Author: Pirate Turner
Dedicated To: My beloved Jack, my wonderful and inspirational Muse, who requested this story
Rating: PG
Summary: Trouble ensues when Private finds a dubloon.
Warnings: Slash, Established Pairings
Word Count: 4,536
Dates Written: 22-28 August, 2011
Disclaimer: Rico, Kowalski, Skipper, Private, all other recognizable characters mentioned within, and the Penguins of Madagascar are & TM DreamWorks and any other rightful owners, none of whom are the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. The snake and everything else is & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter One
He smiled, his forked tongue slithering joyously between his fangs, as his treasure gleamed in the golden, afternoon sunlight. He tossed the coin up and struck his head lightly against it. It bounced from his head down his scales, and each time it touched his skin, he bounced it again until it reached his rattlers. His rattlers tossed it back to his head, and he caught it firmly in his fangs.
He was proud of his treasure. At first glance, it would look to others to just be a shiny coin, but he knew what it really was. It was another Spanish dubloon to add to his collection which he had been working on since he'd found his first piece as a baby snake. He had had many adventures while collecting his dubloons, but yet still they were so hard and rare to come by that, even after he added this dubloon to his collection, he'd still need a couple more before his treasure chest was complete.
He threw his dubloon up into the air and admired the way it shimmered in the sun during its spiral. His eyes bobbed up and down with it as it turned round and round, but then, suddenly, before he could catch it again, screams split the air. He winced, coiling against himself as bratty children's voices filled the air.
The crowd came charging around the corner of the zoo, and he barely had time to zip into the gutter before they would have been upon him. He coiled into a tiny ball in the dark, dank gutter and gazed out at the rushing school children as they trampled over the zoo grounds and everything they held.
He gasped as he saw his dubloon laying on the pavement, in the unprotected open. His tail whipped out from hiding, reaching for his treasure only to be ran over. He screamed as the school children trampled over his tail and swept his aching tail back to him. He rubbed his head against his throbbing tail and looked forlornly back out at his treasure.
He could go after it, he thought, but then, even if the brats didn't trample his whole body as they had his tail, they'd start screaming. He knew all too well what screams meant. If the kids started screaming because of him, he'd be locked up again before he even had a chance to defend himself.
Humans hated snakes, and most of the world's animals weren't much better. He'd learned that the hard way when he'd been separated from his mother at an early age. The only thing he'd managed to keep from his time with her had been the dubloon he'd found one day while they'd been out sunning in the grass. He'd made promises the entire time he'd been caged that he would one day find his mother, but over the years, as he'd grown older, he'd realized what an impossible task that was and had shifted his attention instead to building his treasure.
Now he saw his gold piece being trampled on by tiny feet. He hissed in disdain and anger, his eyes turning red with his fury, but still he stayed hidden. He didn't dare go against the humans for he'd lose every time. They were too powerful, too angry, and too ready to do whatever it took to destroy his kind. They tolerated snakes once they were caged, but to them, the only really good snake was a dead snake.
He hissed and recoiled back into the murky shadows, trying his best not to taste the disgusting air, as more pudgy, human feet stopped before his hiding place. Their loud voices boomed inside his head until, at last, they began to drift off. Still he stayed hidden, too scared to move lest they simply be quiet for a rare change and outside of his narrow view from the gutter. The sun sparkled on his dubloon, and he finally began to move toward it when two pairs of talons appeared before his vision.
He hissed fiercely. Birds ate snakes and were almost as cruel as the humans! He recoiled back into the depths of his hiding place before they could see him and listened to their conversation, his rattlers shaking with his impatience as he waited for them to move so that he could rescue his cherished dubloon.
There were two voices, both male. One was younger than the other and almost a bit squeaky. The older of the two spoke nonsense, or at least that's what it sounded like to the snake. He managed to piece together that the bigger bird was going out hunting for something he needed for some sort of scientific device he was building. The younger one hesitated, and the snake saw his uncertainty in the shifting of his talons across the pavement.
Private looked up at Kowalski through big eyes. "Do you think I could go with you?" he asked, twisting his flippers behind his back.
"Now, Private, why would you want to do that?" Private's face fell, and Kowalski blustered as he tried to make his response sound more compassionate. After all, it wasn't Private's fault that he didn't understand science and would be asking him a thousand questions about every piece he gathered for his new ray. "It's not that I wouldn't like to have you along on my excursion, but I'm sure you've more exciting things you'd like to do. Have you had a chance to read your latest Lunicorns magazine that came in today?"
"No." Private shook his head and slid his talon back across the ground. "It's just . . . I was kind of hoping that I might find something with the Lunicorns out there."
Kowalski laughed before he could stop himself and quickly silenced his bubbling laughter by placing a flipper over his mouth. "I'm sorry, Private," he told him sincerely. "It's just . . . Lunicorns are a far cry from scientific research."
Private sighed, his shoulders sagging, and dropped his face from Kowalski's eyes so that he'd not see how disappointed he was. "That's true," he admitted. "Magic is very different from science." He made a face. "Science is boring."
"Science is not boring!" Kowalski declared. "There's nothing more exciting than science! Science is what keeps us all alive! It makes everything in the world happen!"
Private's gaze dropped to his talons as Kowalski rattled on and on about the benefits of science. Something glittered underneath one of his talons, and as the on-looking snake winced in sight of the bird standing upon his dubloon, Private cocked his head to the side and examined the beautiful glitter. Kowalski continued to prattle on as Private picked up the dubloon.
'The snake hissed and almost charged out of his hiding place. He thought better of it at the last moment and coiled back up at the very entrance to the gutter. He could see the birds now and recognized them as penguins. Penguins were no fun to mess with, but they also were not as dangerous as the birds with which he usually fought. He'd watch them, wait for the little one to split apart from the big one, and then he'd take his dubloon back from him. His reddened eyes narrowed, and his rattlers shook. He'd get his dubloon back by whatever means necessary.
"That's okay, Kowalski," Private put in, interrupting the scientist's tirade at last, "I understand. Go ahead without me, and good luck finding what you need. I'm going to go watch my Lunicorns."
Kowalski stopped in surprise, his beak still open in mid-speech, but then he shut his beak and nodded. "Affirmative, but I'll make a deal with you, Private. Why don't we go searching for Lunicorn items tomorrow?"
"Okay." Private nodded and waved as Kowalski waddled off. Then he looked down at the beautiful, shining coin he clutched in his flipper and grinned. He'd never seen a coin like this. It would buy lots and lots of Lunicorn things, and he had a magazine waiting for him back at headquarters just full of Lunicorn items he'd love to have!
"Yay!" he cried to himself. Clutching his prize close to his chest, Private flipped back into the penguin exhibit and slipped swiftly to his bunker. He was in such a rush passing through the manhole cover that he didn't notice the snake slipping in behind him, nor did he hear him hiss as the cover shut behind him.
The snake hesitated for just a moment as his eyes adjusted to the lighting in the penguins' home. He heard no one moving about save the young one yet, and he raced after him, his red eyes glowing, his rattlers shaking, and his entire being intent upon only one task. He would get his dubloon back. It was his, and he would retrieve it, no matter what he had to do to the young penguin who clutched it greedily in his black flipper! He would have his dubloon!
To Be Continued . . .