Chapter 1: The Feathered Rainbow

Indiana Jones was hired by the Maharajah of Pankot Palace, Zalim Singh, to recover a powerful relic that few had heard of. It was called the Mask of Omnipotence. According to legend, whoever wore the mask would be given control over the universe. So, obviously, if it fell into the wrong hands, the universe could potentially be destroyed. Zalim Singh merely wanted to put it in his own personal museum, so Indy justified his cause.

The first clue was given to Indy back at Pankot Palace: an ancient map of Antarctica, consisting of a booby-trapped cave and three words in front of the mouth: The Feathered Rainbow. Three floors (in descending order) were in the cave, each with its own booby-trap. But it didn't say what booby-traps they were.

Indiana Jones arrived on the shore of Antarctica. Wearing his normal gear, plus a brown cardigan, a pair of insulated work gloves, and a khaki fringe scarf, he searched for a few minutes for the Feathered Rainbow. It was only a few minutes because that's all that it took to find a flock of hundreds of penguins in many various colors. There were black and blue ones, as well as pink, gray, and brown ones. Indy found what he was looking for. As he approached the penguins, there were mixed reactions. Some of them were afraid, and some of them were defensive. But only one of them stepped out in curiosity. A cobalt blue male, probably the head of this flock. He waddled up in front of Indy, with a suspicious look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" asked the penguin.

"I'm here to check out a nearby cave," said Indy.

"Okay," said the penguin. "And what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm an archaeologist," answered Indy. The penguin chuckled at this.

"An archaeologist?" echoed the penguin, unconvinced. "A guy who plays in the sandbox for a living? Carrying a bullwhip and a gun? Not likely! My guess is that you're a hunter." Indy looked down at his gunbelt, where his whip and gun were kept in their holsters. He unbuckled the gunbelt and tossed it aside.

"I need to see that cave," said Indy. "If you'd just show me where it is, I'll check it out and then be on my way." Indy tried stepping over the penguin, but the latter tripped the former. Indy fell onto the hard, rocky ground while the penguin jumped on top of him so he wouldn't get away.

"Hey!" yelled Indy, getting up. The penguin stubbornly held onto his back. He wrapped his flippers around Indy's neck and started to strangle him.

"Tell us why you're really here!" demanded the penguin. "Tell us everything!"

"*Choking noises* You moron!" said Indy. "I'm only here to find a cave! I only have guns for emergencies! My name's Indiana Jones!" On "Indiana Jones," the penguin immediately let go of Indy and fell to the ground. He got up quickly and ran up to Indy.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry," said the penguin. "I thought you were a bad man or somebody. My name's Scamper, and I'm a HUGE fan of yours. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh, really?" asked Indy.

"Yeah," said Scamper. "You look exactly the way I thought you'd look." Scamper chuckled at his little joke.

"Well, if that were true, then why did you try to strangle me?" asked Indy.

"Hey, I've only heard about you, but I've never seen you in person," said Scamper. "I'm just glad I'm lucky enough to meet you! I've heard of ALL of your adventures! From that golden box, to those three rocks, to…" Scamper's voice trailed off, and immediately he generated an even more ecstatic grin.

"Go ahead and do whatever it is you came here to do," said Scamper. "But I also need you to do me a favor. I'll be right back." Scamper, as giddy as a schoolboy, scampered off to the shore and dived into the ocean, where he would be relieved that what he was looking for was still there.

Indy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Okay…" said Indy, who then said to the other penguins, "Does anybody know where a booby-trapped cave is?" The penguins all looked at each other in confusion.

"Okay, never mind," said Indy. "Do you know where any cave is at all?" One gray penguin stepped out. He was elderly, and apparently very wise.

"There is only one cave near here," said the elderly penguin. "It's over there, on the top of that mountain." He pointed to the mountain high above them, with a flock a vile birds swarming around it.

"But be warned," said the elderly penguin. "That cave is cursed. Nobody who went inside ever came out."

"Alright," said Indy. "But that's my area of expertise." In the background, Scamper came out of the ocean, carrying the corpse of a black penguin.

"I'm back!" said Scamper. He dragged the corpse to the village for everyone there to see. Indy was rather shocked. The corpse was salty and fungus-ridden. In the center of his back, there was a bullet wound.

"Oh, no," said a dark blue female penguin, turning away with tears in her eyes. "I don't need to be reminded of that."

"No, mama," said Scamper, with a little more hope than she. "This could be a good thing." Scamper turned back to Indy.

"Indy," said Scamper. "This is my father, Gilbert. He was shot a long time ago, near the end of my first year of life. He was shot by bad men."

"Okay," said Indy. "But what do you want me to do?"

"Didn't your father get shot, too?" asked Scamper. Indy racked his brain for the moment.

"Uh, I don't think…" began Indy. "Oh! Well, only once, but he survived because he drank from the Holy Grail."

"Exactly!" said Scamper. "That's the favor I want you to do. I want you to help me find the Holy Grail so I can heal my father."

"Well…" began Indy. "I don't know. You see, the last time I saw the Grail, it was in a place that was impossible to reach, in a canyon that's impossible to find. And even if it wasn't, are you planning to bring the Grail to Antarctica?"

"Well, why can't I?" asked Scamper.

"Because," answered Indy. "The Grail can't be outside of its temple, or else it won't work."

"Oh," said Scamper. "Then I guess you can't help me find it?"

"I didn't say that," said Indy. "I understand what it's like to lose a father, especially one I didn't get to know very well."

"Same here," said Scamper, as he never knew his own father too well before he died.

"So here's the deal," said Indy. "I'll help you find the Grail if you'll help me find the mask."

"A mask?" asked Scamper. "Is that what you're looking for?"

"Yeah," said Indy. "C'mon, let's go. This elder told me that the cave was at the top of that mountain."

"That cave?" asked Scamper. "Wait, Mr. Feather, are we going to THAT cave?"

"Yes, you are, Scamper," replied the elder, Mr. Feather.

"Mr. Feather?" asked Indy. "Geez, that's a stupid name."

"Oh? And are you the expert on stupid names, Indiana?" retorted Mr. Feather. Indy bit his tongue, and walked over to his gunbelt to put it back on.

"Come on, Scamper," said Indy. "We've got a mask to recover."

"Wait!" came a voice from the crowd. Out from the crowd came a pink-feathered penguin. She stopped in front of Scamper.

"Are you going on another adventure, Scamper?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," said Scamper. "But don't worry, Snowflake, you don't have to come."

"Actually, I want to come," said Snowflake. "I guess I've been on so many adventures with you that I can't imagine one where we're not together." Scamper smiled at this, and hugged his mate.

"Alright, lovebirds," said Indy. "Follow me!" The three headed for the mountain, where they hoped the mask would be.