Hello, everybody and welcome to another sbartist357 PoM story! :) This is my last story for 2017; afterward, I'm going to go on break to finish up with school and whip up some more fanfics, but for now, enjoy this story! This one will be finished before I go on hiatus. :)

"Well, men, I'll see you in a few hours." Skipper said. He was standing near the ladder of the HQ, about to go on a solo mission. The other penguins were standing in the middle of the room.

"Bye, Skippah!" Private chirped. "What's the mission about?"

"Classified."

"Oh."

"Kowalski, you're in charge until I get back." The tall penguin saluted.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't overdo it this time, okay?" Skipper warned, referring to the time he had gone off to complete P.E.L.T. Kowalski frowned.

"Fine." Rico thought of something. He waddled over to the leader, regurgitated a can of sardines, and handed it to him.

"FISH!" He grumbled happily.

"Thank you, Rico."

"Uh-huh!" Skipper smiled at his team.

"Alright, see you boys later!" He climbed up the ladder and exited the HQ. The others watched him leave, then turned to look at each other.

"So, Kowalski, what do you want to do?" Private asked. The lieutenant shrugged.

"I don't know. Free day?" The others smiled.

"That's a good idea!"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, then! Free day it is!" Kowalski went over to the side door. "I'll be in my lab if you need me!" He entered and shut the door behind him. Rico took Miss Perky and sat in the corner to brush her hair while Private waddled over to the TV and turned it on.

A while later, everything was still going smoothly. Kowalski was tinkering with something in his lab as usual. He stopped to grab a screwdriver. As he went to retrieve it, he passed by his whiteboard. Something on it caught his eye and he paused to look at it: There was a drawing of him sitting in front of the TV with the time 9:00 AM written underneath it. Kowalski's eyes widened. Right! There was going to be a documentary on atoms today! He glanced at the clock to see that it was 8:55 AM; he still had five minutes. He rushed out of his lab. Hopefully, Private wouldn't be-

Never mind. Private was still sitting in front of the TV; apparently, today happened to be a 24-hour lunacorn marathon. Kowalski stared at the kiddie show and grimaced; he didn't think he'd ever understand Private's love for it. He waddled over to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Umm. . . Private? Can I watch TV now?" Private looked up at him.

"But Kowalski, the next episode is going to be a brand-new one! Princess Self-Respectra is going to-"

"Private, you've watched enough TV. Besides, you can watch the new episode of 'The Lunacorns' when they show it again." Private frowned. Kowalski thought of another tactic.

"Private, don't the lunacorns teach you about sharing?"

"Well, yes. . ."

"Then you should share the TV with me." Private thought about it. "Prince Shares-a-Lot would want you to," Kowalski added. He glanced at the clock: 8:58 AM. Finally, Private sighed.

"Okay." He handed the remote to Kowalski, who smiled.

"Thanks, Private." The small penguin nodded and went to do something else. Kowalski flipped through the channels until he found the one he was looking for. The narrator began speaking in a dull, monotone voice.

"Atoms: The building blocks of life. . ." Kowalski smiled. By this time, Rico had finished brushing his doll's hair and went over to the TV.

"'Ey! My turn!" He grunted. Kowalski glared at him.

"What do you mean it's your turn? I just got here!"

"Ninja," Rico grumbled; he meant that there was a special "Shirtless Ninja Action Theater" presentation coming on. Kowalski groaned; WHY did all their favorite shows have to be on at the same exact time?

"Look, Rico, I know you want to watch shirtless ninjas beating each other up, but this is a brand-new documentary about atoms!" Rico suddenly thought of something.

"Kaboom?"

"Umm. . . They might show the atom bomb but, if they do, it'll only be a brief mentioning of it." Rico gave him an unimpressed look and crossed his flippers.

"Pfft. Boring." Kowalski gasped.

"'Boring'!? What do you mean 'boring'!? Just because it won't be all about explosives doesn't make it boring! Everything in the entire universe is made up of atoms! They're the building blocks of-" Rico, having heard enough of the scientist's nerdy rambling, made a grab for the remote. The two of them began fighting. Private stopped playing with his lunacorn doll and looked up at them.

"Guys, stop! You're acting so childish!" He put his doll down and went over to break them up. Kowalski and Rico continued tussling over the remote.

"Rico, give it back!"

"Uh-uh!" Private grabbed onto the remote, trying to wrestle it from their grasp.

"Kowalski, Rico! Calm down! Prince Shares-a-Lot would say-"

"Ugh, Private! You're not helping! LET GO, RICO!"

"NO!" Rico gave one final tug, and Kowalski and Private lost their grip and fell backward. Unfortunately, the force caused the remote to slip out of Rico's flippers as well. It flew through the air and collided with Skipper's coffee mug, which was sitting on the table. The cup crashed into the wall next to one of the portholes and landed hard on the concrete floor. The penguins got up and stared at it. Kowalski sighed in relief.

"Whew! That was close! Do you realize how mad Skipper would be if his favorite coffee mug-" Suddenly, the mug's handle snapped off. ". . . broke?" There was an awkward silence. Kowalski glanced at the others.

"DITCH THE EVIDENCE!" He hastily picked up the pieces and stepped on Rico's foot. His beak opened like a trash can and Kowalski went to throw the mug inside. Private raised his flippers.

"Wait!" Kowalski and Rico froze and looked at him. "Skippah is bound to notice that his favorite mug suddenly goes missing." The tall penguin lifted his foot off Rico's and the scarred penguin closed his beak. Kowalski lowered the mug and nodded.

"You're right. But we can't just tell him about this; he'll kill us!"

"But we're his team! Skippah wouldn't kill us over a mug, would he?" Kowalski gave him a deadpan look.

"Would Rico kill over his dolly?" Private stared at Rico, who regurgitated his chainsaw and revved it for emphasis.

"Yes. Yes, he would."

"Exactly." There was a minute of silence. Private tapped his beak in thought.

"I know! How about we try to fix it?" He suggested. Kowalski smiled.

"Good idea! Maybe we can fix it!"

"Yeah!" Rico grunted. Kowalski turned and headed into his lab.

"Come on! We have to repair Skipper's mug before he comes back!" The others followed him inside.

Well, what will happen next? Will they manage to fix Skipper's coffee mug before he comes back from his classified solo mission? :O If you like the story so far, be sure to follow and/or favorite it! You can also send me a review! I always appreciate the feedback (which is why I mention it so often). ^v^ By the way, thanks to everyone who reviewed the final chapter of "Party King"; reading your comments makes my day! :D