1 – The Nightmare Begins
Sup people, I'm back, obviously. Klagenfurt was a living hellhole. I hadn't had to learn so much German in my entire life. Meine Träume liefen sogar in Deutsch ab, aber lassen wir das. Well, here's the Halloween fic I've written. The first chapter takes place on Halloween and the rest the days after. It won't affect my other stories. Hope you take the time to read and enjoy it.
I guess it's also worth mentioning that I don't own "Penguins of Madagascar".
Fall is well on his way, he bears his teeth by sucking the green out of the leaves. He shows his fury with his occasional warm breath that sends shivers up your spine. And he's honored, every year, with the greatest holiday of them all, Halloween. It's the time of year that transforms everyman, of every age, back into a child. No matter who you are throughout the year, you can be, who you want to be, on this day.
Nobody knows the roots of this all-so-sacred holiday, nor do they know its original purpose, and yet we decide to live in blissful ignorance and indulge on the treats, which we receive in this time.
It may come to us humans as a surprise, but we aren't the only species of the animalia kingdom that celebrate this time of year. Their traditions have brushed off on other animals as well. Just like the human children, pups, chicks, kittens, and all kinds of other young critters are seen wandering around. Their paths vary, but eventually, they all end up in the zoo.
Every animal there prepares treats for these hungry wanderers and are happy to share them. There are a few Halloween Scrooges, but let's just ignore them. "TRICK OR TREAT!" yelled three baby park animals. There was a raccoon, dressed as a pirate, a squirrel, disguised as a fireman, and the little Eggy, covered in camo paint.
The three were at the Asian otter exhibit and Marlene looked at them with a smile. She was dressed as a vampire, wearing a blood red tank top and a black miniskirt, and was sporting a pair of fangs in her mouth, "Why aren't you the cutest thing I've seen all day."
"Cute and cuddly are the orders ma'am," replied the little duckling and extended his bag. Marlene gave them each some sweets from a bowl she was carrying and then they were off. They were the last trick-or-treaters for the day and she watched them leave.
The otter let out a sigh and went inside her cave. She took a few sweets from the bowl and then stretched. "It's finally over," she laid down on her bed and unwrapped a piece of candy, "Now it's time for the grown-ups to have some fun as well."
And indeed it was. Julien was throwing a party and everyone was invited, because let's face it, what's Halloween without parties and what are Halloween parties without something going terribly wrong?
Now, when there's a party scheduled next door, there are three things you can do, go to bed and burry your head beneath your pillow, call the police, before going to sleep, or join the fun. Skipper's choice would've been the fourth, fly solo and end the racket, but thanks to some persuading from the otter next door, he changed his mind.
"Are you sure this is right? I don't feel very vampire like," complained the leader seeing his reflection in a mirror. Private was in charge of the costume making, seeing as he was the only one with any skills on the sewing machine. Skipper received a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt, a black leather jacket and of course the fangs. Everything was specially designed to fit a penguin.
"Nonsense Skippah, you look smashing," replied the Private, he himself wearing a "Sherlock Holmes" attire complete with tobacco pipe and magnifying glass.
"I know, but when you said vampire, I thought something more along the line of Nosferatu or Vlad the Impaler, with a cape, not your average good-looking guy with fangs," the captain explained.
"You have to go with the time Skippah, this is how vampires look like now."
The captain sighed, "Ok, but it's just not the same."
The chubby bird gave his leader a pat on the back, "There, there, just think about how good you and Marlene will look together at the party." The leader smirked in response. Private smiled as well and turned towards the laboratory door, "Come now Watson, we have a party to attend."
He didn't receive any response, so he called again, "WATSON!"
"I told you I'm not going as Watson," said a voice.
"Oh come on Kowalski, you lost the game fair and square, now dress like you promised," Skipper ordered.
"I'm afraid that won't be a possibility, I do not own such an attire," the door swung open and out of the lab stepped Kowalski, "But I do own this."
Skipper and Private averted their looks, expecting something gruesome or another of his inventions, that'll go off any second, but after a minute of nothingness, they finally dared to look again.
There was nothing in the scientist's flippers, the only thing different about him was the fact that he was wearing a T-shirt. The two birds observed the picture on it. There were numerous blue lines, radiating from a single point, and parallel red lines, running down vertically.
"You're a… uh… you know what, I have no idea what you are," said the captain.
"Isn't it obvious… *silence*… I'm the Hering illusion," explained Kowalski in a slightly agitated tone.
"I don't get it," Private said.
"Me neither, Kowalski, why couldn't you just give the kid this one gift and dress up as Watson?" Skipper asked.
The lieutenant scowled, "Because I don't wanna," he childishly responded. "Besides, that rock paper scissor game was totally rigged," he muttered.
"It's called broshambo, thank you very much," said a voice behind the "Privates 1st prize" plaque, which swung open, revealing the dark water monitor behind it. He stepped into the light of the HQ, showing the birds his disguise.
He was wearing a white t-shirt with the sleeves torn off, and covered in blood. In his right claw, he carried a butcher's knife and on his head was a bright red bandana. The attire itself wasn't that scary, but what really freaked out the Private, was the fact that the reptiles left eye was just white. There was no pupil, no iris, no nothing.
"Um, Alexandah, what's wrong with your eye?" he asked, slightly terrified.
"Oh, this?" the monitor asked pointing at the eye, "It's just a blind lens. I can't see through it, but it ads that certain touch to the psychopathic killer costume."
The chubby bird wiped his forehead in relief, "Good, for a moment there I thought you were going blind."
"Accelerated healing, remember? Now, are we good to go?" asked the impatient reptile.
"Not yet, we're still waiting for," the leader was interrupted by the metal screech of the fishbowl. A screaming dark figure with a chainsaw jumped down the hole. Kowalski and Private grabbed each other in fear while Skipper and Alexander didn't even flinch. "Nice one Rico, but you should've gone with Leatherface, if you were so desperate to use the chainsaw."
Rico was wearing a torn, bloodstained, blue shirt and brown pants. Strapped to his back was a miniature shotgun and tapped to his right flipper was his trusty green chainsaw. "Nu-uh!" he replied shaking his head, "ASHLEY!"
Private calmed down and spoke, "Well at least Ash Williams is one of the good guys as oppose to *gulp* Leatherface."
"Yes, but the chainsaw is a very poor weapon of choice. Its range is very limited, it's heavy, you have to start it first, it can stall, can't cut metal and if the chain breaks it becomes completely useless," added the smart bird.
"Oh for crying out loud Kowalski, it's a party," explained, "Now can we please just get this thing over with as fast as possible."
Everyone but the leader lined up and saluted, "Yes sir!"
Skipper rolled his eyes, "Why can't ever show that much enthusiasm on a Monday morning?" he asked. Everyone began giving their own explanation, creating an un-understandable chatter, which made the captain regret his question, "*Sigh*, Never mind, let's go."
They exited the HQ and headed west. Waiting for the guys, were the girls. They had decided to couple up with Team Double X. Well, actually, it was just Private and Kowalski who decide to go as the badgers' dates, since they were the only two single.
Skipper's eyes widened the moment he saw Marlene. He stopped sliding which caused the remaining penguins to crash into him. The water monitor managed to stop in time since he was walking, not sliding. The leader quickly got up and dusted himself off, before approaching his girlfriend.
"You're… uh… wow," he couldn't think of an appropriate comment.
But Marlene understood what he was trying to do and after a short giggle, she thanked him.
The weapons expert and combat medic then approached their girls. They were dressed similarly. Both had their feathers/fur bleached and were wearing torn bloodstained dresses. The only difference was that Sienna's was a spring green color, while Iris' was a light blue.
"Shall we go in?" asked Alexander, being the only one who could talk at the moment. The females nodded and they entered, leaving the badgers and the other two penguins behind.
"So, conjoined twins, that's an… interesting costume choice," commented Kowalski. The badgers were both wearing pink tank tops and blue jeans. The tops were and bottoms were partially sewn together, creating the illusion that the two were "joined at the hip".
"Aw, thanks – That's so nice of you – You guy look great to – Love your Sherlock Holmes costume – And I think your, your, your, uh, Stacy? – Uh, endless hallway costume," Stacy guessed.
"Actually, it's the Hering illusion," the tall bird explained.
There was a silence, which Private broke, "I still don't know what that is."
The scientist groaned, "Just look at the picture. The radiating blue lines create the illusion that the two red lines are curved outwards, in spite of the fact that they are actually straight."
"Isn't that the doing of your stomach?" asked Becky.
The Private began giggling and Kowalski shot him an angry glare that made him stop. "Well you have to admit that haven't left your lab very often in the last week and you have been turning rather chubby."
"*Sigh*, let's just attend this party already," and so they did, they entered the lemur habitat where the party was already at full throttle. Rico and Sienna were in a dance off against Julien, who was dressed up as the king… of pop. He was wearing an exact replica of the red "Thriller" jacket. The lemur king, with the limited number of females in the zoo, did not have a date or dance partner.
Skipper was being pushed on to the dance floor by Marlene, but he was doing his best to resist. In the end, he had no choice but to bust some moves of his own. You know how the tough guys always use the "I can't dance" excuse, well Alexander's was just a tad bit different.
When the badgers and their dates arrived, they just managed to catch him emptying the punch bowl and wiping his mouth before walking over to the raven, "Wanna dance? I'm just drunk enough to not care what others think of it," he said.
Iris didn't seem very happy about it, but she went with it. And so did Kowalski and Private who were both dragged onto the dance floor, no questions asked. I bet you're wondering where Mort and Maurice were; they were at the water monitor exhibit. Mort was tired from a day of trick-or-treating and needed the sleep, and Maurice joined him, because someone had to keep an eye on the little guy.
Alexander happily offered them his place since he probably wasn't going to get much sleep this night anyway.
The party went on for hours even after the actual Halloween. Julien left the dance floor to try himself as a disc jockey at one point, but was booed of the mixing table the moment the needle hit the record and "On the Floor" started playing. At that point, Rico took over and began playing "The Creep", which everyone thought of to be hilarious, except for the lemur king who was sulking in the corner.
Eventually, around three in the morning, Becky and Stacy decided they had enough. It was strange how they always agreed on everything, because in a situation like this, it could've gotten really ugly if one wanted to stay and the other wanted to go.
Trying to be good dates, Kowalski and Private offered them an escort home, which the two girls happily accepted; it was a scary night after all. "Are you feeling cold?" the smart penguin asked.
"Uh, not really, I have fur, remember?" Becky replied.
"Oh, of course, I just presumed that, like in human custom, the male should offer the girl his jacket after a date," he explained.
"But you aren't wearing a jacket," said Private.
"And this wasn't a date… or was it?" Stacy threw a mischievous look at the chubby bird, which made him gulp in fear.
The two badger sisters broke out into laughter, "Don't worry Private – This was just so we – Didn't go by ourselves – To the dance – Since everybody else had dates," Becky finished. The little bird smiled again and so did the scientist, even though, on the inside, he was still depressed because of the way Doris had left him. He attempted to create a segway for her, similar to the one Blowhole uses, but she just said something about him treating her like she was handicapped and said it was over.
Kowalski let out a sigh, which Becky noticed. "Is everything alright?" she asked.
"Huh, oh, of course it is," he replied, hoping that it wouldn't sound suspicious.
The badger habitat was located on the far west of the zoo, past the reptile house, next to Roger the alligator. That meant that it was a pretty long walk home. They were chatting, to help pass the time and soon passed the reptile house, but little did they know, they were being watched.
There were no "glowing red eyes", just a shadow, on top of the small building. The dark figure was locked on them with its head and moved it as they walked by. The moment they came close enough, it leaped from the roof of the reptile house and landed in front of the small group, scaring them almost to death.
The penguins and badgers stood under a streetlamp and the shadowy creature stood between two lights, in the darkness. The Group first backed up and then Kowalski and Private entered their fighting stances. They were trained to take on any situation, but there are things that military training just can't prepare you for. And their flippers fell when they saw the beast that stepped into the light.
Damn it cliffhangers. I'll try and update again tomorrow. As you could probably see, I managed to make the first chapter, and actual chapter, unlike in my other stories. See you soon and please review.