AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story closely resembles any R-rated romantic comedy film out there. That means there are no full sex scenes at all- mostly because that's not my game as a fanfic writer. If you wanted to see some of the characters go all the way, I calmly ask that you GET LOST! As for everyone else, I'll allow you to read what I have in store for you all. Enjoy, review, favor, and follow, and I'll talk to you later!
DISCLAIMER: All elements of the "Madagascar" franchise are property of DreamWorks Animation.
Not one of the twenty-eight animals of the Fur Power Circus- also known by the animals as the Afro Circus -could believe it. It had been over a year since they finally hit major commercial success in England and had commenced their American Tour. More than half of the animals who were part of the original circus- the number possibly being fifteen -were grateful (even though they were doubtful at first) that the thirteen other animals who appeared before them in a train yard located somewhere in France would make major changes in their show after they saw how much they were dwindling in fame and popularity. Drawing on the same tactics of other entertainment venues, the animals were able to establish their own new show; and with the aid of futuristic technology, they were capable of generating more profits than any of them could have ever imagined. What was even more interesting about their circus was that no human performers were involved- definitely something worth seeing; and it was.
The Fur Power Circus had spent the last fifteen months performing for hundreds of audiences throughout most of the Northern United States. Some of the animals wanted to go down south for their tour, but the animals of higher power disagreed. They were later thankful when a devastating hurricane swept through the country's east side. After hearing about the appalling devastation the storm left behind, the circus donated a generous amount of money to support the clean up effort and the families who lose their homes. This earned them a charitable reputation to their family-friendly shows.
The circus train had now stopped somewhere in Minnesota. The following show was to be their last since the weather in the state was incredibly frigid when winter would appear. As downhearted as they were since there would be nothing to do until the conditions warmed up, all of the animals were still determined that they should make the next show the best they could make it. During the rehearsals, an enthusiastic atmosphere was present throughout the towering circus tent, which took the shape of a magnificent castle seen in stories of princes and princesses. For the duration of the session, the circus animals made sure that they knew the right moves and when to pull them off.
When it came time for a short break, the animals caught their breath and exited the immense tent. They decided to relax in the boxcars that made up most of the long train. On the way there, the joyous atmosphere that was present in the circus tent followed over every animal to the train. It was especially compelling for a lion with a striking-shaped mane. His name was Alex. He was one of the thirteen non-circus animals who joined and recreated the once-failing circus. As perhaps all lions were, Alex was the leader of the animals since the revived circus went into business. He also had a thrilling part in the show- he was a trapeze artist. His function was to perform aerial acrobatic moves such as flips and catches which wowed audiences everywhere. That was one of the many reasons why all of their past shows sold out so quickly.
Alex soon met up with the three animals that he knew- as a matter of fact, the three animals he grew up with. He was found as a cub in a crate floating near New York City and taken to the Central Park Zoo once he was examined for an injury or illness. Little Alex was at first afraid for his life since he was far away from his parents in the African savanna, who he could expect they were as upset as he was that they lost their precious cub. However, he soon became a celebrity when he began dancing on top of the giant rock-like prop that was built for the enclosure. Later on, Alex came to meet a trio of young animals who lived close to his habitat. There was an admirable hippo calf named Gloria, who was a very talented swimmer as most hippos were; a worrywart of a giraffe calf named Melman, who was pretty much the most ailing animal anyone in the entire city ever saw; and then there was a carefree zebra foal named Marty, who first regarded Alex as a show off because of how well he could captivate his audience, but once he got to know him better, soon became his best friend. Not too long afterwards, Gloria and Melman joined their little group of friends and the memories began.
Their friendship grew as they got older and the good times never seemed to end. That was until Marty encountered four agent-like penguins who claimed they were escaping the zoo to go live in "the Wild". This intrigued the zebra to go with them, only for it to result in Alex, Gloria, and Melman to track him down. Upon doing so, the animals were surrounded by animal control officers in Grand Central Station and immediately tranquilized. They all found themselves in massive crates on a cargo ship bound for a wildlife preserve in Africa. Everything would've been fine if those penguins did not hijack the sea vessel. When they swung the ship violently, the four zoo animals in their crates slid into the ocean; and when they were able to break free from their wooden prison cells, they all found themselves on the island of Madagascar. Tensions were high among them- mostly between Marty and Alex since the lion was accustomed to his zoo environment and the zebra desired to see "the Wild" for himself. Despite his constant attempts to signal for help, Alex eventually settled in and got use to his new surroundings.
It was all the start of something new for the quartet- a massive jungle for them to explore and maybe some peace and quiet. That all changed when Alex's primitive nature emerged due to the lack of food he was often confronting. It was especially dangerous for his friends because lions were carnivores and animals like them were seen only as a full meal. None of them believed it until Alex attacked and bit Marty on the tag end, resulting in them running away from him and for Alex to go into self exile. The penguins- as well as two chimpanzees named Mason and Phil -arrived on the island in the same cargo ship and helped them get their lion friend back and motivate him to start eating fish.
Alex smiled as he recalled the rest of the story in his mind. Upon their discovery that the ship was out of fuel, the penguins got to work constructing a functional airplane out of the wreckage of one that was once was. Once it was complete, they departed for their destination: New York City. Also along for the ride were a trio of lemurs- King Julian XIII, a crazy and childish Ring-tailed Lemur who was (as he name states) the King of the Lemurs of Madagascar, Maurice, an Aye Aye who was King Julian's adviser but always hated what he would do to him, and Mort, an adorable Goodman's Mouse Lemur who had an awkward obsession with King Julian's feet. Their trip was cut short because the plane- as surprising as it seemed that it had any left -didn't have enough fuel to make it to New York City. Once the tanks ran dry, the penguins had to perform a crash landing, breaking the weak plane and leaving the animals stranded in yet another unfamiliar place. It turned out to be an African savanna. Alex was swept with joy when he finally met his mother and father. Melman and Gloria also found themselves in unbreakable love. And though the penguins and chimps rebuilt the airplane into a machine they called the "monkey-powered Super Plane", since the mechanism was operated by the power of over a dozen chimpanzees, and took off for Monte Carlo in France, everyone enjoyed their new temporary home.
Eventually, though, Alex grew more desperate to return to New York City. His wishes to journey back to the zoo were so great, he actually convinced Marty, Gloria, Melman, and the Lemurs to travel to Monte Carlo and get the penguins and chimps. The long way there was out of the question; but pulling off the retrieval plan was easier said than done. A combination of tensions and mild stupidity led to their cover being blown. Animal control was contacted and they chased the animals throughout the city. The leader of the squad was a woman named Chantel Dubois, who was incredibly obsessed with capturing Alex so she could mount his head on her wall. They were able to escape her and, when the Super Plane crashed in the train yard and came across the circus train, convinced the animals that they were circus animals.
Alex halted where he was and glanced around. The other circus animals were already inside the boxcars they had entered and were now enjoying a few minutes of relaxation. The lion knew that they all deserved it. Life had been immensely hard for the original fifteen circus animals since that one fateful performance when one of them was involved in an accident that caused him to shed his reputation right off as if it was dead skin. But all it took was Alex's speech and advice that inspired the fallen animal- just like the others -to try again, and make new changes. That was all it took to bring the circus back on its heels and restart as a new, modernized show.
While their debut show in London was a humongous success, Alex was forced to admit that he and his companions were zoo animals after an attack by Dubois that left behind a poster of him in his old zoo enclosure. The circus animals were shocked and devastated to learn that they had been deceived. They decided to carry on with the show without them. However, Alex and his pals snuck aboard the ship that was to take the circus to New York City and the group made their way back to the Central Park Zoo. It was then when the quartet realized that they enjoyed every moment in the past after they broke out of the zoo. They were determined to return to the circus, only for their hopes to be cut short when Dubois- who had somehow followed them all to America -tranquilized them. Her plans to behead Alex and mount his head were changed when the zoo found out its star animal had been returned. Dubois then came up with a secret strategy to kill him.
On the night Alex was welcomed back, she put her plan into action. Hiding a lethal tranquil dart inside of a foam finger, Dubois pointed it at Alex and fired. It would've struck the lion in the chest if he wasn't pulled up in the nick of time. The circus animals had come back to rescue him, Marty, Melman, and Gloria- for they had comprehended that without them, they would end up a big failure once again. With their trickery forgiven and Dubois defeated after a strenuous battle, the circus animals allowed Alex and his friends to join the circus once more, and they all become one big happy family.
Just recollecting the past was enough for Alex to depart from the real world and enter a relm that can only exist deep in the mind of anyone. What was different about his vision from any other dream world, it appeared more like the actual world he lived in. The only things that made it unlike the real world was that everything was ever so peaceful. Birds sang such wonderful tunes, the weather was so warm, the land was decorated with millions of multi-colored flowers, and the sky was cloudless. In his own world, Alex marveled at his surroundings, taking in every possible moment he could. He took in as much as he could when a well known voice snapped him out of his fantasy. It shouted, "Alex!"
After shaking his head and turning around, Alex saw Marty with his head poking out of the opened boxcar he was in- as was Melman and Gloria. The lion chuckled as he made his way to his lifelong pals inside the wooden car. "How come you were just standing there like that?" Marty asked, not in concern but in curiosity.
"I guess I was just remembering the past," Alex replied as he hopped into the boxcar.
"Were you?" Marty inquired with an eyebrow raised- he wasn't skeptical, but he was interested.
"Yeah; I guess so," said Alex.
As he could see, Melman and Gloria were on one side of the boxcar, relaxing in massive bean bag chairs. From what anyone could tell, both were lost in each others eyes, as in fact they were- as odd as it may be to accept -boyfriend and girlfriend. The two lovebirds started their relationship while they were in Africa. Gloria had once fallen in love with another hippo, but as it turned out, he only loved her for her physically appearance and nothing else. Melman had a long history of keeping his secret feelings about Gloria hidden, and when she started dating the male hippo, he soon unleashed them before her. Alex couldn't quite remember what happened next; Marty didn't tell him much that particular day. But from that point on wards, both the lion and zebra supported the giraffe and hippo's relationship whenever they could.
Alex strolled across the wooden floor and got comfy on the hide-a-bed. Marty swaggered over and asked, "What were you remembering about the past that was so important?"
"I don't know," Alex replied with a shrug. "I guess I was only looking back at all of the good times the four of us had."
"Really?" Gloria asked intrigued.
"Like when?" Melman inquired.
"All of the good times," said Alex. "You guys know what I'm talking about. When we saved Christmas that one year. When we destroyed the dam to bring water back to the watering hole."
Marty, in the same tone of voice as Alex, said, "When you bit me on the butt."
Gloria and Melman laughed as Alex shook his head while he still had a smile on his face. "You will never let that go, will you, Marty?" he questioned.
Marty pretended he hadn't heard Alex's question as he flopped down beside him. While he was distracted, Alex threw his arm around Marty and drew him closer. Clutching his zebra pal by the lower neck, the lion commenced rubbing one side of his fist on the top of his head. Marty struggled to break free from Alex's roughhousing but it was no use. He did not let go until Gloria ordered Alex to "cut it out with the horsing around".
Once he had been released, Marty felt his blood begin to boil from anger. But he quickly cooled down and commented, "You certainly have your moments, Alex."
"Of course I do," said Alex in pride. "I am a lion after all, and we are tough built."
"Says the one who got kicked in the batteries one too many times by an old lady," Marty retorted.
"That's something else you'll never let go, huh?"
"Who said I would never let it go? If I'm correct, nobody besides the four of us knows that."
"Well, thank heavens for that."
"What? Do you think that the others will never let you hear the end of it?"
"No; it's not that, Marty. It's because-...because-..." Alex found himself beginning to stutter. He tried as fast as he could to grope for the right words to complete the sentence he started. At the moment he developed the perfect continuation of the sentence, Marty finished his friend's statement by saying, "Because you don't want Gia to think you're not who she thinks you are?"
That really caught Alex off guard. It was incredibly offensive in his book. To think that Marty would make him worry about his reputation for a reason that he would take seriously. He began to ponder about what he said, though. What would Gia think if she heard that? What would she say? What would she do? There were a ton of possibilities popping up in his head, and they were all making him terrified- there was a good explanation for it, though.
Gia was Alex's confident trapeze partner. She was a lovely jaguar who was one of the fifteen original circus animals who had been with the circus as long as she could remember. Alex first saw her when he and his companions were trying desperately to get on board the train since animal control was on their tail. He made up his story about being a famous trapeze artist which wowed Gia, since it was always her dream to perform trapeze- Gia's circus act was to perform simplistic cat tricks like sitting, standing, and rolling over, which bored her for a long time. During their first rehearsal, Alex taught her as much as he could while teaching himself how to do trapeze- it was especially amazing how Gia could do everything he do more perfectly. It was also during their first rehearsal when they both found themselves developing a special connection between one another. After he and his pals joined the circus permanently, Alex grew more emotions towards Gia, and- without a doubt -she was also growing strong feelings towards him. They felt as if they were becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Of course, it was kept a secret from everyone else- at least that was what Alex thought until now.
"Now, Marty," said Gloria; "you shouldn't be saying such things. The last thing you want to do is hurt their relationship."
"Guys, come on," said Alex; "Gia and I are just friends."
"Mm hm," Marty vocalized, obviously aware that his friend was lying. "You and Gia are definitely best buds."
Alex sighed. "Marty," he said; "just because Gia and I are trapeze partners and practically do everything together doesn't mean we are really boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Actually," observed Melman; "under the right circumstances, you and Gia are one hundred percent in love."
"Don't tell me you and Gloria are taking his side!" Alex argued.
"Calm down, Alex," insisted Gloria; "nobody's taking sides here."
"But you guys are insisting that Gia and I are actually dating!" Alex yelled.
In a fit of irritation, he threw his arms in the air, admitted a sound that resembled a roar, and leaned back deeply into the hide-a-bed as he sulked. Marty, Melman, and Gloria looked at their friend with facial expressions that read "there is no need to be that mad about it". They were aware that sometimes Alex could be a bit oversensitive about certain things, and just the distinct idea of having the possibilities that he and a jaguar of severe attractiveness were dating was enough to suspect that this was now one of those moments.
Marty, Gloria, and Melman knew that Gia certainly was a sight for a male feline considering her physical form and other characteristics. Her body had a notable shape that made her stand out from every lioness their lion pal had ever encountered. Marty could easily recall every single time where Alex would be seen staring at Gia- who would probably be a few yards away from him -in a trance that would only be broken be someone's voice. Whether she was standing or in some sort of pose, Alex would always be mesmerized by Gia's form. Marty would also get the urge to joke about this to the others; however, and thankfully, he did not breathe a word to any other animal in the entire circus.
Alex, finally adjusting his head so he could look at his trio of pals, sighed deeply and said, "Sorry about that guys. I guess I got way too defensive."
"That's alright, Alex," Melman replied. "We completely understand."
"Yeah, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Gloria added. "It's okay to have feelings for Gia. No one's going to judge you."
"All except Vitaly," said Alex. "He probably doesn't want me to do anything with Gia unless it has to be something he'll classify as important."
Marty, Melman, and Gloria were heavily aware of who Alex was talking about. Vitaly was not Gia's father, but he was close to a father figure. He was a tall, muscular Siberian Tiger who was not only the former leader of the circus animals, but also the original star of the circus. Since the beginning, his act consisted of him dousing himself in olive oil, running forward, and jumping through tiny rings as if he was flying. This would've carried on until the night he ordered the specific hoop to be lit aflame. It was, and Vitaly ended up in an enormous ball of fire. Though he did recover from the near-fatal accident, Vitaly was striped of his willingness to perform another stunt and he immediately lost everything, including his wife. However, Alex persuaded him to try once more with a different substance. It worked well, and Vitaly soon regained his confidence.
But in the months following their American Tour, Vitaly also got back his ways of being strict and making sure that everything in the circus was running smoothly. Alex- as well as some of the other animals -thought that the tiger was acting like a total ignoramus. Yet he was the leader before Alex, so he sort of had a few more privileges when compared to the current circus leader. If he was to hear- even if it was a rumor -that Alex was in a relationship with Gia, who was like his own daughter in his book, Vitaly would without a doubt go ballistic and tear the lion apart.
Gloria dismissed the thought and told Alex: "Perhaps if you talk to Vitaly, he'll understand. I mean, it's not like he's going to push you out of the picture."
"Maybe," replied Alex; "but I'm still not so sure what he'll say or do."
"Forget about his reaction," insisted Marty. "What you should be more focused on is the possibility that you and Gia may live happily ever after. And trust me, that day ain't gonna find itself without your help."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure! Would I ever let my best friend down?"
Alex looked as if he was pondering about something. "Well, I think there-"
"Okay, forget what I said that," said Marty. "What's more important now is that you need to get out of this car, find Gia, and admit that you love her dearly!"
"What about Vitaly?" Alex inquired.
Marty rolled his eyes. "Tell him you would like to date her with his permission," he said. Then Marty pushed his friend off the hide-a-bed and Alex got up onto his own two feet. "Now get out there and do what must be done!"
"Alright!" said Alex in confidence. "I'll do it for Gia!"
Gloria and Melman started cheering as did Marty. Alex opened the boxcar doors and stepped back. He leaped off the wooden floor of the boxcar and landed on the grass-covered earth with a thud. As he stood up, Alex turned around. He thought he had heard some sort of sound that resembled a familiar voice crying out in terror, as he probably thought that he was to be crushed under the feet of a powerful lion. Even though there seemed to be no one behind him, Alex glanced down to see who it was. On the ground were a group consisting of four penguins. They were the penguins who were responsible for encouraging Marty to break out of the zoo in the first place, but Alex, Gloria, and Melman excepted them for their intelligence of sorts. They were also the head of the entire circus operation, controlling the finances, the advertisements, and everything else.
The leader of the penguins, who was brilliantly named Skipper, stared at Alex in anger as he snarled, "Nice fucking jump, you hippy frog!"
"No time for compliments, Skipper, but I have to-" Alex suddenly ceased talking and glared down at Skipper in shock. Marty poked his head out of the boxcar and looked at the penguin with the same facial expression as well.
Skipper looked at both of them in irritation. "WHAT?!" he demanded.
"By any chance you could repeat what you said?" Alex asked.
"Say what?" Skipper growled, obviously not wanting to chat with anyone.
"You know, the thing you said to Alex after he jumped," said Marty.
"I said 'Nice fucking jump, hippy frog'!" Skipper replied in an even more angrier tone.
Alex and Marty's eyes shot opened in surprise. "Skipper!" Marty gasped. "Did you literally say the F word?!"
"Maybe I did," Skipper answered as he turned to Marty. He pointed his flipper at the zebra and scowled, "Since when do you care if I say 'fuck'? You and everyone else don't give a flying fuck when I say something! If you ask me, that's total bullshit!"
Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria gasped in unison.
"NOW WHAT?!" Skipper roared.
"First you said the F word, and now you're saying the S word!" Melman exclaimed
Gloria put her hands on her immense hips. "Just what the heck is wrong with you?!" she questioned.
"None of your business, sister!" Skipper shouted.
"Hold on a second, Skipper," said Alex calmly. "What's making you go out of your usual character all of a sudden?"
The shortest of the penguins, who went by the name of Private, approached Alex and replied, "We do apologize for Skipper's foul mouth, but he's been under a lot of pressure lately."
"From what?" Alex inquired.
Kowalski, the tallest penguin and the most intelligent, stepped forward with his explanation. "Most likely handling the money and the announcements of our shows, as well as keeping everyone in this circus in order," he told Alex.
"Oh," Alex, Gloria, Marty, and Melman said simultaneously.
Skipper once again snarled. This time, he said, "So now you understand? After all of those times of doing all the hard work, you finally recognize the total hell my boys and I have been going through?!"
Kowalski waddled over to the fuming Skipper. "Sir, please calm down," he advised. "We both know that yelling and shouting will only make it worse."
"Then what do you suggest?!" Skipper hollered.
Private strolled up to Skipper and said, "Perhaps if you take deep breaths and think happy thoughts, all of your bad thoughts will go away."
He was met with an angry glare from Skipper who shouted, "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!"
Private stumbled to his right side just be the deafening roar of Skipper's voice. He fell to the ground and made a sound that symbolized his agony from his leader's vocal affliction. The fourth penguins, who stood off to the side observing everything occurring, at last approached the unhinged penguin. He did not speak a word to Skipper, but he did stare at him with a face that read "Please stop acting like that".
Skipper took no notice of the other penguin's facial expression and rather glared back at him with infuriated eyes. "What are you staring at me for, Rico?!" he growled.
Rico did not respond with any words. Instead, he replied with the familiar gibberish that only Skipper, Kowalski, and Private could understand. This was met with even more scowling from Skipper, as it seemed there was no way for him to cool himself down. Melman, Gloria, and Marty went back inside the boxcar and shut the doors, leaving Alex outside with the penguins. He wasn't interested in being alone with the quartet of black-and-white birds that were unable to fly- especially with one of them using such vulgar vocabulary. Without any hesitation, Alex started walking away and told them: "Listen, I gotta talk to Gia and Vitaly about something. I'll talk to you guys later."
"Yeah, that's right!" Skipper barked. "Just walk away like nothing ever happened!"
Kowalski and Private were at Skipper's side once more.
"Skipper, you really ought to stop swearing," Kowalski advised.
"Yeah," Private added. "If you don't stop using curse words, everyone is going to think you're angry all the time."
Skipper pushed them both away with powerful shoves. As he stomped away, Skipper growled, "Maybe they'll understand if they had to do all of the fucking work we are stuck doing!"
Kowalski, Rico, and Private simply watched as Skipper grumbled to himself as he began his journey back to the circus tent. While watching him disappear into the distance, the trio couldn't help but worry about their leader. He definitely was out of character as Alex previously stated. They were concerned that if Skipper kept it up, the other animals will see him as a mean-spirited, profane jerk who only saw red. There had to be some way to heal him from his obscene attitude. The only was: how were they to do it?
