PROLOGUE
It was a serene night in Madagascar. The stars were shining bright, a cool breeze flew across the island but it was fairly warm. In a hut built on the sandy beach, Marty, Alex, Gloria and Melman slept. In another hut about the same size, not very far away, four penguins slept. And in the depths of the island, fusa and lemurs slept peacefully.
"WWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A shrill, frantic scream filled the air suddenly, ringing through the night.
"OW!" Melman shrieked, having bumped his head on the roof of their hut when he reacted to the scream.
"What was that?" Alex said.
Gloria and Melman shrugged. The three of them exchanged confused looks. They all looked at Marty, who seemed silent.
"Marty, what's up with you?" Gloria turned to him.
"You know something…" Marty began, and then paused for a second. Then he continued, "…that sounded like King Julien."
Indeed it was King Julien. He's up in his tree, tearing his room apart. He lifts his bed up and looks under it. He nearly rips his closet door off and begins throwing out old junk onto the floor. He looks at his desks tops, lots of knickknacks and little decorations on it, and he slides them on his floor. He opens his drawer, throwing everything out of them and then opens the next drawer.
When his room looks as if a tornado came and went through it and then came back and went through it again, he desperately sifted through his floors, full of junk.
"WHERE IS IIIITTT!" he screamed, finally plunking on his bed.
The next think he knew, Maurice waddled in, in his nightgown. "King Julien, why are you freaking out at-" he glanced at his watch "-2 AM?"
King Julien leaped off his bed and got right into Maurice's face. "BECAUSE MY CROWN IS MISSING!" He pointed at his head, where his crown should be, but was not there. He sighed, then turned around and plunked on his bed again.
"Where did you put it?" Maurice stepped over some stuff on the floor and came closer to King Julien.
"On my head, you moron!" yelped King Julien.
"Then how did you lose it?" Maurice asked.
"Maurice, I don't know!" King Julien said. "Maybe someone stole it. I may lose everything else, but no King is stupid enough to misplace their crown."
Maurice slapped his forehead. "Except you," he muttered, and came closer. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know, what can we do, Maurice?" King Julien rolled over, his back facing Maurice. His eyes grew wide as he stared at King Julien's back. Right there, taped to his back, was a huge note. "Hold on, Julien," Maurice said and went to grab the note.
"That's KING Julien to you, Maur- OWWW!" he screamed, as Maurice pulled the note right off.
"Oh My Goodness," Maurice said. "Read this!"
King Julien read the note, his eyes wide with disgust:
King Julien
We have your crown.
It will be held hostage.
Leave 5 million dollars
By the "FUSA TERRITORY" sign
At midnight Sunday.
That's one week.
Or else you can say good-bye
To your precious crown.
From the Fusa
After reading the note, King Julien slapped his forehead. "There is no way we can come up with 5 million dollars by one week!"
"Well, do you really want your crown back?" Maurice asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Maurice, what a stupid question! Of course I want my crown back!" King Julien yelled, wailing his arms about, clearly distressed. "Not only does it symbolize my power, but it wasn't cheap!"
He sat on his bed, and put his hands over his face. If Maurice didn't know his king any better, he would've said he was crying. "Maybe we can get you a new one," Maurice said gently, trying not to get him mad. "A BETTER one."
"I want MY crown," he mumbled, the sound muffled by his hands that his face was resting on.
Maurice yawned, and patted King Julien on the back. "Look, Julien-" he began, but the King held his hand up.
"KING Julien, Maurice!" he said. "How many times must I tell you?"
"Look, KING Julien," Maurice said, rolling his eyes, "Get some sleep. I'll hold a council meeting tomorrow."
"Alright," King Julien said.
Maurice thought. Then he remembered - he had met some guys who might be able to help them.