Separated

Chapter 1

"That was a good training session boys." Skipper informed the group. It was nighttime at the zoo, the stars were all shining brightly. The penguins were done with their training routine for the day, and were all waddling back to their habitat. "You should all deserve a pat on your backs," the leader penguin smiled. "I'm really proud of you all."

"Thank you Skipper." Kowalski said. "We all work hard to please you every day."

"Uh-Huh!" Rico agreed, patting his back. Kowalski did the same. Private looked confused.

"Skipper," Private started.

"Private!" Skipper scolded. "You're not patting your back!"

"Oh sorry." The youngest penguin then patted his back. "But why are we each doing this individually? It's not like we're get spit up, or anything like that."

"We might." Skipper told him.

"What do you mean?" Skipper placed his flipper on Private's back.

"Young Private, the world is filled with all of unexpected turns. We may have negative results, and we may have positive results. We may not be happy with what turns out to be in the near future, but we'll all have to deal with it." Private looked at his leader.

"What you mean by that Skipper?"

"What I mean is, we may all have to go our separate ways at one point, leave all our friends, start a new life someplace else, and just deal with what life gives us." Private stopped. The others stopped. Private turned to face Skipper.

"You mean we all have to say goodbye to each other, and never come back?" Skipper nodded.

"Afraid so Private." Private gasped.

"Oh no Skipper, we can't do that! We're inseparable, we're supposed to be together, going on missions, and fighting bad guys like Dr, Blowhole and such. We can't depart from each other."

"We might have to. Look, I know saying goodbye isn't easy, in fact it may be the hardest mission you'll do, but have faith, and no matter what, we'll always be there for each other."

"Exactly!" Kowalski agreed.

"Uh- huh!" Rico chirped. The young flightless bird looked more confused then before.

"But Skipper how can we be together if we're apart? If we're separated, that means we'll never see each other again. We're be isolated, so how can we…"

"Shhhh!" Skipper hushed Private's beak with his flipper, then put it on his chest, where his heart would be.

"No matter what, we'll all be in each others' hearts forever as long as we shell live."

"Aweeee!" Rico cooed.

"Is all of this true?" Private asked.

"Affirmative!" Skipper told him. "As long as we still are friends, we'll continue to do so forever and ever." The penguins began to waddle again. Kowalski wiped a tear from his brow.

"Beautiful speech Skipper." He commented. "Very touching."

"Why thank you Kowalski." Skipper responded. "I always love a positive output on my lectures."

"I feel better now Skipper!" Private said. "I feel like we'll be friends forever."

"And we will." Skipper informed him "We will."

The penguins then heard noises from their habitat. It was like a party was going on.

"Looks like we might have company." Kowalski observed.

"What in the name of justice is going on in there?" Skipper wanted to know. The penguins entered there habitat, and gasped.

Every animal that they knew, were dancing to music! It was a party! Pasted across their habitat was a banner that read "Farewell Private, Kolwaski, and Rico!"

"It is a party!" Private exclaimed.

"Yay, PARTY!!!" Rico cheered. He regurgitated forks, a bib, and a party hat. Private then read the banner, and was confused.

"Rico, Kowalski, and I are leaving?" The little penguin asked. "Why? When? Where too?"

"Don't know." Skipper replied. "But that what's we are about to find out." He waddled to the center of the partying animals.

"Guys!" He shouted. No answer. "Guys." Still no answer, He tried with all of his might. "GUYS!!!" When still no answer, Skipper turned to Rico.

"Rico," He told him. "Assistance please!" Rico gladly nodded. He then faced the party, Kowalski gave him a Coke, Rico drank it all and threw it aside, and Private threw it away in the garbage can for him. Rico then took a deep breath, and…

"BEEEEERRRRPPPPP!" He burped as loudly as he could (which is pretty loud.) Every animal stopped dancing, and noticed the newcomers. The radio stopped playing. Maurice had to bunk Mort to stop when he was still dancing. When he noticed the penguins, he immediately stopped.

"What in the name of all craziness is happening here?" Skipper wanted to know. "Why the commotion, why the party?"

"Can't you read penguins?" King Julien asked. "Science nerd, gross penguin, and penguin with a crazy way of talking, are all leaving tomorrow! That is why we're celebrating." He pointed to Skipper. "You unfortunately are staying, but the rest are leaving; isn't that great?"

"Not great!" Skipper told him. "This is madness, why are my teammates leaving?" Julien shrugged.

"Don't know." He admitted, and then pointed above to the banner. "That what the banner said, not me."

"Wait a minute." Private said to Julian. "I didn't know you could read."

"I can't. I'm just going with what these other bozos told me." Marlene then came up to the penguins.

"Skipper." She told them. "We overheard Alice on the phone. Kowalski, Private, and Rico are being transferred to different zoos first thing tomorrow morning."

"But why?" Skipper wanted to know. Marlene continued.

"The authorities think four penguins are too much for one zoo, so they got to transfer."

"I can't believe it. My team is actually splitting up!?" Marlene nodded.

"Fried so." She said. "Gosh, I'm really sorry. I know how great a team you all are. Saying goodbye must be unthinkable right now."

"Aweee!" Rico said, noticing his leader's expression.

"We knew this day would come." Kowalski reminded the sad penguin. "We just didn't know when, and…" He sighed. "That hard time has come."

"Yeah!" Rico agreed sadly.

"We'll always be friends no matter what though." Private said. "You even said that yourself, right Skipper?"

"Indeed you did Skipper." Kowalski recalled.

"Uh-huh!" Nodded Rico. "Friends forever!" Skipper smiled at them, and then looked serious.

"No way!" Skipper declared. "This team isn't splitting up when I'm in charge."

"What you mean Skipper?" Private asked. "Alice is going separate us permanently."

"Not on my watch." Skipper told them. "I have a plan."

"Hurry up and catch him!" Alice shouted. She had invited Officer X to the zoo so he could catch the incoopative penguins Kowalski and Rico had already been caught. Private was being cornered by the two humans in a corner. He sweated with fright.

"Hurry up!" Alice repeated. "I want them shipped off before the gates open at ten."

"Madam." Offer X assured her. "Please, I am a natural born professional. I know what I'm doing."

"Sure you do!" Alice rolled her eyes sarcastically. "You can't even catch the littlest penguin we have. If I don't have these penguins out of my hair before ten, it'll cost me my job. You hear me!? MY JOB!!" She madly shook him.

"What's he doing?" Skipper wanted to know.

"He's he's just standing at a standstill." Kowalski answered. "Poor little penguin, too frightened to move."

"Private!" Skipper just shouted at him. "Don't just stand there like a loser, RUN!"

"Madam, don't worry, I…" Officer X told the worried zookeeper. Private then ran screaming.

"He's getting away!" Alice shrieked. "Get him!" Officer X just murmured to himself, and chased Private with his net.

"Come on Private!" Skipper encouraged him. "You can do it, be brave!"

"Waddle Private!" Kowalski added. "Waddle like you never waddled before!"

"Go, go!" Rico cheered, with his cheering sticks that he just regurgitated. "Go, go!" Private just kept running fir his life as the animal officer kept swinging his net.

"Caught him!" Officer X said when he caught Private. The penguins gasped. Private turned around, shivering with fright. Officer X chucked.

"You my friend are quite the trickster." He told him. "But nobody outsmarts Officer X like that. Not even you." The little penguin struggled in the net as Offer X walked with it to a create labeled "To London UK." Private tried to jump out, but he was too short. The officer chuckled again.

"Too short my friend. There's no way you'll get out of there, you'll stuck." He pulled the lid on, and shut it. He then carried it to the lift truck., and talked to Alice. Private stopped jumping, and looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry if I disgraced you Skipper." He said. "I'm just too short. I'm hopeless. I'm better off somewhere else."

"Don't say such things Private!" Skipper told him through the tiny air hole. "You're not hopeless. You're brave and smart. You're not going anywhere, I'll get you out."

Skipper jumped on the create. He tried to open it with the opener, but Alice held him back.

"Thanks again for catching them." Alice told him as the officer got in his truck to loll them away.

"Don't mention it." Officer X said. "Just doing my job. Keep cool at the zoo now." He drove off. Alice waved to him.

"Don't worry I will!" She promised. "Bye!"

After Officer X was out of sight, Alice placed Skipper down into his habitat. She then looked to see if anybody was watching. When she didn't see anybody, she spoke to him.

"Now I'm going to go open the gate." She told him. "You just stay here and be a good little penguin while I'm gone. Don't go psycho on me now. Bye!" She went away. Skipper was looked down, depressed.

"Hey penguin!" Julien called to him. "Since you are sad and probably won't be needing it, can I have your TV?" Skipper looked at him, then back down at the ground.

"Knock yourself out." He sighed. "What does it matter anyway?"

"Yay!" Julian cheered. He then ordered Mort and Maurice to fetch it. The two lemurs went into the habitat, and dragged the big TV to theirs.

"Thanks penguin!" Julien said. "You're always nicer when you're depressed. I mean, sorry about your friends, but," He then cheered. "I GOT YOUR TV! WHOO, YEAH BABY!" Skipper sighed sadly again.

"Boys." He said to himself. "I have failed you."

The crowed wondered why Skipper was sad and not performing to them.

"Hmmmm." Alice said to herself. "I wonder if separating those penguins was a good idea or not." She shrugged. "Oh well." She clapped to get the audience's attention. "Come on, break it up people! More animals to see, let the penguin be and have his moment, come on now!" The people went to see the other animals.

"My boys are gone." Skipper told himself. He put his flippers to his face. "Saying goodbye; this is by far the toughest mission, and the saddest!" Skipper cried and cried.

"I want to go home! I don't like it here." Private complained. "I want to go back to Skipper!" He pounded on the crate's wall.

"You can pound and cry all you want." Kowalski told him. "But it's a waste. We're going to be transferred either way. Who knows? You may even like London."

"But Kowalski," Private told him. "You and Rico are being transferred somewhere else in the US. I'm being transferred to a different country, what if there don't speak my language there? Oh, I'm doomed!"

"Calm down Private." Kawasaki said. "You may like it. You won't know unless you try. Your unique accent may give us a hint." Private looked at him, confused.

"My accent?"

"The way you speak, it's unique. Maybe you were born in London." Private looked at him, then scowled.

"I wasn't born in London! If I was born in London, why am I being transferred there?" Kowalski shrugged.

"Maybe you were born there, transferred to the Central Park Zoo with us, and is now going back there again. It is a possibility." Private scowled again, then looked out of the air hole at the sky.

"Was I really born in London?" He asked.

For the rest of the trip, the penguins all remained silent, and thought sadly of their fearless leader.

When Kowalski got dropped off in his new habitat at the San Diego Zoo, he looked around at his new surroundings.

"Okay calm down Kowalski." He told himself. "You must remain calm. Now the environment may be far different then the one you're used to, but its okay. As long as you make new friends, everything will turn out all right." He looked around. He was the only penguin in the habitat. He called out to some other animals

"Hello!" He called. Other animals looked at him. "I'm new, and I was hoping to find some friends. Anybody interested?" The animals all ignored him, and looked away. Kowalski stopped calling.

"Hmm, guess no one wants to be friends with me." He sighed. "Oh, what will I do without Skipper and the gang?" He put his flipper on the bark of a nearby tree in the habitat. "Oh, what am I to do?"

"Psst!" The tallest penguin heard. He looked around.

"Hello?" Kowalski asked. "Is someone there?"

"Psst!" The voice whispered again. "Up here, in the tree!" The penguin looked up; he saw a koala wearing nerd like goggles, sitting in the branches. Kowalski looked at him. Behind the koala was some sort of a machine.

"Can I help you?" He asked the mammal.

"Is anyone down there besides you?" The koala asked. "Are you the only animal in the habitat?" Kowalski looked around, and then back at the koala.

"Uh, yes." He answered. "The coast is clear."

"Oh, thank goodness!" The koala slid down the tree bark with his suction like machine. He turned around.

"Uh, who are you?" Kowalski wanted to know.

"Oh, excuse me." The koala shook hand/flipper with Kowalski. "I am Clarence. And you are?"

"I'm Kowalski. I'm new here."

"Please to make your accquatence, and welcome to the San Diego Zoo."

"Oh why thank you!" He pointed at the machine. "Pardon me for asking, but what's that?" Clarence looked at it then back at Kowalski.

"That's my Yogurt Maker." He answered. "I like everything science which makes me unique." Kowalski looked at him.

"You're kidding!" The koala shook his head.

"Nope I'm a scientist. I been investing since I was with my mom and dad."

"I'm a scientist too, I like science as well!" Clarence looked at him.

"You are?"

"Yes, I'm all science baby!"

"Interesting." He then worked on his machine.

"So does it work?

"What?"

"Does your Yogurt Maker work?" The koala sadly looked at the ground.

"Sadly no. I've been working on it for years, and it still doesn't work right. I'm about to give up on it."

"No! You shouldn't give up. I can help you!" Clarence looked at him again.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes. After all, they don't call me 'the science geek' for nothing!" Kowalski got to work on Clarence's machine.

"This is delicious!" Clarence declared as they ate in the tree with spoons. "I must say Kowalski; you really are quite the inventor." Kowalski laughed to himself.

"Why thank you." He said.

"What else did you crate?"

"Well, I crated Jiggles, my blob of Jell-O. It ran amok, causing all sorts of mischief, the little scamp. My friends thought I created a monster, and said I should destroy it. I did, unaware to them; I only fixed him a little by shrinking him with my shrink ray."

"What else?" Kowalski told his new friend other inventions he mastered as they were eating.

Rico was dropped of in his habitat at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. He looked around. There were more penguins. He looked at the ground sadly.

"No friends." He said to himself. He looked back up, and then his eyes turned into hearts. For among the many penguins, he saw the most gorgeous gentoo penguin he ever saw.

His tongue hanging out goofily; he sighed heavenly. He waddled over, his eyes still on her.

"Oh hello." The gentoo greeted him. "I'm Lucile; who are you?" Rico sighed heavenly at her name.

"Ri..ri…" He stuttered.

"Yes?" She wanted to know. Rico then went by her, positioned his head and flippers by his sides, and puffed out his chest. He was about to bugle (bird cry), when Lucile's mother called.

"Coming mom!" She called back. Then said to Rico, "I got to go, later!" She went away.

Rico sighed heavenly again, un-puffing his belly.

Suddenly, Rico was grabbed and pinned to the wall by a Rockhopper.

"Look!" He snapped. Lucile's mine okay? Not yours, mine! So you keep your foul, disgusting flippers off of her, understand?!" Rico goofily nodded, not knowing what he was nodding yes too. The Rockhopper then pushed him to the ground.

"I'm watching you!" He threatened. "You just look out. If I see you with Lucile again, you'll pay! Got it?!" Rico, again not aware what was going on, nodded. The Rockhopper glared at Rico then went away.

Rico, heavenly fell into the pool, then swam when he went back to reality.

Private waddled and looked at his surroundings in his new habitat at the London Zoo.

"Hello? Anyone there?" He asked. He stopped, and sighed. "I knew it. I knew I wouldn't like it here. This place is just too strange for me. I wish I was at home." Tears welled up in his eyes. He wiped them away. He then heard a female's voice.

"Private?" the voice asked. Private looked up, and waddled about.

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Private, it's me." Private then saw a penguin bigger then himself. For some reason, she looked familiar to him.

"Mum?" He asked. "Mum, is that you?"