walked into her neighboring hut. She put out any lights and laid in her bed, waiting for him to fall asleep. Once she heard his soft snoring, she quietly made her way into his hut and grabbed one of the many bananas before making her way back to her own hut. Like I said, she had to work with what she had and her hands did nothing.Laying against her pillows, she removed her sweatpants and panties. A string of slick stuck to the fabric and the cool air against her gave her goosebumps. Spreading her legs, she grabbed the banana and slowly rubbed it between her slippery folds. Once she felt it was lubed up enough, she positioned it against her dripping entrance and slowly pushed in. The bananas here were larger than the ones back home, so the slight stretch was more than welcome. Her eyes were already rolling back and she had barely started, her pace was slow at first but she soon quickly sped up.She did have to be mindful of her volume so as to not accidentally wake up her sleeping boyfriend, but a few whimpers came out louder than she would’ve liked. She quickly grabbed one of her pillows and covered her mouth as her whimpers and moans started to become difficult to conceal. Rapid squelching echoed through her hut and she was getting close, god she was so close. Her mind imagined DK and all the things she wanted him to do to her, and boy did that send her over the edge. Her body tensed and her eyes crossed as she came hard.Sweat dripped onto her pillow and her breathing was heavy. God she needed that. Pulling out followed by a wet pop, the banana fell to the floor and Kassie promptly passed out. Though unbeknownst to her, her whimpers and muffled cries were very much heard by the gorilla that put her into this position. Lidded eyes and a cocky smirk painted DK’s face as the cogs turned with a sea of things he was planning to do with his sweet little girlfriend once morning came.The sun shined bright, illuminating her hut and causing her to stir. She stretched and sat up, quickly realizing she hadn’t put pants back on before she fell asleep. Her cheeks burned, she couldn’t believe she actually did it but dammit she really needed it. She heard DK already moving around so she quickly pulled on her sweatpants and headed over to bid him good morning, quickly kicking the banana under her bed.Before she could say a word, DK grabbed her face and pulled her in for an almost animalistic kiss. It certainly caught her off guard but she was not complaining. Before the kiss could escalate further, DK pulled away and smiled down at her “Morning sweetheart~”He walked away to go get some breakfast while Kassie was stuck in place, her face almost as red as DK’s signature tie. She didn’t know what had gotten into him but throughout the entire day he would do things to make her flustered. Squeezing her hip, picking her up, stealing kisses, running his fingers through her hair and ‘accidentally’ pulling it. All she knew was that her spicy thoughts came back in full swing and she wasn’t sure if she was going to make it to bedtime.The sun had already set when they got back to their huts. Kassie thought that they would cuddle in DK’s hammock but instead he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She squawked in surprise and DK walked into her hut, tossing her onto her bed and climbing on top of her. He smirked down at her, her wide eyes and dark red cheeks making him chuckle.“You know Kassie, you really gotta learn to control your volume, someone might hear something they weren’t supposed to~”She was confused for a moment until realization slapped her across the face “OH GOD!” She quickly covered her face with her hands “You fucking heard me!!”DK couldn’t help but laugh, she was so adorable when she was embarrassed. “I did. You kinda failed at being quiet. Why you didn’t just ask me, I’ll never know.”She grumbled “I’m sorry, I wanted to, I really wanted to, but we agreed to take things slow so I didn’t wanna jump into anything in case you weren’t ready and risked making things awkward and-”He grabbed her wrists and pinned them next to her head “Hey, hey it’s okay. I’m not upset, frankly it was pretty hot listening to you. Plus, it gave me plenty of time to think about all the things I want to do to you.”DK slowly leaned down and captured Kassie’s lips in a heated kiss. Lips parted and their tongues wrapped around each other, his large appendage enveloping hers. Freeing one of her hands, Kassie grabbed the back of DK’s neck and pulled him closer, hooking her legs around his waist and clinging to him. A large hand caressed down her body, squeezing her hip and kneading her thigh. She moaned into his mouth and he couldn't help but do it again.Sliding his hand back up, it slipped underneath her shirt and began to pull it up. DK quickly pulled away and asked “Can I?” Kassie smiled, him asking permission made her heart flutter. She nodded, “Please do.” Before pulling him back in. Quickly pulling her shirt off and tossing it on the floor, soon reaching behind her and unclasping her bra. DK sat back and simply admired her chest, gently kneading her flesh and rolling a nipple between his large fingers.Planting a quick kiss on her lips, he began to kiss down her neck and leave love bites anywhere he could. Moving down to her chest, he massaged one breast and circled the nipple of the other with his tongue before latching on. A soft moan left her and DK soon switched to the other, Kassie rubbed her thighs together and bit her bottom lip. Large hands once again moved down her body and hooked into the waistband of her shorts. Quickly locking eyes, he silently asked for permission once more which was met with quick nodding. She could feel him smile against her skin and she giggled as he kissed down her stomach, slowly pulling her shorts and panties down her smooth legs and tossing them behind him while she tugged his tie over his head.Bringing her knees up, she spread herself open to DK. She covered her mouth and averted her gaze, her embarrassment getting the better of her. He chuckled and planted soft kisses from her knee down to her inner thigh, making sure to leave more love bites before doing the same to her other leg. Kassie’s breathing began to get heavy, the anticipation was driving her insane!DK hummed against her skin “Mmm so soft, so warm, and so wet. Just for me~” He licked a thick stripe up her pussy, his girlfriend's gasping encouraged him to keep going. Holding her legs open, he smothered her with wet kisses. His tongue slid down to her entrance, lightly circling it before pushing inside of her as deep as he could go.Her eyes shot open and a loud moan ripped out of her. She grabbed a fistful of fur on his head and pushed his head down, keeping him in place as she humped his face. At this point if anyone heard them, she did not fucking care.DK thrust his tongue in and out of her, her taste was intoxicating and he swore he was getting high from the smell of her. She began to tighten around his tongue, he could tell she was getting close. Suddenly she softly pushed his face away “Wait, wait stop.” She panted. DK then started to panic, had he done something wrong?“Don’t worry, you’re fucking amazing, I almost didn’t want to stop..” She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes, her own eyes glazed over “But I don’t wanna cum yet~” She kissed him again and wrapped her tongue around his, tasting herself on him. She began to push him back until he was laying on his back.She giggled “Looks like someones come out to play~” His cock had unsheathed itself and was standing at full attention. It was about 8-9 inches but girthy and already leaking. Gliding her hand up his shaft, she rubbed the tip and smeared his pre down his shaft. She then dragged her tongue from the base to the tip, scooping up a bead of precum into her mouth. He tasted sweet. His cock visibly twitched. Kassie circled his tip with her tongue, teasing him with kitten licks before wrapping her lips around him.DK grunted and grabbed onto the wooden frame of her bed. She bobbed her head down before he hit the back of her throat at about halfway, stroking the other half of him in time with her mouth. Drool dripped down his sack and began to pool on her sheets. Her other hand descended between her legs and rubbed lazy circles around her clit. Deciding he was slick enough she bobbed down just past her limit, gagging on him before sliding off with a wet pop.She climbed onto his lap and straddled his length “Are you okay with this?” She softly asked.He sat up and stared into her eyes, his gaze was animalistic and his voice was low and raspy. “Sweetheart, if you don’t slide down onto my cock I am going to lose, my fucking, mind.”A bolt of electricity shot down her spine. Quickly kissing him, she grabbed DK’s cock and aligned it to her entrance. She slowly began to slide down onto him, occasionally stopping so she could adjust to his size. Within a few minutes she was fully seated on him and holy shit did she feel full.DK huffed, rubbing soft circles into her hips. “Fuck, you feel so good around me. Ngh, so hot and tight.”She shot back at how big he was and how wonderful the stretch felt. She slowly lifted herself until just his tip was inside of her before dropping back down, making them both howl in pleasure. She continued this motion for a minute before DK couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled her to his chest and pushed forward so she was on her back again, grabbing her knees and pushing them to her chest. His pace became rapid and the sound of fur slapping against skin echoed through the hut.Neither bothered to control their volume, pleasure was the only thing on their minds. DK stared down at Kassie, god she was so fucking beautiful like this. One hand grabbed her wooden headboard for some stability, he was getting close and if her tightening around his cock was any indication, she was too. He grabbed her waist and lifted her hips up before setting an almost brutal pace. Each rough thrust caused her to jolt backward and her moans kept getting higher in pitch. Her eyes began to cross and water and a string of curses left her lips before she tensed and cried out as the coil in her abdomen snapped.DK was right behind her. His grip on her headboard was tightening more and more until it started to splinter before completely cracking and falling to the floor. His cock pulsated before bursting, filling Kassie to the brim with his cum, some shooting out of her and pooling on her sheets.The only sound they heard was the others' heavy breathing. DK fell fully on top of her, his face resting in her neck. The two took a minute to catch their breath before capturing their lips in one final kiss. DK slowly pulled out, a loud squelch causing Kassie to flinch. He plopped down next to her and pulled her to his chest, their limbs quickly entangling.The energy had calmed down and their breathing had steadied. Kassie was inches from sleep but soon remembered something that made her laugh “Babe, you broke my headboard.”DK smiled “That’s alright, I can have someone make you another one. And another one, and another one~”

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The next few months flew by and DK and Kassie fell more in love with each passing day. They agreed to visit Peach at least once a month and the two girls became close friends. Before one of DKs matches, Kassie revealed a crop low cut tank top she had made with his logo, needless to say he was late for his fight.He had planned several more dates for the two of them and she was honestly surprised at how much of a romantic he could be, as well as how nasty he could be at times, not that she minded. She had grown closer to Cranky as well, becoming comfortable enough to tease him and call him out on his bullshit. “You’re family now, you’re not getting rid of me that easy~”DK had taken her on a trip to Yoshi Island and Kassie was so excited. She had seen pictures of them and the fact that they looked like dinosaurs made her giddy. She was thrown off by the height of them though, some were at eye level with her and some were taller than her. But after the initial shock, she nearly screamed at the sight of a pink one and she quickly made friends with it.Before she knew it, a whole year had gone by since she arrived. She honestly wouldn’t have noticed had the trio not brought it up. She didn’t know how to feel. The last year had been absolutely amazing but that also meant that a year had gone by since she last saw her family. She wondered if they were doing okay, how her brothers were doing. She felt terrible that she hadn't thought of them much, she wondered if they would host a one year anniversary of her going missing.More intrusive thoughts invaded her head and all DK could do was hold her as she cried. She knew she would be okay, the next few days were just emotional. She was currently sitting in the rocking chair outside trying to sketch her family's faces, she didn’t want to risk forgetting what they looked like. DK had been summoned to the temple by his father earlier in the day and she caught a brown blob in her peripherals.She looked up at him. “Hey, what did your dad want you for?”“He didn’t tell me much, just that Peach is here and I have a fight to do in a bit, so I guess that’s where my day is going. I just came back to get you.”“Huh, alright then, wonder what Peach is doing here. But I’ll head over in a bit, I wanna get the rough sketch of this finished first. But I’ll make sure to not miss the end.”He smiled at her. “Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips “I love you.”“Love you too, good luck!”He went back the way he came and Kassie couldn’t resist staring, a cheeky smile framing her face as she called to him. “I hate to see you leave, but DAMN I love watching you walk away~”His head snapped back at her, a visible blush on his cheeks. “And you say I’m the nasty one!”Kassie burst into a fit of giggles and DK couldn’t help but smile, waving to her as he left. She watched him until he was out of sight before going back to her sketch. Soon finishing the rough shapes and faces, she decided it was good for now and made her way to the arena. She could already hear the crowd going wild and suddenly a loud BOOM.“What the..” She quickly made her way up to the viewing balcony. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Cranky, not even acknowledging Peach or the Toad that was with her. She scanned the arena and saw DK swing up from underneath the beam, launching several barrels at..someone in a catsuit? The person hurled a barrel back at him, stunning him for a moment before hitting him several more times. The cat person kicked DK in the chest, getting him on his back and scratching up his face before jumping up several levels into the air and shooting down towards him.Kassie screamed, quickly covering her mouth as DK broke through the beam and more brick blocks before stopping at the last level. No, there was no way he could lose! It was hard to see, but the cat person climbed onto his chest. DK quickly got up but she could tell he wasn’t okay. He lazily swung his fists, wobbling across the blocks before nearly falling backward off the edge.She gasped, thinking he was going to fall but the person quickly grabbed his tie, pulling him forward before he collapsed. The crowd cheered and chanted, but Kassie couldn’t hear a single thing. DK lost. He lost and he was hurt! Her ears rang as she yelled his name, quickly jumping over the rows of Kongs, she dropped down onto a beam and jumped down to him. She landed in front of him at the edge, breathing heavy as she lifted his head up and looked at him. The person jumped off his back and sat at DKs feet, clearly surprised at the sudden newcomer.“DK! DK please wake up. Donkey Kong, wake the fuck up!” She gently tapped his cheeks, her heart racing. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open, a shaky sigh of relief leaving her lungs. She rested her forehead against his and felt his hand rest on top of hers “Thank god you’re okay.” She whispered to him and placed a soft kiss on his nose. He slowly began to sit up.Now that her worry had subsided, she was pissed at whoever this person was. “You! Who the hell do you think you-” She began yelling but was quickly cut off when she saw their face. He wore the same expression she did, eyes wide and mouth ajar. Her fingers began to tremble. His blue eyes, round nose, and impossible to mistake mustache.“Mario?”Neither could believe what they were seeing. Mario almost thought he was dreaming, his baby sister was right in front of him! “Kassie?!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a death grip hug. Silent tears fell down their cheeks as she held onto him for dear life.“W-What the hell are you doing here?? How did you get here?!” She asked, still in shock.“Through a weird pipe in the sewer..You’re alive!! We all thought you were dead!”“No! I’ve been here, the entire time! But wait, if you’re here..where’s Luigi?”Mario’s face fell “That’s actually why I’m here. Lui ended up in Bowser’s domain and he’s on his way to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom.”Luigi and Peach’s home were in danger. She was gonna tear that damn turtle a new one if she got her hands on him. “Okay. Let’s go save our brother.”Kassie turned to help DK up but quickly turned back and punched Mario in the arm, making him lose the powerup. “OW!! What the hell was that for?!”“You looked really stupid in the catsuit.” Kassie shrugged and helped DK up. Back at their huts, she patched him up and gave him many comforting kisses while Peach and Mario talked outside, she still couldn’t believe that Kassie was his sister. DK walked to the door and upon hearing the tail end of their conversation, he kicked the door off its hinges. “I let him win! Just for the record!”“Really though? Why would you do that?” Mario questioned, obviously not believing the ape.“You wanna know why? It’s MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, THAT’S WHY!” DK threw a barrel at Mario. Kassie ran out and yanked on DKs tie.“Hey hey hey! Quit throwing shit at my brother!”DK stared at her wide eyed , the tie yanking did something to him. He gulped “Yes ma’am.”Kassie smiled and put her hands on his cheeks “Good boy~” She placed a kiss on his lips, the ape practically melted from her touch.“Oh come on! You couldn’t have dated literally anyone else? Oh god, have you two..?!” Mario complained.“We’re not gonna talk about that. Also, I don’t recall ever needing your permission on who I can and can’t date. He makes me happy, get over it!” Kassie yelled at him. She headed back into the hut and as soon as she was out of sight Mario and DK glared daggers at each other, just about to start another tussle before Cranky arrived and separated the two, telling them to get inside.DK picked Kassie up in one arm and jumped into his hammock. She squealed and giggled and Mario looked at the sight with disdain, DK simply shot him smug look. Cranky began to speak, saying that they’d located Bowser's ship and he would be at the Mushroom Kingdom by sundown. Luckily, they had a shortcut!“We beat him there and ambush him!” Peach exclaimed, excitedly punching the air.Cranky scratched his cheek, looking unimpressed. “Yeah, I know. That’s why, we’re gonna need karts!”The group of six made their way to the auto shop. DK and Kassie made their way to his kart while Peach, Mario, and Toad all made their own. Kassie jumped into her seat behind him and DK looked at her, obvious worry painting his face. “Babe, this is gonna be dangerous. I don’t want to risk you getting hurt or worse.”She smiled sweetly at him. “I’ll be fine. That damn turtle has my brother hostage and he’s planning to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom, once he’s done the Jungle Kingdom is next. This is my home and I’m not gonna let anyone hurt it, or you. You mean too much to me.”He grabbed her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips, giving it a strong kiss. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, I swear on my life.”The army was ready to go, all karts were in position. DK and Kassie looked at each other, determined smiles on their faces. “Let’s go save the world.” Kassie said, DK cheered and hopped into the kart, zooming to the front line with Mario pulling up next to him. DK looked over at him, slowly leaning towards him and whispered “I hate you.”Kassie slapped his shoulder “Be nice!”“Kassie, why don’t you have your own kart?” Her brother questioned, clearly annoyed.She swung her legs over the side and kicked them back and forth, a big smile on her face. “Driving scares me~”Without wasting any more time, Peach raised her fist and called out “To the Mushroom Kingdom! And the biggest fight of our lives! Here! We! Go!”And off they went. As they drove down the familiar passage, DK sped up for a second and got a little too close to Mario. He chuckled and Kassie rolled her eyes. As they reached the incline, Mario expressed his concern about the track ending and Cranky pulled up close to him, telling him to step on the gas and buckle up, laughing as he and many others sped past him. Mario accelerated a little too hard, quickly passing everyone and flying into the clouds. Kassie chuckled at her brother's screams, knowing the first time fear all too well.Once he landed, Mario happily swerved across the track. DK drove with one hand while the other reached back and held Kassie’s and the two watched as Mario and Peach spoke. The two bantered back and forth, Mario soon inviting her to come to Brooklyn and he’d get her a pet turtle.DK honked and pulled up next to Peach, using his foot to drive. “Dude, is this you flirting? This is painful!”Mario awkwardly claimed that he was being nice. “You are so embarrassing! A princess would never go out with you!”Kassie scoffed and leaned forward, resting her arms on his shoulder. “Excuse you mister hotshot! I don’t recall you being great at flirting when we first got together!”DK tensed and she pinched his cheek. Peach laughed and DK slowed down, putting some distance between them. Kassie hugged his neck “I know you don’t like him but he is my brother. Can you at least try and be civil?”DK sulked for a moment before sighing “Fine, I’ll try.”She smiled and kissed his cheek. “That’s all I ask.”Suddenly multiple karts jumped onto the road from the mountains, running several Kongs off the edge and into the water below.“It’s an ambush!” Peach yelled.“Defensive positions!” Cranky called to his army. Banana peels were shot and dropped, taking out a few koopas. All seemed well until a giant machine tore through kart after kart, stopping right behind Mario. A blue shell koopa with spikes called his name, claiming him for a dead man.The road soon revealed several branches of tracks, this gave Mario an idea. “Split up!”Mario veered to the right and Kassie yelled to him. “Be careful!”The koopa followed him while Peach and DK each went down a different track. He dodged shell after shell and Kassie threw banana peels at the offending troops, launching a few off the road. She heard an explosion and saw Mario falling from the track and onto a different kart, quickly throwing a shell and hitting a kart behind him. But that damn blue shell would not let up.A bullet bill was launched, it crashed right into one of the floating islands, falling down and breaking part of the road. The Toad drove off the edge, flying out of his kart and thankfully getting caught by Peach.DK came speeding down the track and Kassie saw Mario hanging onto the side of the blue shell's kart. Mario jumped up, landing on the koopas head and jumping into the air. Kassie grabbed his hand and he held onto the side of the kart, DK yelled at the koopa before launching one of his rockets at it.The kart exploded and DK drove through the flames, all three of them cheering. Mario looked back and his face fell, the koopa walked out of the wreckage. A pair of wings sprouted from his back and he tucked into his shell, flying right to them in seconds flat.“Watch out!” Kassie screamed.The shell quickly circled the kart, causing DK to lose his control. Suddenly the shell stopped right on top of them before slamming down. The three were launched from the kart and the road underneath them shattered. DK grabbed onto Kassie, holding her in his hand and launching her back towards the road. She slammed onto the road, quickly scrambling towards the edge as she watched DK and Mario disappear into the darkness down below.“NOOOO!!!!” Kassie screamed.The rest of the army slammed on the brakes. She heard Cranky but all she could do was stare at the abyss below. Koopas in flying machines started picking up Kong after Kong, Kassie was soon yanked into the air along with them. She wanted to struggle, she wanted to fight, but watching her boyfriend and her brother fall to the darkness below, she didn’t have any fight left.A single tear slid down her cheek as she was whisked into Bowser's ship.Please, please let them be okay.

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All the Kongs were carried in a line, being taken to god knows where. Kassie thought she was going to go with them but she was suddenly veered off in a different direction. She was carried through a set of large doors and roughly dropped to the stone floor. She groaned and looked ahead of her, her eyes widening at the sight of who she could only assume was Bowser.Her shoulders began to shake and her blood began to boil. He was the reason her brother and the love of her life here GONE! “You..” Slowly standing on one knee, her nails scraped against the grout.“You mother FUCKER!!” She screamed and ran at him at full speed. Suddenly she was restrained by magic and held in the air, she struggled against her invisible restraints and seethed at the turtle. “Ngh! I will kill you, you oversized lizard!!”Bowser simply chuckled. “My, what a feisty one! But please, calm down. I’ve brought you here for a reason. You’re friends with my Peaches, I’ve been watching you for a while Kassie. You see, I plan on asking her to marry me. With the Super Star, we two will be invincible! And I will finally be happy.”Kassie scoffed, “Marry you?! Peach can’t fucking stand you and if you think she’ll ever agree, you are more delusional than I thought!”Bowser's face slid to a neutral expression. “She’ll come around, I have my ways of persuasion.”“Persuasion? Let me guess, if she refuses, you’ll threaten to destroy everything she cares about? All for the sake of your own gain? If she marries you, she will be miserable. But what do her feelings matter as long as you’re happy? Peach doesn’t like you because you destroy with no remorse and throw a fucking toddler tantrum if you don’t get what you want. Heh, classic spoiled brat behavior. But to top it off, you feel entitled to her attention and refuse to take no for an answer, and was probably never told no growing up. You may think that you’ll be happy, but you won’t be. You don’t love her, you love the idea of loving her.”Suddenly a tiny creature wearing large glasses and a wizard outfit appeared next to her, pointing a scaly claw close to her face. “You dare make such accusations?! Sire, do not listen to this..girl! She is simply upset because her Donkey Kong fell off the-YOWCH!!!”While he was spouting, Kassie slowly turned her head towards him, eyes locking onto the claw pointed at her face. Without a second thought, she lurched her head forward and trapped the claw between her teeth. Kamek yanked it from her mouth and she spat a few small scales at him.“Keep his name out of your crusty ass mouth!”Bowser’s patience quickly thinned. “Put her with the others! I was going to have you be Peaches maid of honor but now you can ROT!”Bowser stormed back up to his throne and the same koopa picked her up and she was flown out of the room. Things were moving too fast for her to grasp her surroundings but the next thing she knew, she was being thrown in a cage with Cranky and dropped off a ledge. She screamed on the way down and was slammed into the bottom when the chain reached its limit.She groaned and slowly sat up “You good Cranky?”He held onto the bars and pushed himself up “I’m fine.”A childlike voice echoed throughout the prison “OO! Fresh meat for the grinder!” Kassie looked and saw a blue star shaped creature.“Who’s this ray of sunshine?” Cranky asked, already annoyed.The response about no sunshine and only darkness caused one of the other prisoners to scream at it to shut up, a penguin wearing a crown and cape. Kassie scanned the other cages, most held penguins and other Kongs but some held a few goombas and koopas. Her eyes then met with blue ones and a gasp was heard, his tone quiet and in disbelief.“Kassie? Is that you?”She smiled, eyes watering “Hey Lui, glad to see you again.”“You..you’re alive?”She nodded “I’ve been here the whole time. Don’t know for how much longer though..”The two briefly caught up before being silenced by one of the guards. She sat against the bars and stared into space, she was trapped with no means of escape. She felt a hand rest on her knee and she looked to see Cranky staring down at her. “How’re you doing kid?”She was silent for a moment. “Honestly, not great. Not only are we all trapped but Mario and DK are..gone. After the blue shell hit us, DK threw me back onto the road and I can’t stop thinking about him falling into the darkness. I found one brother but lost the other as well as the only guy I’ve ever truly loved. I’m sorry Cranky, I couldn’t keep him safe.” She hugged her knees as her eyes became glossy.Cranky sat down next to her. “It’s not your fault. He saved you, again. At first, I didn’t trust you, but my son did, so I gave you a chance. You brought out the best in him and gave him happiness that I hadn’t seen in years. It’s like you told me before, you’re family now kid.”She rested her head against his shoulder, “Thanks Cranky.”After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Kamek teleported into the prison floating on a broom. “Hello prisoners!”Kassie looked at him, immediately noticing the bandage wrapped around his hand. She smirked “Oh my, what happened to your hand~?”His smile fell “You don’t deserve this..” His gaze shot to Kassie”..especially you, but you’re invited to the royal wedding!”Cranky leaned in close and whispered “What happened to his hand?”“He pointed a claw at my face, so I bit him~”One of the penguins cheered before Kamek continued. “Where you will all be ritualistically sacrificed!”He poofed out and there was a moment of silence before complete panic spread through the prison. So Peach said yes. Kassie knew she had to have some kind of plan and kept herself calm while others panicked.She wasn’t sure how much time had passed but was pulled out of her thoughts by the prison walls rising, getting blinded by the bright blue sky. The piece that held all the cages floated forward and Kassie could see a wedding setup in the distance. Suddenly the cages began to lower closer to the lava down below. Her heart rate began to increase and she prayed that Peach had a plan.Bright blue light flashed at the scene, she must’ve gotten an ice flower! The cages were jerked to a stop and a sigh of relief left her lungs. She could only relax for a short bit before the cages began to lower once more. Luigi began to panic as lava poured into the bottom of his cage, climbing up the bars to try and get away. Her and Cranky grabbed onto each other, now mere inches from the lava before they were brought to an abrupt stop.The cages began to rise back up and she started to feel hope again, until she heard Luigi screaming. She watched in horror as he quickly fell towards the lava, her breath catching in her throat as he was suddenly shot to the left and saved.Her cage was grabbed and pulled onto a ledge, her eyes filled with tears when she realized who had saved them. DK tore off the door and Kassie launched herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and gripping his fur so tight her knuckles turned white.“You’re okay! I thought I’d lost you..” Her voice came out shaky and DK held her just as tight.“I’m not going anywhere.”She pulled away and smiled at him before running to her brothers. She called their names and their heads shot towards her, both smiling as she tackled them. The brothers held their baby sister tightly, they were all together again.Kassie teased Mario for how dorky he looked in the tanuki suit and Peach, Toad, and DK quickly joined the three. Peach and Mario got enveloped in their own conversation and Kassie stood next to DK, holding his arm. The sound of cracking caught her attention and she looked towards a frozen Bowser, suddenly flames were shot from the ice and Bowser's head was free.Pure rage painted his face as he yelled “Launch the Bomber Bill and DESTROY THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM!!”The ground began to shake and the volcano on Bowser's ship erupted, a giant bullet bill shot into the air and launched straight to Peach's castle. Mario jumped into the air and flew after the bullet, doing everything he could to try and stop it. Just before it hit the castle, it stopped, slowly moving to face Mario and chased after him.The remaining five didn’t know what the hell he was doing, how was he going to get that thing to stop? A loud boom and blinding blue light enveloped the land, the same colorful lights she saw in the pipe floated in the air, soon getting sucked back where they came. Kassie felt a tugging sensation and the ground shook, everyone started getting sucked towards the light. She held onto DKs hand, soon getting ripped away but quickly grabbed once more as DK held onto a stone piece with the other.The pull was too strong and soon everyone was sucked into the blinding light. Within the blink of an eye, DK, Kassie, Peach, and Toad fell through the air, landing on concrete. DK stopped a slab of cement from falling on them but they were quickly covered in larger pieces of rubble.“Everyone okay?!” DK yelled. Several responses filled the tight space and DK pushed the slab off and helped everyone out. Kassie looked around and she couldn’t believe her eyes, almost not recognizing where she was.“Brooklyn?” She was back home. How were they home??Bowser’s booming voice called Marios name and she saw her brother get punched into a windshield. Fire was shot and cars were thrown like nothing, Mario got hit by Bowser’s tail and was launched through the window of Punch-Out.“He’s gonna kill him, we have to help!” Peach called, running towards Bowser and kicking him in the face. DK soon followed behind and punched him a few feet away. Bowser got back up and smacked the four back. Peach dodged his hits and distracted him so Kassie could uppercut his jaw and kick him in the chest. The three got in a few more hits before the koopas showed up and restrained them.The guards held DK long enough for Bowser to hit him, disorienting the ape. Bowser picked him up and held him by the neck, fist pulled back and at the ready. “If I can’t be happy..” Bowser glanced at Kassie for a moment “Then neither can you!”His claws released and Kassie’s heart dropped.“Hey!”All attention was on Mario “Leave him alone!”Bowser dropped DK and he was pulled back by guards. Kassie kicked one of the guards in the shin, freeing herself from her hold and running to DK, making sure he was okay. Peach called Mario’s name, freeing one arm and punching the other guard, she kicked the shell towards the star and launched it far back.Mario ran after it and Bowser chased him, claiming that it was his. Bowser shot fire at him and all Kassie could see was flames and smoke. Peach cried out and Kassie’s heart sank. Bowser laughed as he began to approach the star, the smoke soon clearing to reveal Mario and Luigi surrounded by colorful light.Bowser was suddenly launched through the air. He set his army on the brothers and the two shot through them like nothing. Hitting Bowser further and further back, they spun him by his tail and threw him into the air. Jumping up to him, they punched the turtle back down to his ship before speeding down and taking him out with one final blow.The blinding light bathed the streets and smoke covered the scene. The four made their way to the brothers, climbing up the rubble hill. They all surrounded Bowser as he begged Peach for one more chance. Quickly shooting him down, she shoved a blue mushroom into his mouth and he shrunk, Toad quickly putting him in a glass jar.“Ha! He got the blue Mushroom!” DK said, playfully hitting Luigi's arm.“See, I told you I’d get you a pet turtle!” Mario said to Peach, who couldn’t hold in her laughter. She turned toward Luigi and complimented him on his bravery, to which he replied with a total exaggeration. Kassie chuckled and rolled her eyes, leaning against DKs arm.Kassie was suddenly taken aback by the sound of her parents. They ran up the hill, hugging her brothers and threw praises at them, not seeming to notice her yet. She stepped more into view and her parents froze. They looked at her like she was a ghost.“Hey ma, hi dad.” She said, voice quiet.Her parents slowly approached her, her mom raising a shaky hand to her cheek. Tears began to fall and her mother cried, calling out her name before pulling her in for a bone crushing hug, her dad wrapping his arms around both of them.“Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry! I never should’ve pushed you that much!” Her mom said.Kassie pulled away. “It’s okay Ma. I’m actually kind of glad you did. Because of that, I actually ended up meeting someone.” She looked at DK and smiled. “Mom, dad, this is Donkey Kong, DK for short.”They were definitely surprised but they were more happy that Kassie was happy. DK pulled everyone in for a big group hug, squeezing just a little too tight. Clapping and cheers were heard as people flooded the streets and cheered for the group.“These are my kids!” Her dad called out.Everyone began to wave at the crowd. DK puffed out his chest and made his pecs dance, to which Kassie burst out laughing. She grabbed his tie and pulled him down to kiss him. Several oohs and ahs were heard, and Mario simply rolled his eyes.Kassie pressed her forehead against DKs. “I love you, so fucking much.”DK chuckled “Good, cuz you’re never getting rid of me~”