Donkey Kong: The Fan-Adapted Novelization

Chapter 3: A New Exhibition

Working at the New Donk City Zoo was thankless work, to say the least. Between feeding the animals and monitoring the upkeep of the exhibits, among other things, a zookeeper's work was literally never finished. And on top of that, the pay wasn't all that great; those who were on the part-time staff hadn't gotten a raise in the past 5 years. To make matters worse, most of the custodians had gotten caught in a layoff in the previous year, meaning some of the less experienced zookeepers were stuck with trash duty. Those same workers at the bottom of the food chain knew that the person in charge of running the zoo this whole time was likely the source of all their problems.

No one knew this better than Stanley O'Neill, Mario and Luigi's other next-door neighbor. Really, the only reason he kept his other job at the zoo alongside running his pest exterminator business was because he needed extra money in his pocket to pay rent. Even so, he loved the job, especially since he enjoyed nature and all of its creatures, from the smallest to the largest and everything in between.

He was on closing shift for cleanup that day, but it had been particularly messy in a few exhibits, and as such, required some extra attention. Unfortunately, running on 6 hours of sleep over the course of 12 hours could only give him so much energy. Before he knew it, he was falling asleep on one of the benches, barely even halfway done with the birds of prey section.

He was yanked out of his own sluggish stupor when he heard the howls of a rather large animal a few exhibits away. Hurriedly picking up the trash that littered the sidewalk, he scurried about in search of the noise, until he finally heard it pick up again around the primate exhibit. What followed the howling was a loud crack. The howling then picked up a third time, only this time it was louder.

It almost sounded like the primate in question was in pain. With heightened curiosity, Stanley quietly inched closer so as not to be seen.

When he was close enough to view the commotion from a safe distance, it almost made his mouth drop to the floor in shock. His worst fears were confirmed: two of the head zookeepers were whipping a giant simian in the exhibit. It appeared that this particular ape had just been brought in within the past week or so; up until now, he had never encountered the animal in question in this exhibit.

If the abuse of this poor creature didn't surprise Stanley enough, then the species of primate was enough to pique his interest. Out of all the simians in this zoo, he had never seen one like this before. From what he could tell, it looked most like a gorilla, but unlike most of its relatives, its fur was brown, as opposed to black, and the color of its skin didn't match. Instead of being the same hue, the skin on its hands, feet, underbelly, and most of its face were all a shade or two fairer than Mario and Luigi's. Just leaning on its knuckles, he looked to be about 7 feet tall. His face paled when he thought about how much taller it would be on its hind legs.

It was also as outrageously large and stocky as it was tall. Its hands were about as large as the lids of old metal trash cans he saw scattered around the dirtier alleyways of the city. The ape was considerably top-heavy, with arms as thick top half of his chest probably measured as wide as Stanley was tall, and its arms were almost as thick as logs.

Seeing the gorilla in all of its great strength and aggressive splendor would have truly been a magnificent sight to behold, and yet here it was, hunched over in a rare moment of weakness, powerless against the cruelty of man.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for the creature.

"This thing's as stupid as a donkey."

Stanley's head snapped up when he heard the snide remark from one of the head zookeepers. How dare they insult such a glorious specimen of nature so shamefully!

"We could just name him Donkey," the other one suggested. "I can't believe our boss wanted a Kong ape as part of the exhibit. All we got out of the deal was some hangry freak of nature and its wimpy little runt of the litter."

His eyes widened. There was another one?

He craned his neck for a closer look, and sure enough, there was a younger monkey huddled in the corner of the exhibit, cowering in fear at the zookeeper with a long bullwhip in his hand. His eyes narrowed in anger. Was this the only one, or were there more offspring? Did they die along the way or did they die from the same wounds inflicted upon Donkey?

"Dude. Don't say that," the one with the whip scoffed at his accomplice. "Remember we've got a better deal."

"Fine. But next time, the big boss man better give us a bigger cut of his earnings the next time we do this."

No, Stanley thought to himself. There wouldn't be a next time.

"Maybe you're right," he heard the other one say. "There's only so cheap a price the guy can pay out of pocket before people realize something's up."

He couldn't believe his ears. There was hush money involved to keep the news about the animal abuse from spreading! No doubt it had to be from the zoo profits; it may have explained why most of the workers on the payroll hadn't gotten a raise in so long.

As much as he loved his job, Stanley could not, in good conscience, continue working at the New Donk City Zoo if it meant remaining complicit as animals continued to be mistreated at the hands of his superiors.

He broke into a run, not stopping until he reached the payroll office. After filling out his timesheet, he grabbed a nearby pen and a piece of computer paper, writing down the following:

To whom it may concern,

Effective immediately, I am terminating my position as a part-time zookeeper at this facility.

Regards,
Stanley O'Neill

He slapped it on the desk. The content of the note itself was quite risky, but it was worth writing if it meant taking a small step towards standing up to whoever was in charge. After clocking out for the last time, he walked as fast as he could towards the exit gate, never once looking back. Granted, he wouldn't have as much money saved for the next few months as he looked for another job, but if it meant defending Donkey Kong, as well as his offspring, and potentially dozes more animals, it was worth the risk.

Particularly if the zoo went out of business. That would be excellent.