Two Simple Words

by PeaceBaby7

Oh may have made many mistakes, but Smek's mistake was bigger than any Boov has ever made. He stole the Gorg's children. If it weren't for him, they would never have been on the run. When the Boov realize this, Smek is forced to make up for what he's done. Oh knows just how he can prove himself.

"High hands touching! High hands touching to you too!" Oh said as he gave the each of the humans that gathered around him a high five.

"Good job, Oh," Tip said, coming up next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up.

"Thanking you, Tip," Oh replied with a smile. "Thanking you all!" he added, regarding the rest of the humans around him. "But I must to be getting back to my ship. The Boov will no longer to bothering humans persons," he announced.

The crowd around them shook their heads and voiced their objections.

"You don't have to leave!" one said.

"You saved our planet!" another chimed in.

"You're a hero!"

Oh looked around at the humans, surprised that they actually wanted him to stay, even after everything the Boov had put them through. He looked at Tip, who smiled down at him.

"What do you say, Oh?" she asked, putting one hand on her hip. "Care to stay with us 'humans persons' for a little longer?"

Oh looked back to the people standing around him, who all smiled and nodded encouragingly. He turned back to Tip.

"If it is all right with humans persons, the Boov would be the honored to stayed on Earth," Oh replied with a coy smile.

Tip laughed joyfully and hugged Oh, who hugged back. Oh pulled away and turned to everyone else.

"I will go to get the rest of the Boov!" Oh announced. "And we will return all humans persons to their homes!"

The humans cheered and started passing on the message to the humans out of hearing range. Tip leaned in towards Oh.

"You can remember where everyone lived?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, no," Oh replied with a laugh. "Boov ship is having a memory bank, which contains profiles on all humans persons, giving the details on where each humans person was located before being transferred."

Tip nodded with a humorous smile. "Okay," she replied. "That's tight."

Oh's brow pinched in the middle in thought. "What is being tight? Is data capable of being the tight on Earth?"

Tip rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Just hurry up," she said.

Oh shrugged. "Kay-oh. I will be seeing Tip soon!" he called as he started leaving. Tip rolled her eyes again as he left.

Back on the ship, the Boov anxiously awaited their new leader's return, praying that he hadn't been brutally murdered by the Gorg. So far, Earth seemed to be intact. What was taking so long?

"You see!" Former-Captain Smek said, moving through the crowd of curious Boov. "This is what I'm talking about! Oh was never meant to be Captain! He was probably mutilated! Dismembered! His little Boov head mounted on the Gorg's wall!" he claimed, causing the Boov's anticipation to grow.

"I don't know, Smek," Kyle replied, trying to mask his doubt. "Oh may be a bit of a klutz, but he's pretty resourceful when it comes down to it. I don't think he's been killed," he said, looking out the window down at Earth. "At least, not yet," he muttered to himself.

Smek rolled his eyes. "Come now, Daryl—"

"It's Kyle," Kyle corrected, looking at him irritably.

"Whatever," Smek said nonchalantly. "Anyway, what I'm saying is, the Boov need a strong, charismatic, and devilishly handsome—" He looked at his reflection in the nearest window for a moment— "individual to lead the Boov." He turned back to Kyle. "It doesn't even sound right! Captain Oh. Am I the only one hearing it? Can you honestly say you want a face like Oh to be the face of the Boov?" He crossed his arms and looked at his fellow Boov expectantly.

One Boov stepped forward. She seemed unsure of herself, but she spoke anyway. "I—am thinking that . . . I would be proud to call Oh my leader." She looked around for a moment, as if afraid that her statement may get her banished.

Another Boov stepped forward. "I agree," he said, uncertain at first, but gathered his confidence. "I think Oh would be a great leader." He turned to his fellow Boov. "Speaking your mind is strange, but it feels good! Try it!"

"Oh would represent the Boov greatly!" another Boov announced. "It does feel good!" she said, turning to the previous Boov.

Smek turned a little red as he grunted with frustration. "You see?! He's already gotten into all of your minds! Don't you understand? Running into danger, making everyone unique! He goes against everything the Boov have stood for for generations! We have a tradition! We have a good thing going here! With Oh in charge, the Boov will go extinct!"

"Actually," a voice said from behind, and the Boov gasped as they turned to Oh, who had just entered, "you were being the reason the Boov have nearly gone extinct the first time."

Smek scoffed incredulously. "And how do you figure that, Oh?" he asked, as if there couldn't possibly be a believable answer.

"Because," Oh replied, holding up the staff, "of the little 'souvenir' you took from the Gorg."

Smek gasped with horror. "The Shusher! You broke it!" He rushed forward and snatched the staff from Oh, running a hand over the top of it where the rock used to be. "What did you do to my precious Shusher?" he asked, holding the staff protectively as he looked at Oh furiously.

"The Gorg Commander has telled me that—"

The Boov around them gasped with horror and awe.

"You spoke to the Gorg Commander?" one Boov asked.

"He really is a SuperBoov," another commented.

"Yes," Oh replied as he continued. "The Gorg Commander has telled me that he was been chasing us because of that rock," he explained.

Smek laughed. "And how could a rock possibly be so important to the Gorg?" he asked, smiling humorously as he leaned on the staff.

"Because the rock was containing entire next Gorg generation. It is being more . . . an egg, than a rock," Oh explained.

The Boov around them fell silent as Smek's smile faded. Then the Boov turned to one another and quietly started conversing, all coming to the same realization.

"So . . ." Kyle started, looking down in thought. Everyone turned to him. "What you're saying is that, the Gorg were coming after us because Smek stole his children?"

All the Boov turned back to Oh. Oh opened his mouth to speak, but Smek interrupted him.

"Ha! That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard from you, Oh," he said, pointing the staff at him. "And that's saying something. You really expect me to believe that the Gorg were after us because I had his children in a rock? Hahaha! That's rich! Tell me, Oh, where was the rest of the Gorg army while you were having this little conversation about rock-eggs? In a mountain?"

Oh shook his head. "Actually, there was being no Gorg army, Smek. Gorg Commander was being all alone, the last of his generation. That is being why rock-egg was so important. Without it, his kind would be the one that is going extinct."

Smek stared at Oh with an indecipherable expression. The Boov started to stir as they started putting the pieces together.

"So it was Smek's mistake that nearly got us killed," Kyle said, turning red with anger, "not Oh's."

Smek turned a pale yellow as the rest of the Boov started turning red as well.

"You're the reason we've been on the run this whole time!" another Boov protested.

"You're the reason all of our homes have been blown up!" another chimed in.

Smek turned mustard yellow and cowered as the Boov started to surround him. He tried to back away, but they were coming for him on all sides.

"Now, I'm sure we can talk about this," Smek said nervously. "You know I didn't mean to hurt anybody!"

"There's nothing to talk about!"

"We trusted you!"

"You call yourself a leader!"

The Boov continued to surround Smek, all turning red with anger and betrayal. Smek closed his eyes and covered his face, cringing as he waited for them to advance.

"You're the one that should be erased!"

"Oh may have made many mistakes, but your one mistake outweighs all of his!"

"Wait!"

Smek opened his eyes in confusion and peeked above his arms to see Oh in front of him, holding up his arms and facing the angry Boov, who looked at him in confusion.

"Captain Oh," one said in confusion, "don't you want to punish Smek for his mistake?"

"No," Oh answered, lowering his arms. The Boov looked to each other in shock and bewilderment. "Smek has made a huge mistake, that is being correct," Oh explained, "but Smek was not knowing his mistake any more than you all or me all."

"Yes, that is very true!" Smek chimed in, earning him a very annoyed glance from everyone. Oh looked at him as if to say, Maybe you should be letting me do the handling of this. Smek awkwardly cleared his throat and looked down, turning a little pink around the face as he did so.

"Maybe Smek's mistake does outweigh all of mines, but the time it was at, Smek was thinking he was doing what was best for Boovkind. He was being the wrong, but . . ." Oh glanced at him, "we're all being the wrong at some times." He smiled a little and Smek met his eye. He turned a little blue as he realized that Oh was saving him from being erased when he hadn't done the same for him.

"Well," one of the Boov said, "I think you're right, Captain. But, with all due respect, I still think Smek should be made to do something to repent for his actions."

Oh looked down in thought as Smek quickly stepped forward. "Yes! Anything! I'll do anything to show you how sorry I am!" he promised, clasping his hands at his chin.

Oh immediately perked up as an idea came to him. "Actually, I know exactly what you can do," he said, smiling thoughtfully.

Smek knelt in front of him. "Anything! Just name it!"

Oh folded his arms, wondering if Smek would be so willing when he knew what he had in mind.

— § —

"All right, everything has been setted up. They have not yet left the Milky Way, so they will be here in fifteen earth minutes," Oh announced.

Smek laughed nervously. "Are you sure about this? I will do anything else. Seriously. I-I-I really don't think this is a good idea," he reasoned.

Oh shook his head. "No. When the Boov was taken my human friend's mymom, she was forgiving me with an apology that was feeling hearts. They are being two simple words, Smek, but they are meaning a lot," he explained.

"Come on, Smek," Kyle said, holding one of Smek's arms so he couldn't flee, "it's only decent."

"Put aside your ego for once," the Boov that was holding his other arm said.

Smek looked at him. "It isn't so much my ego as it is my crippling fear," he said breathlessly, as if something was sitting on his chest, and turning yellow. He turned back to Oh. "What if I don't even get the chance to speak? What if he just blasts me out of existence?"

Oh shrugged. "That is being a chance you must have the will to take," he answered.

Smek turned deep yellow. "I'm not having the will at all," he choked. "Can't we do this on a video conference or something instead?"

Oh rolled his eyes and bopped him on the head with the staff of the Shusher. "No," he answered, immediately understanding why Smek found that so satisfying. "If you want to be having the proof that yourself is an honorable Boov, you will not be backing away from this."

Smek struggled against the Boov that were restraining him. "Actually, being erased sounds pretty good to me. Is that still an option?"

"No!" Oh exclaimed in frustration. "If there is being one thing my human friend was teaching me, it is that you cannot be running away from fear. The running away is not Boov way anymore. To be a Boov, you must to be doing this."

"The Gorg and the humans are two completely different species!" Smek argued, struggling again, but the Boov had him held in place. Another Boov appeared next to Oh.

"I see the Gorg ship approaching!" she exclaimed in both excitement and fear.

Oh smiled. "Then we must be retiring to the pod to be ready for transport to Gorg ship."

Smek whimpered in fear as the Boov pushed him forward, all cheering excitedly.

"Go on, Smek!"

"Apologize!"

"This is your mistake! You fix it!"

"Follow Captain Oh's example!"

Smek tried to protest, but he was forced into the pod with Oh and the two Boov restraining him. Oh worked at the controls for a moment, and the pod ejected from the ship. A few minutes later, they approached the Gorg ship and waited for a door to open. When it did, Oh steered the pod into the Gorg ship and lowered the landing gear, setting the pod down gently onto the floor. The hatch opened and the steps lowered out. Oh hopped giddily down the steps with Smek being dragged behind him. They stopped at the base of the stairs, where the Gorg Commander was waiting in his threatening suit. Smek turned completely white, and while the other two Boov kept themselves composed, they still shifted uneasily. Oh just smiled.

Oh waved. Hello! he said in Gorg speak.

Hello, Oh, the Gorg Commander replied, also in Gorg speak. The other Boov couldn't tell if that was a friendly hello or not. The Gorg Commander looked at Smek, but they couldn't decipher his expression.

Oh continued. Should we be going to your room for conferences now? he asked.

The Gorg Commander nodded and gestured to a nearby room. Oh scurried forward without question. The Boov hesitated, but followed their captain a moment later, dragging Smek along with them, who was trying to regain his color.

The Gorg Commander followed them into the room, where Oh was already waiting at one end of the table. The Gorg Commander sat at the other end and folded his appendages on the table. The other Boov dragged Smek over to Oh and pushed him into the chair. He wanted to object, but his limbs had turned to jelly.

These are my fellow Boov, friend Kyle, friend Marvin, and friend Smek, Oh explained, gesturing to the respective Boov.

The Gorg Commander regarded them with a slight nod, unspeaking.

Friend Smek has something he'd like to say to you, Oh continued. He looked at Smek, who looked at him with wide eyes. He shook his head slightly, indicating he didn't want to do this. Oh urged him with a stern look and nudged him. Smek looked at the Gorg Commander and swallowed hard, regaining some of his purple color back.

I . . . He coughed a few times to clear a lump in his throat. Then he took a deep breath to try and stifle his nerves, trying to clear his head so he could remember Gorg speak. I just wanted to say that . . . I . . . Smek brought himself to look at the Gorg Commander again, who was waiting patiently at the other end with his arms still folded on the table. Then Smek turned his head to look at Oh, who smiled and nodded encouragingly. He closed his eyes, took another breath, and looked the Gorg Commander in the eye.

I have come here to tell you that . . . I am sorry, he said finally. The Gorg Commander didn't react and he continued. When I . . . took your rock egg, I had no idea how much it meant to you. I didn't even know what it was. I just thought it was a plain old rock. I'm sorry for stealing your children. I'm sorry for always running away, never giving you a chance. I'm sorry for . . . being wrong about you. All this time I thought you were the enemy, when . . . I was the enemy the entire time. I'm . . . sorry.

Smek looked at the Gorg Commander as he remained silent. It was hard to discern whether he was thinking about forgiving him, or thinking about how many different ways he could destroy him. Finally, he reached out his right arm and laid it on the table, palm (or whatever it was) up. His face started to open and the Boov, minus Oh, shielded their gaze in fear. The Gorg, in his true starfish-like form, walked down the arm of his suit and started walking down the table toward the Boov, who slowly started to lower their arms. Their expressions fell with surprise as they each took in his appearance. When the Gorg made it to the end of the table, he had a sullen look on his face, which slowly seemed to recede.

I am sorry too, he said softly, not meeting anyone's eye for a moment. Then he locked eyes with Smek. For destroying your homes, and for misjudging you and your kind as well. I thought you had taken my children on purpose. I will not lie—I am angered that you stole my children, even by accident, but now I see that it was all a big misunderstanding. I am willing to forgive if you are.

The Gorg Commander smiled softly as Smek stared in shock, his jaw hanging open. Oh smiled and looked at him, waiting for him to respond. Kyle and Marvin also stared with their mouths agape, their eyes flitting between the Gorg and Smek.

Uh . . . Smek started lamely, trying to compose himself. He blinked and shook his head for a moment. Of course, Commander Gorg. I . . . I didn't think you would forgive so easily.

The Gorg Commander looked down for a moment, and then met his eye again. I have been angry for far too long. It is tiring. I'm just happy to have my children back. For so long, I have dreamt of your gruesome, slow, and painful death after I retrieved my children, but now that I have them, I just want to forget that it ever happened and spend my time with them.

Smek winced a little at the thought of the Gorg Commander having planned his "gruesome, slow, and painful death," but kept himself composed. The Gorg Commander held out one of his five arms. Smek looked at Oh, who again nodded encouragingly. Smek hesitantly reached out and took the end of the Gorg Commander's arm, shaking it up and down before letting go. Marvin became faint and Kyle put an arm on his shoulder for support.

"Now," Oh said, switching back to Earth English, "that is being what I would name a peace conference." He shared a smile with the Gorg Commander.

Would you care to see them? the Gorg Commander offered.

Smek became afraid to answer, so Oh broke in.

We'd love to, he replied, pulling Smek from his chair.

Follow me! the Gorg Commander said as he cartwheeled away. Oh rushed after, pushing his fellow Boov along with him.

The Gorg Commander led them to a room down the hall, and when the Boov entered, they gasped with awe. Everywhere, there were tiny little Gorg, pink with large eyes. They were absolutely precious! Unlike their father, who walked on his two southernmost appendages, the little ones used four of their appendages to crawl around.

Oh cried with excitement. "They're so cute!" he said as six or seven of them climbed onto him. Smek was too much in shock to respond as Kyle and Marvin picked up a few baby Gorg and cuddled them. The Gorg Commander cartwheeled over to him and picked up one of his children, holding it out to Smek.

Go on, they won't bite, he said with a smile. Smek hesitantly took the baby Gorg and held the tiny thing in his hands. Unless you steal their children, that is, the Gorg Commander added. Smek looked at him with wide eyes, trying to figure out how to respond. The Gorg Commander laughed. I'm only kidding. He turned away, as if to leave him standing there. Sort of. He winked and cartwheeled away, weaving around his children happily.

Smek looked down at the little baby Gorg in his hands, who smiled up at him. He smiled softly and turned a soft pink as a warm feeling radiated from within him.

"You see?" Oh asked, breaking Smek from his trance. Smek looked at him, unresponding. "I believe there is being an Earth saying that would fit most appropriately here. It is, 'I was so telling you!'"

Smek looked at the baby Gorg in his hands and smiled. "Yeah, Oh. I guess you did."

Oh smiled and turned a soft orange as happiness and pride overtook him. "Well, congraging the lations," he said, causing Smek to look over at him in confusion. "You are officially Boovkind again. You are being welcome to depart if you are so wishing."

Smek looked from him to the baby Gorg. "Actually, Oh, I might stay here for a little longer."

Oh smiled. "Be staying for however long you are pleasing, Smek," he said. He turned to leave him standing there, but stopped at Smek's voice.

"Wait," he called after. Oh turned back. "Thanks," he said with a smile. Then he added, "Captain Oh."

Oh looked around at the baby Gorg, and then back to Smek. "No thanks is being needed, Smek."

Oh turned and started playing with the baby Gorg, crying out in excitement. Smek watched him for a moment before a horde of baby Gorg tackled him. He laughed and petted some of them.

To think he ever thought the Gorg were capable of evil.

— § —

Note: I normally write for The Penguins of Madagascar, but when I first watched Home, I immediately felt that the movie seemed incomplete without addressing the issue of Smek being the one that had made the mistake. After watching it for the fourth time, I felt the unbearable need to write this. I am quite pleased with how it turned out, and hope you have enjoyed it.