Chapter 1: The Dance of the Firebird

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! We have lost engine one. We're losing altitude." The copilot looks over at the pilot with her eyes wide in shock as she holds the radio microphone with white knuckles. "The engine has caught fire!"

The headphones crackle. "Keep the nose up. Drop payload. Aim for emergency landing in Africa."

The pilot nods and looks at the windshield at the island they are over. "Madagascar, Wendy?" He glances at his co-pilot.

Wendy looks at the coordinates. "Yes, Tom. We're right over it."

"Drop payload." He nods, pulling back on the steering stick. "And mark coordinates."

"Dropping payload." She nods, reaching over and pushing a yellow button on the console.

Tom nods and jerks the stick. "Buckle your seatbelt, Wendy. This is going to be a bumpy ride."

"I hope we weren't too high..." She sighs, buckling and looking out her window.

"They have parachutes. I'm sure they'll be just fine until we can come back for them."

"I hope so..."

Masikura looks at the crowd of lemurs before her. "As you all know, today starts our sunny season. Today we must celebrate the sun goddess Eva so that she takes mercy on our souls and does not obliterate us with her amazing heat. But we also celebrate her love for us that she stays distant enough to keep us warm and not freeze to death."

The lemurs all nod and mumble amongst themselves.

"And to celebrate the time of Eva's highest power, King Julien will perform the Dance of the Firebird!" She says and looks at the lemur king.

King Julien cracks his knuckles as he stretches. "Drop the beat, Maurice!"

"Yes, sir, Your Majesty." Maurice turns on the boom box and Julien begins an intricate and elaborate dance. He then stops as he sees something bright in the sky. Maurice, Masikura, and Clover follow suit.

"Oh the gods! It's Eva herself!" Masikura gasps.

Clover narrows her eyes as she watches. "Are you pos—"

"How dare you question Masikura, Clover? She knows the sky gods! They're like, they're her peeps!" Julien exclaims and returns to dancing, taking extra care since he is being watched by the sun goddess herself.

"I'm still not..." Clover murmurs and then notices something falling from 'Eva.' "I'll be back, sir. I'm just...Going to check the perimeter and keep it safe for our...Divine visitation..." She says slowly before scampering off in that direction.

She follows the path the 'firebird' took over their island. There are a few shards of smoldering debris here and there that she pats out with a large leaf. She inspects one piece of debris. "Metal?" She looks up at the sky. "I knew it!"

Clover's ear then twitches as she hears a noise resembling a sob. She looks that way and slowly approaches, ready to attack if necessary. Then she finds a crate hanging from a tree limb by a white parachute. Clover presses her ear to the crate and hears whimpering on the inside. "What the—?"

"Hello? Anyone in there?" She asks, knocking on the crate.

"DON'T EAT ME!"

Clover looks taken aback at the crate. "Eat you? Eh, no worries there. I'll find something and get you out, alright?"

There is only terrified sobbing from the crate.

Clover inspects it and then pulls open the latch. The bottom opens and a silver and orange lemur tumbles out in a shivering ball.

"What were you doing in that box?" She asks.

"Please don't eat me!" the lemur cowers with her tail over her face.

"For the love of—I am not going to eat you!" Clover sighs. "I'm not a cannibal."

The lemur lowers her tail, revealing bright green eyes. "R-really?"

"Really." She sighs. "Now, who are you?"

"I'm Mialy..." She sniffs and gets shakily up. "I-I'm not supposed to be here..."

"Oh?"

"Clemson and I were being tra-transported to a zoo in Australia...This doesn't look like a zoo in Australia..."

Clover looks at her curiously. "Not sure what a zoo is...But I do know that this is Madagascar. Why don't you come with me to the others?"

Mialy looks at her nervously. "They won't eat me either?"

"No." She sighs. "No one is going to eat you."

Mialy nods and nervously holds her paws together. "Is Clemson there?"

"You're the only new lemur I've seen, Mialy."

"...Good. He was nothing but trouble." She nods uncertainly.

"Oh?" Clover looks at her, the mention of trouble catching her attention.

Mialy nods. "He was crazy. He kept escaping our enclosure, always talking about wanting to go to the wild. He, he told me wild lemurs were cannibals, but he wanted to go to them and take over as their king to show them the modern way...No offense." She sniffs.

Clover looks at her thoughtfully. "What's this 'Clemson' look like?"

"Kind of like you...But darker and thinner." She sniffs.

"Thinner?" She looks down at herself.

"Not that you're not thin! I mean, he's without any figure, just lanky." Mainly says quickly.

"Mhm..." Clover shakes her head. "Haven't seen him, but I'll keep an eye out."

Mialy nods and dusts off her white underbelly. "Are the...Are the others nice like you?"

"Nicer actually probably." She chuckles. "Come on, this way. First things first, you need to see King Julien."

"K-King?" Mialy gasps. "I've never met royalty before..."

"Well, he's nothing to be scared of." She smiles at her. "He's the friendliest king we have ever had I think."

"So...He wouldn't want to eat me either?"

Clover looks at her. "What is your obsession with being eaten? No! No one wants to eat you here!"

Mialy looks at the ground and nods. "I-I'm sorry...New place and animals scare me."

"Well there is no doubt you're a lemur." She sighs. "Come on, a little more hustle please." Clover urges her on through the jungle.