This story is written by me, Tripenguinman, and my friend, Skoolgirl09. Please enjoy. We don't own this song, it's owned by "Avenged Sevenfold".
DEAR GOD
Skipper was just about to turn around and walk out the door of the otter habitat when Marlene wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. " I'm going to miss you," Marlene choked out with a sniffle as tears ran down her cheeks.
Skipper glanced down at her, tears forming in his eyes, as well. " I'm going to miss you, too," he groaned as he wrapped his flippers around his wife of two years.
" Promise me, you'll come back," Marlene sobbed as she looked at Skipper directly in the eyes.
" I'm afraid I can't make that promise, Otterpop," Skipper stuttered then reached a flipper up to wipe away the tears in Marlene's eyes. Soon the two kissed then Skipper turned around to leave for a mission to stop Dr. Blowhole, along with his team. Once he got to Blowhole's lair, he sighed to himself as thoughts of Marlene raced to his head. Soon, his heart began to ache.
A lonely road, crossed another cold state line
Miles away from those I love
Unfortunately, his thoughts were pulled away when Kowalski waved a flipper in front of his face. " Skipper," Kowalski half whispered. " You okay?"
Skipper groaned. " I'm fine, Kowalski," he muttered. " Remind me, why are we here, again?"
Purpose hard to find
While I recall all the words you spoke to me
" Well," Kowalski uttered as he tapped his chin with his flipper. " Dr. Blowhole is going to melt the polar ice caps if we don't stop him, soon."
" Right," Skipper breathed then began sneaking around Dr. Blowhole's lair, which was located inside of a building. It was in a large dolphin tank at the Hoboken Aquarium in New Jersey. All there was were a few benches, a sidewalk, and a tank with a light on in the middle Soon, Skipper felt his stomach twist and churn. Suddenly, he began to quietly hypervenalate as he questioned himself about why he had left Marlene.
Can't help but wish that I was there
Back where I'd love to be, oh yeah
Skipper's throat was tightening as he thought of his mistake. How could he leave his wife, just like that? He was risking everything to take down Dr. Blowhole. And then he reminded himself why he had come. To make the world safe for her. But it was not good enough and he quietly cursed himself. He could still feel her hug and her lips on his beak and it hurt. The memory was painful and he began chocking. He wished he was still there with her, more than he wished to be alive. He stared up at the ceiling as though looking into heaven and praying to God.
Dear God the only thing I ask of you is
to hold her when I'm not around,
He whispered out the words and they tasted like salt on his beak. He looked down again to see Private.
"Everything all right, Skippah?" he asked, looking at Skipper's watery eyes.
"Fine, Private. Everything's fine." he said and turned and walked away, not wanting the little penguin to see him cry.
When I'm much too far away
we all need that person who can be true to you
the memory of their wedding flooded his mind, and how Kowalski had been the preacher, Private, a cute little best man, Rico, cake supplier. He smiled.
But I left her when I found her
and now I wish I'd stayed
God, why did I leave? He started saying this over and over in his head, until it became a shout and his head was aching. Oh God, why? He was driving himself crazy with these thoughts and tears were pushing on his eyeballs so hard, he knew he couldn't hold them back much longer.
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired
I'm missing you again oh no
Once again
" Skipper," Private piped as he turned then followed Skipper, waddling by his side. " Are you absolutely sure you're alright? Because if you're not then we can always abandon the mission."
" I said I'm fine, Private," Skipper snapped then turned around, again, leaving Private to stare at him with widened eyes. " And as for abandoning the mission, forget it." The truth was, he really did want to abandon the mission and go home to Marlene, where he was needed, instead of here where it was vacant of humans.
There's nothing here for me on this barren road
There's no one here while the city sleeps
And all the shops are closed
" Skipper," Kowalski sighed as he slowly approached his leader, with Rico behind him, and placed a flipper on his shoulder when he stopped. " It's okay that you miss Marlene and want to go home. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, I miss Doris and Rico misses his doll. So, you're not alone."
" Uh-huh," Rico grunted as he nodded his head.
" I know," Skipper moaned as he looked down at the sidewalk, tears now leaking from his eyes. " But I can't help, but worry. What if something terrible happens and I'm not there for her?" He reached up and quickly wiped the tears away, ignoring the fact that he knew that Kowalski and Rico had already seen them. Private, who was still shocked, stood watching the group, until he knew what was going on. A few moments later, he approached the group and patted Skipper on the back.
" There, there, Skipper," Private chirped, after his eyes returned to normal size. " She will be alright. Marlene's a tough cookie, remember?"
" True," Skipper murmured then pulled out a picture from behind his back. He sighed a little. It was one of the pictures from the wedding. The lead penguin smiled as he looked at it, still tearing up. In the picture, he was wearing a black bowtie around his neck, while Marlene wore a white gown with a veil on top of her head, but it was not over her face, though. Also, the couple was covered in white frosting and chocolate stains from when Skipper decided to smash his piece of cake over the top of Marlene's head, which, in turn, caused her to react and squish her piece of cake in his face. From there, the two had gotten into a cake fight then had a picture taken, afterward. Unfortunately, it had become slightly crinkled during the last couple of years, because Skipper chose to keep it with him at all times. Skipper chuckled to himself as he remembered that moment with Marlene. It was almost as if it had just happened, yesterday. As a matter of fact, he still remembered every single day he had spent with Marlene, quite well.
Can't help but think of the times I've had with you
Pictures and some memories will have to help me through, oh yeah
And then the pain happened again and it bubbled into anger. Why did he have to suffer this way? Why? And it hurt more to think of Marlene and all the memories. He remembered the sadness and the fun. He remembered when Marlene had been pregnant, and how they had lost the baby. How they'd shared the tears and moved on together. But try, try again.
Dear God the only thing I ask of you is
to hold her when I'm not around,
The love they had shared would endure. That's what he always told himself but it wasn't good enough now. The prayer escaped his lips and he started adding on and on to it. The others cocked there heads to the side to see his eyes and tried to his feelings. They shone and reflected off his tears.
when I'm much too far away
We all need that person who can be true to you
I left her when I found her
And now I wish I'd stayed
He now started to curse himself for his mistake. Why? Why? Why?! Fire was burning in his heart now and was boiling through him. He then remembered their honeymoon when had instead of going somewhere romantic, had taken on the rats in a fight and how Marlene had she had done some of the most amazing moves ever and the rats had had their butts kicked.
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired
I'm missing you again oh no
Once again
And that started the pain again. It gnawed at him and burned a hole through his heart.
Suddenly, without warning, Skipper plopped on his butt, wrapped his flippers around his shoulders, and sobbed, uncontrollably. The others leaned down to wrap their flippers around Skipper for a group hug, but he swatted them away and growled. They all took a few steps back as their pupils shrank, but still kept their gaze on their leader as he continually basked in his own thoughts.
Some search, never finding a way
He was thinking about what would happen to Marlene, if something horrible happened to him. She would be feeling the same way he did when he had lost his first wife, Lola the hula doll, to a fire. That otter would have a hard time falling in love ever, again and possibly allow her usual chipper emotions to dissolve, like his almost did.
Before long, they waste away
That is, until the day he and Marlene got stuck in the sewers that one night when they thought Marlene's habitat was haunted. He had to admit, though, that he had never ever met a woman so brave in his life, until that very night. It also happened to be that same night when he decided to give his old charm another try. From there, the two went from being close friends to a happily married couple. Well, they were happy, until Skipper received that video call from Dr. Blowhole. It had made his heart drop into his stomach, followed by his team's, while they were listening to it. Luckily, while listening to the video, Skipper caught a slight vibe from Dr. Blowhole, telling him that he was lying and setting up a trap. However, he did not want to take any chances and decided to go back to the otter habitat to pack up and say good-bye to Marlene, before he left. To his dismay, when he went to leave Marlene, he felt as though his feet were glued to the floor. Also, he felt like he was trapped in a magnetic field, powered by his wife.
I found you, something told me to stay
" Marlene," Skipper uttered to himself, after a while. He was picturing her pleading face when he left, along with thinking about that vibe that he got from Dr. Blowhole, earlier. Something was definitely up, but he did not know what. Then it dawned on him on why he was here, in Hoboken, in the first place when his team could have handled Dr. Blowhole on their own.
I gave in, to selfish ways
" How can I be so selfish," he hollered as he slammed his flippers on the sidewalk, causing his team to jump and gasp.
" About what, Skipper," Private squeaked as he held his flippers to his cheeks.
" Nothing," Skipper snapped as he glanced up at Private with dried tears on his face. He stood up and began waddling toward the exit. " If you need me, I'll be outside. You three can handle Blowhole on your own." Once he was outside, he sat on the grass, which was off to the left of the metal, double doors. Next, he felt where Marlene had wrapped her arms around him and began wailing, again. This time, he really wanted a hug, but from Marlene, only, so he could hug her back.
And how I miss someone to hold
To his misfortune, she was not there and to make matters worse, he heard screaming coming from his team. Hastily, Skipper stood up and dashed back inside. Afterward, he ran down the sidewalk, looking for his team, but was caught in a metal cage, along the way. Panicking, Skipper began pounding his fists and feet against the metal bars, but stopped when he was interrupted by a hyena-like cackle.
" Hello, Skipper," A dark, dolphin-shaped figure approached him on a hover scooter. " Come to rescue your friends, have you?" Skipper squinted his eyes at the figure then narrowed them. It was Dr. Blowhole who had a goggle-like monocle on his face.
" Yes, I have," Skipper hissed as Dr. Blowhole stopped directly in front of the cage. " Now, where are they?"
" Oh, them," Dr. Blowhole buzzed then snickered. " I believe that they are going to be sleeping with the fishes, along with all the other residents of the Central Park Zoo. By the way, I set a time bomb in the clock tower, which is destined to go off in about ten hours."
" No," Skipper gasped as he felt his throat tighten.
" Yes," Dr. Blowhole pinged then turned his scooter around, leaving Skipper in the cage. " See ya."
" No," Skipper shouted in rage as he watched Dr. Blowhole leave then began punching and kicking the bars, again. " No, you can't do this. Noooooo." Upon feeling his fists and feet throb, Skipper backed away, while panting, and sat down on the sidewalk, which was under the cage. Soon, Skipper covered his eyes with his flippers and let out a big sigh. Next, he began crying, again.
When hope begins to fade...
A lonely road, crossed another cold state line
NO! Skipper kept screaming in his head. He was going to lose Marlene?! But then his thoughts of pain and horror untangled and he knew. Over his dead body. He rushed after Blowhole, leaving the other penguins in the cage. Blowhole didn't hear Skipper until he was right behind him and Skipper jumped in the air and kicked Blowhole in the face. The dolphin screeched and fell off the over scooter and on to the floor. He looked over at Skipper, anger burning in his face and his monocle shattered. He leapt back on his hover scooter and smiled wickedly at Skipper.
"You know," he said lifting a remote off the scooter. "I think I'll blow up the zoo now!"
"Oh no you won't!" Skipper shouted and leapt at the dolphin and in mid air, a shot was fired and struck him in the stomach. He flew into the wall with the force and held his bleeding stomach. His eyes opened but he only got a blurry image of Blowhole cackling and one of his servants, holding a gun with a smoking barrel. He coughed and looked weakly at the remote.
"Oh you lost this time, Skipper!" laughed Blowhole and floated over to the injured penguin. "Do you fear death?"
The dolphin leaned over him and grinned widely. Skipper looked weakly at the evil mastermind. All his memories flooded back to him of her, their wedding, honeymoon, dates, time in the sewers, outside the zoo, their missions together, all of it came back and realized that he couldn't keep feeling sorry for himself. He leapt up, his stomach spurring with pain but he ignored it and smacked the dolphin off the scooter and bashed the control with his flipper.
Miles away from those I love purpose hard to find
"No Blowhole," he said and picked up the remote. "You've lost."
" What," Dr. Blowhole shrieked as he laid down on his side, staring up at Skipper with a gawked expression. " No. Noooo." He growled then pointed a flipper at Skipper, snarling. " You'll pay for this, Skipper, gosh darn you," he barked. " And I'll see to it, too."
Skipper maintained the same expression that he had before then scoffed. " Not from that position, you're not," he gruffed.
" We'll see about that," Dr. Blowhole sneered then felt the ground for his gun, which he had dropped when Skipper pushed him off of his scooter.
" Looking for this," Skipper chimed as he pulled out the gun then pointed it at Blowhole.
" You wouldn't dare," he hissed as he eyed the gun.
" He would," the three other penguins chanted together as they waddled behind Skipper and stood in a straight line.
" So long, Blowhole," Skipper bantered before shooting the dolphin in the head, killing him. Afterward, the pain from the gun shot Skipper got caught up to him and caused him to stumble down onto the floor, grabbing his stomach. Next, his vision went blurry as his body started going limp. Skipper moaned. He knew what was happening to him, so he thought of a prayer.
Dear God the only thing I ask of you is
To hold her when I'm not around,
In the meantime, the others gasped as they said Skipper's name then ran over to their fallen leader. When they got to him, Rico sat by his side and grabbed one of Skipper's wrists. His pulse was slowing by the second as his mind began drifting to the light at the end of the tunnel.
When I'm much too far away
We all need the person who can be true to you
About a few seconds later, Rico groaned as he lowered his head. Next, he looked over at Kowalski and Private, who were sitting on the other side of Skipper, and shook his head as tears came to his eyes. Skipper was dead.
I left her when I found her
And now I wish I'd stayed
Private and Kowalski bowed their heads then began bawling as well. After they were done bawling, Private piped. " Fellas," the young penguin sniffled as he and the others wiped tears from their eyes. " What are we going to tell Marlene?"
" The truth," Kowalski stated in a hoarse tone then stood up. " Come on. Let's bury Skipper and go home." The other two nodded their heads, did as they were told, and buried Skipper in the park, behind the Hoboken Aquarium. When they were done burying him, they went back to the Central Park Zoo and told Marlene the news.
After they told her the news and waddled to the HQ, Marlene walked to hers and Skipper's bed and pulled out a paring knife, which was mainly used to help her crack open oysters. She also used it just incase she was ever attacked, while sleeping, but that has not happened, yet. Quivering, Marlene's breath shook as she eyed the knife. She was just about to slash the veins of her wrist, but stopped when she felt something wrap around her shoulders. With a yelp, the otter dropped the knife and looked around the cave. Not a soul was in sight, except for her. Suddenly, Marlene began to hear a voice in the air. It was the end of Skipper's prayer.
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired
I'm missing you again oh no
Once again
" Skipper," Marlene murmured as she kept looking around the habitat. About a moment later, she shook her head, picked up the knife then walked over to lay down on Skipper's side of the bed. After she laid down on Skipper's side of the bed, she looked at her reflection in the blade of the knife. Suddenly, Skipper's reflection appeared for a brief second, waving at her with a small smile. Marlene blinked, rubbed her eyes with her vacant paw then looked back at the blade, only to find it was her reflection showing, again. Marlene sighed then her face grew red as steam came off the top of her head. Then, with a swing of her arm, she tossed the knife onto the floor, making it bounce out through the exit and into the pond with a splash. Next, Marlene turned around, buried her head in Skipper's pillow, and began weeping for an hour. Once she was done weeping for an hour, she rested her head on her arms then thought to herself. Maybe I'll join him, someday. Not today, but someday. With that final thought, Marlene yawned then fell asleep, hoping that she would meet up with Skipper in the after life, soon.