Everlasting Love

(This is meant to be set after A Lemur's Tail, but in the Penguins of Madagascar universe. I do not claim ownership of the show or the characters that appear. I would also like to point out that each of the chapter's names will have a special meaning, so I would like to see if you can figure out what each means.)

Chapter 1: Holding Onto You

It was a starry night in the Central Park Zoo, and everything was quiet. Except for one place, namely the Lemur Habitat. There, King Julien was asleep in his lawn-chair, but he was being haunted by nightmares of a day that he wanted to forget. It was a nightmare, but started off as a wonderful dream.

Julien found himself back at Madagascar and he noticed he was staring at a familiar scene. It was the wreck of the plane that had landed on Julia. He found his eyes filling with tears, realizing that he had to relive this all over again.

But then, he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Julien, are you all right?" He slowly turned around to see that it was his wife, Queen Julia. Julien found himself smiling, as he was happy to see that she was safe.

"Julia!" he smiled. He immediately ran over to her and held her close in his arms. "I'm so glad you're safe, Julia. I don't want to think about what could have happened to you." Julien explained, as tears of happiness flowed from his eyes. Julia smiled and pulled him back slightly.

"I can never be separated from you, Julien. I wouldn't be able to bear it if I was ever taken from you." Julia explained. Julien smiled, knowing she was right.

"Neither would I, Julia." Julien agreed. But then, much to his surprise a look of sadness crossed Julia's face. "Julia, what's wrong?" Julien asked, concerned. Julia looked at Julien, her eyes showing sadness.

"Julien, I'm sorry. I don't think this can last." Julia said. Julien was shocked. "What do you mean?" he asked, alarmed. Julia could see the despair in his eyes, but she had to tell him this.

"I can't keep putting myself in danger; I know that it will only make you suffer inside." Julia said. Julien stared at her, shocked by what he was hearing. "Julia, I only suffer because you aren't with me! I'm always alone, left with the thoughts that you are never with me." Julien explained. Julia shook her head, and pushed Julien back gently.

"I'm sorry, Julien. I didn't want it to be like this." Julia said, and she started to walk away. "Julia, please don't leave me! I don't want to be left alone again!" Julien cried, in despair. But he found himself unable to do anything; he could only watch as Julia walked away, leaving him alone again, with no one beside him...

Julien suddenly woke up, frightened by what he had experienced. He slowly looked around to notice that he was safe, and sighed in relief. "Thank the Sky Spirits..." Julien whispered, knowing he was all right. But he still felt upset inside; these nightmares were a reminder that he was all alone. Julien felt really upset, as he was aware of the fact that he suffered in silence as no one knew what he had experienced prior to coming to the zoo.

He slowly sat up and looked up at the starry night sky. He was sure that Julia was happy wherever she was, but he didn't want to be alone. He wanted her by his side again, but he was sure that it could never be a reality. Still, he had the memories of the time he spent with her in his heart.

Julien couldn't help but wonder what Julia was experiencing wherever she was; he was sure that she was at the best place possible and she was always safe. But then he remembered something, that Julia said that no matter what, she would always be there for him. He was never one to deny what she said, but he still wanted to make sure of this. With that, he slowly looked up at the night sky.

"Sky Spirits, please hear what I have to say. Since I know that I won't be able to see Julia again, please take care of her while she waits for me. Let her know that I think for her every day and miss her dearly. This would matter so much to me." Julien said. With this, he laid back down in his lawn-chair and went to sleep, knowing what he had to face alone.

However, he was unaware of the fact that his life would change in a way that he didn't expect, and it would have such a positive effect for him.