A Past Phase

Disclaimer: I don't own Penguins of Madagascar, Rico, Private, Skipper, and Kowalski are Dreamworks' characters. I just gave them really sad pasts, and added Pandora. Raio Joyce belongs to Zincuddlefish! So enjoy my attempt at horror.

It was just another File the research team Found, after their disappearance, they searched and searched for information on those people. The team that had done more than they ever realized for them, and had been through more than they realized. This is the story of the past, five different pasts. The Pasts of, Steward 'Skipper' Marnowne, Elijah Renigrad Kowalski, Austin Wallace Ferguson, Ricardo 'Rico' Alejandro De Cosa, and Pandora Marie Roberts.

Skipper's Past

Steward Marnowne never fit in with his whimsical family of hippies and environmental activists. They wished him to be open flexible and artistic, but even from the young age of three it was obvious he preferred the structure of the Military. While his parents wish for his room to be disorganized, Skipper, as he was dubbed, kept it in complete order. Structure and order was the only thing Skipper liked in his life, besides his elder brother Arlo. Arlo secretly wished to be in the Military as well, but as the eldest, he was expected to be an artist. Skipper had a fine life, if not frustrating at times but even so, he had a kind family. He and his brother were inseparable, Arlo was only a few years older than Skipper and they both loved many of the same things. Unfortunately, there were things set in motion hidden from his view and the view of those around him. His elder brother was slowly losing his mind. He became violent towards Skipper, who was able to pursue joining the Army, while he had to be stuck as an artist. Skipper was only eight when Arlo truly started to snap. He would break walls in outbursts of anger and attack his parents, but never even approached Skipper when angry. Skipper soon came to fear him and his outbursts that harmed his peaceful if not frustrating parents, and the tension in the house began to build. Then one-day Skipper's parents locked Arlo in his room after a bad outburst. For a few hours, the clamoring and crashing of furniture echoed in the house. Then it just stopped, it suddenly just stopped, curious Skipper's parents went to check on Arlo. Before they left they asked Skipper to stay down stairs in case it got messy. Skipper agreed, and his father went upstairs with his mother. Skipper stayed at the bottom of the stairs waiting and listening. He could hear faint voices talking first softly then they hardened and soon became frightened. Skipper heard a scream and his mother fell downstairs to him. Skipper was young, only 10 and had been somewhat sheltered when it came to blood and gore. The sight in front of him shocked and disgusted him. His mother had fallen down the stairs, her head barely attached to her body and a spike running through her gut, but she was still alive. She smiled her cheesy hippie smile and whispered to Skipper.

"Run, my little skipping stone. Before your brother comes." Skipper watched as his mother died before him and found himself unable to move. He was snapped out of his stupor by mad cackling emanating from the next level. Slowly climbing the stairs Skipper approached the source of the cackling, his brother's room. Slowly opening the door Skipper was greeted by the smell of flesh and bodily fluids, and the sound of cackling. Stepping into the room Skipper saw Arlo painting his wall with his Father's own intestines and blood. Arlo turned to face Skipper and kind, worried grin on his face.

"Skipper! You were not supposed to come up! I wanted to surprise you! Do you like it! I figured since I can't go into the army, I'll be the artist mom and dad wanted! And look its perfect!" Arlo showed his mural to Skipper who choked at the sight of it. The mural was of Arlo slaughtering not only His family and friends but the entire world as well, and on top of the bloody gory mass of bodies stood a proud Arlo holding Skippers head in his arms like a baby. Skipper began to inch away from Arlo who was approaching him.

"Don't you like it? Come back!" Skipper bolted down into the Kitchen terrified, Arlo pursuing him calmly. Skipper dove behind a counter and grabbed the closest thing he could use to defend himself, a kitchen knife. Arlo entered the Kitchen and spoke to Skipper comfortingly.

"Don't you see? It's all for you! Mom and Dad didn't want either of us to go into Service; they didn't like the games you played. They wanted your friends to stop coming, they wanted to take you away from here, from Me! Your loving Big brother!" Skipper began to question his own terror and was about to rush out to Arlo, however he wasn't finished. "You're loving Big Brother who will take you from this nightmare and into a world of Paradise! Living has brought you much pain, as it has me so, I will send you to a great place, with a single slit of the throat! No more bullies, teasing you about your parents, no more forced Art lessons, no more telling your feelings! Just dark painful bliss!"

Skipper froze, he never had been bullied, and the art lessons were apart of his school.

"I've never been bullied!" Skipper stated Arlo Laughed.

"You have, I just made sure you wouldn't know! Oh those terrible boys needed to be taught a lesson, so I taught them the best lesson in life!" Suddenly Arlo's voice dropped from its happy soothing tone to a deep angry and menacing one. "It's short. And I made theirs shorter!"

Arlo laughed as Skipper tensed gripping the knife tighter, the boys who had left the school, they hadn't just left. They were probably rotting somewhere dead because of him! No not himself, Skipper gritted his teeth as something in his head slowly snapped, Because of him! Arlo approached the counter humming to himself a child's song. Turning the corner however, he found no Skipper. Puzzled Arlo looked around and found a frying pan missing and Skipper dashing out of the room and up the stairs. Arlo smiled and followed.

"Come on Skipper! I promise the pain will all end soon!" Skipper just ran up into his room and climbed onto the roof. Arlo was getting frustrated and his voice once again dropped from happy to menacing. "Get down from there and accept my gift!"

Skipper clamored to the other end of the roof and watched as Arlo approached quickly. As he came close, Skipper held something behind his back, and swung. He hit Arlo in the head with the missing frying pan. There was an audible crack, as Arlo's head broke and another as he tumbled off the roof and into the yard. Skipper then slowly went down to se if Arlo had indeed died, to his relief and dismay, he was dead. Skipper sat there for a while crying as the night carried on until finally the sound of police sirens near the house snapped him awake.

When the police arrived they took Skipper to question him, but all they met was a strategically minded boy who had arrived home to find his parents dead and his brother jumping off the house. After a few days of questioning Skipper was sent to a new home across the country in upstate New York. He had grown colder and more calm after the incident, leaving him as he is today. His stoic attitude and determination was driven from his experience with his Brother Arlo. When Skipper turned 13, he met another whose life had been shaped by his family, a certain Elijah Renigrad Kowalski.

Kowalski's Past

Elijah Renigrad Kowalski had always been a socially awkward genius. Ever since he was old enough to walk, he was writing diagrams and building inventions. He never liked to be around other people; in fact, he hated being around his overbearing parents too much. There was only one person he liked to be around, and that was his sweet little sister Cathy. She had always been a sweet little girl, she never cried as a baby, she always did as her parents instructed, and she would listen as Kowalski would try to explain his inventions to her. She liked to listen to him, and He liked her being there. She was also adorable. She had short dark hair that she wore in low pigtails and always smiled. He respected her need for personal space and did not interfere in her life too much, that is until he turned 11 and she turned six. Cathy had always been quiet and never liked to bother anyone, but Kowalski could tell when something bothered her. She would run to her room, and not come out for anything. And on that fateful day in late October, Cathy did just that. Kowalski did as he normally did and followed her up to try get her to talk about her issues. He normally could accomplish this by just sitting with her and she would talk. However today no matter what he did, she did not talk. It continued like this for months until one day when Kowalski tried to once again talk to her she snapped at him telling him to stop poking his nose in her life. Kowalski was hurt by the comment and curious as to why she would snap. Cathy had always been far to gentle to yell, even when she was picked on in school. So the next day Kowalski decided to do a little investigating. He stuck a small video camera he made onto her backpack and stayed home to monitor the video feed. The day went normally until Cathy started home from school. Kowalski noticed she was looking over her shoulder and was walking faster than normal. Then something caught her attention and she bolted for home. Unfortunately instead she was grabbed by a Large man her backpack flying off. The video showed the man dragging her into the near by woods, a sick smile on his face. Angrily Kowalski raced out of the house not even thinking about his parents, and went after them. Blinded with anger and worry Kowalski did not notice as the same man tackled him and dragged him into the forest. He tied Kowalski to a tree and proceeded to introduce himself.

"Hello, there young man I take it your this little girl's brother?" The man gestured to Cathy who was tied up. Kowalski was unable to answer due to being gagged. "I'll take that as a yes! Well then, maybe, you should know how long I've been trying to meet your little sister! Ain't she precious! My names Elijah Woods by the way, but you may call me Rat king! I hope you like shows cause this will be a good one."

Kowalski was initially confused before Woods proceeded to rape his little sister. Kowalski looked away after seeing his sweet, little sisters terrified face and pleading look for everything to just end. When Woods had finished he laughed and proceeded to mutilate Cathy. He cut open her lower abdomen and removed her still undeveloped personal organs. All the while Kowalski listened to the screams of pain coming from his beloved sister, and snuck a peak. He was horrified by the bloody mess Woods made of his sister, but he was more angry than anything. Breaking free of the ropes that bound, him Kowalski lunged at Woods and did what he did best, used his head. Kowalski smashed his own head into Woods' sending the larger man sprawling then fleeing having finished his game. Kowalski then knelt by his sister, who was still very alive, but in tremendous pain.

"I'm sorry, Elijah, he had been following me for a few months now, but I didn't want you to get hurt… so…I…" Cathy began to cry and continued. "I didn't tell you I thought I could outrun him. Everything hurts, and It won't stop!"

Cathy looked up to Kowalski who had tears forming in his own eyes.

"You'll be fine, If you get to a hospital soon, you'll be perfectly fine!" Kowalski insisted however, Cathy shook her head.

"It won't stop hurting, it still does and it won't ever stop. Can you please just stop the pain?" Cathy was only six years old but like her brother, she was smarter than she looked. But not scientifically, she was more of a philosopher, and she was very aware of what will end and what will keep hurting. But Kowalski never expected her to ask him this.

"You'll be fine! Really, we just need to get you-"

"No." Cathy interrupted again, this time her voice was far more pained. Kowalski hated seeing her in pain, and eventually, caved. Kowalski picked up the knife Woods had used to mutilate his dear sister, and plunged into her heart. As Cathy drew a shuttered breath, she smiled up at him.

"Thank you, I'll miss you." With that, Cathy slipped away, and Kowalski cried. Kowalski didn't return home, his parents thought he was dead after they found his sisters body in the woods. Even to this day, the search goes on. Kowalski walked to the town Skipper had moved to, the two soon became friends, and both of them were on the look out for others like them. Others Like Austin 'Private' Ferguson.

Private's Past

Now Private had always been a chipper little boy and always surrounded by those who loved him. He was the youngest in a large family of 12 siblings. His parents worked out of the country in Guatemala as businessmen. His uncle Nigel and other uncles and aunts lived with them often watching over his family. Things were great for him, that was until he turned five.

Austin had been at school in Guatemala city all day and when the bell rang to end the day he found it odd that none of his family was there to pick him up. Not one to be dismayed, Private cheerfully walked home without a care. When he arrived home, Private found the place trashed. The furniture was overturned and broken; the walls had gashes in them, a strange red liquid dripped down from the walls.

"Mummy? Daddy? I'm home!" Private called in his sweet little British accent, walking around. "Uncle Nigel? Anybody?"

No one answered him and Private soon became scared as he walked towards the kitchen. Private knocked on the door and was greeted by a strongly accented man.

"Come in, Little one, I have a ssssssuprissse for you!" Private entered initially excited by the idea of a surprise. Instead, he found a tall lithe man with a blood stained mouth, and half of his family terrified and bound to the wall. The man swallowed what appeared to be a hand and laughed. "SSSSSuprisse! Your jussst in time for ssssupper!"

The man grabbed Private and added him to the line with his family. The man the went up and picked up one of his brothers.

"My namessss SSSSavio, do you know what I eat? Itsss a deliccccacy! Human flessshhh!" Savio then unhinged his jaw and began to consume Private's brother alive. Private watched in terror as his family was devoured right in front of him. The blood from his family splattered his face and clothes as the man would crunch down on an arm. Or when he ripped away, the flesh from the ribcages then devoured the organs inside. When finally all of his relatives were gone, Savio slinked up to the small boy, who was shaking in terror, and did something surprising. He released him.

"Run little boy. Run ssssomewhere far away, I will follow. You musssst I am giving you the chancccce to live!" Private then fled out of terror, and the chase began. Savio chased Private all his life, through central America and into Mexico then America. Private soon began to develop Paranoia, a strange personality and was terrified of anyone with a continental accent. It wasn't until he reached Louisiana that Private really snapped. He was now 14 and had been running from Savio for years. Private was tired of sleeping only a minute before having to move, and he was tired of having to dash in and out of towns. Tired of eating live bugs, road kill, rotting animals and anything else he could find. So when Savio cornered him in a Louisianan Bayou Private finally snapped. As Savio approached, Private grabbed a branch and smacked Savio as hard as he could. Savio merely hesitated before pursuing the fleeing Private. But Private had been in this swamp for over a month and knew something Savio didn't. Private rounded a corner and clambered up a tree. When Savio came into sight, Private made is way to another tree and called out.

"Please, Savio! I'm tired, let me rest!" Savio smirked and followed the pleas not paying attention to where he was stepping. This proved to be his demise. Savio stepped foreword near the tree private was perched in and fell into a deep pit of water. Spluttering out water Savio soon found his ankle being bitten by something big. Scrambling out of the water Savio found a giant snapping turtle attached to his leg biting down on it drawing blood.

"Like it? His names bite em! Have fun getting out of here!" Private laughed evilly. Seething Savio removed the turtle only to find Private had disappeared.

That day Private finally lost Savio, he was off Private's trail and so Private continued until he reached a small New York town when he was 16. There he stopped at a high school to sleep and was found by a teen named Rico, who brought him to Skipper and Kowalski. Skipper and Kowalski accepted him into their newly formed group and gave Private a new name. His old name Austin only haunted him it gave rise to memories of watching Savio eat his family alive. Of the screams of pain as each one died slowly and painfully. Of the massive amounts of Blood shed and of the blood that stained Private's face and of the great chase through the years.

Someone else in the group had heard screams of pain, had seen massive amounts of bloodshed, but they were not from other people, but From himself.

Rico's Past

Rico's real name was Ricardo Alejandro de Cosa; he was born in southern Spain by the beach. His parents were loving and kind, at least they were for the three months they had him. Shortly after Rico's birth, his Parents discovered his odd talent of swallowing something and storing it in his stomach. He did this with everything he liked, and when he wanted it he would merely barf it up, play with it and swallow it again. His parents were shocked at first then accepted this fact and moved on. However, a group of Scientists found out and when Rico was merely three months old kidnapped him so they could experiment on him. They started the moment they got back to their lab in Nevada. They injected the Baby Rico with all sorts of chemicals, poisons, nanobots, and even some radioactive material. They continuously injected these things into him throughout his life with them leading him to grow up insane. They experimented with him constantly, when Rico was old enough to walk the scientists had him open his mouth and they would shove active bombs down his throat. When they exploded, they would overlook Rico's screams of pain and the blood that he would throw up with the items he kept or that he was slowly losing his ability to talk. Over time, Rico hardened until he did not cry at the pain. They would open up his stomach to see what had occurred to his stomach every month or so, only to find no change. They drugged him yes but it occasionally wasn't enough and Rico would wake up and struggle to get free. One such time left im with a scar on the side of his face one he still has today. The experiments became more and more destructive and one day when Rico turned 16, the scientists forced an active nuclear warhead down his throat. The explosion caused Rico so much pain as it ripped his organs apart. He came out of it with two collapsed lungs, torn esophagus, pancreas, liver, and intestines. His stomach stayed in tact, and his heart was ok. In order to continue the experiments the Scientists gave him a bare minimal treatment, they fixed his lungs so he could breath and touched on the other organs. Over, the years Rico had become more and more aggressive, attacking the scientists that fed him rotten food, and who kicked him around the lab. Shortly after the nuclear bomb experiment, they tried the same thing again, only this time with a more powerful bomb. In order to Keep Rico calm while they stuffed him with explosives, the scientists gave him a large dose of a chemical into his bloodstream. However, it had the adverse effect on him. Rico became a monster, blind with berserker fury. Rico ripped his restraints and attacked the scientist in the lab, tearing them apart with his bare hands, and even with his mouth. Organs, bile and blood littered the floor of the room he was in now; it painted his face, hands and feet red and left a strange taste in his mouth, with no one else alive Rico moved on. His eyes had dilated so much that he had no pupil and his normally dull amber eyes were now a bright flaming amber, the light given off them trailed behind him as he moved. Rico scrambled into the air ducts and hid there for days before striking again. However, this time he was caught.

The scientists decided they needed to punish him for his aggressive behavior. Restraining him to a chair they drenched him and proceeded to electrocute him on and off for three days straight. When they released him they locked him in a large empty room. Rico laid still for two weeks, never moving from his spot. Finally, the scientists began to worry that they had lost their test subject and went to check on him. As one of the scientists approached Him Rico jumped up and digging his hand through the man's chest, he ripped out his heart. The man fell over dead a look of absolute pain and terror frozen on his features. Before the other scientists could lock Rico back in the room, he dashed out attacking one and killing him just as brutally as the last. Rico then proceeded to mindlessly kill everyone in the facility making sure the next one died more brutally than the last until the entire lab was covered in organs, blood, bile and mangled and bloody pulp of the once prod scientists. Rico sat above his last victim when the exit swung open. Before him stood two boys one was his age and only slightly taller, the shorter was a year younger than he was. Rico had calmed down enough to know who was a stranger and who was an enemy so he merely growled.

"His vocal cords are destroyed, they will take some time to heal." the tall one said. Rico was confused why did he hint to healing him. Was he going to experiment on him as well?

"yeah yeah, tell me something I don't know Kowalski! Hey, Soldier! Whats your name?" the short one asked.

"R-ri-ric-rico." Rico worked out, he had not spoken a word since he was three it felt foreign to talk and it brought a stabbing pain when he tried again.

"Rico huh? The names Skipper, this is Kowalski. We came here to bust you out but It seems you did that for yourself." Skipper stated calmly before motioning Rico to follow them. To this day, Rico does not know why he followed them but they led Rico outside the lab into dry desert. Rico had never seen the outside, it was foreign and interesting, and Rico loved it. "You can leave and go on your way or you can come with us, and prevent anyone else from being an experiment. Your decision."

Rico watched Skipper confused, Rico did not catch everything Skipper said before but he nodded. He had learned that trust must be earned, and fought to be kept. It took Rico a bit to decide and for some unfathomable reason he went with them. He honestly did not understand it himself but he went with them and attended high school. Kowalski tutored him on basics while Rico healed but he never really calmed down, his past was his life until Skipper and Kowalski came and gave him his option and Rico found an escape. Even so, he never truly escaped until his sophomore year of college, when someone who never had the option of escape came into his life.

Pandora's Past

Pandora had a fine family, her father was a surgeon, and her mother was a housewife. They lived happily, together, until one day when she was five she caught a fever so her father went to get her some medicine and was hit head on by an Eighteen-wheeler. After that, her mother fell into a deep depression that left her insane. For a while, Pandora took care of her mother until she seemed fine. Soon things began to turn sour as her mother began to slowly slip into psychopathy. Her mother would attack anyone who entered her property save her daughter, but Pandora did not notice. She was at school all day but even that changed. One day Pandora woke up with a fever, unable to get up out of bed she told her mom she was sick. Her mother smiled sweetly to her and picked up the 6-year-old girl.

"Well then mommy will make you better then! Just like Daddy would." In truth, her mother had never recovered from her husband's death and blamed it all on Pandora. Her mother took Pandora down to their basement silently humming a tune. Bringing Pandora down to the basement, she opened the door to a small dark room. Confused Pandora looked around and questioned why she was downstairs and why it was dark.

"Because if it's too bright then it will hurt your eyes and I want them to be perfectly fine. Now you just lay here, and mommy will strap you in so you don't roll around too much." her mother then proceeded to tie her to something cold hard. Pandora being an obedient child did not question any further, but was growing suspicious. Her suspicion grew to fear when her mother turned on the lights to reveal the dark room's contents. Surrounding her were instruments normally reserved for Surgery, and possibly at a Butcher's shop. Pandora's fear turned to terror as her mother picked up a scalpel and approached her daughter. Setting the scalpel to Pandora's chest, she dug in the scalpel ripping away the flesh. Pandora screamed in pain as she felt her organs exposed to the cold air. Her mother then took another instrument and began to attack her organs all the while singing a sick song.

"Look Right Look Left now what do you see? it's a pretty little Scalpel just waiting for me! look up look down now what do you see? It's your pretty little sweet meats just waiting for me~! I sing this song in disharmony. As I play with your anatomy! Gallbladder, liver, lungs, and heart! Their my playthings and my art~! Now listen little one, it's not that I'm nuts. It's just that you took my man from life~! SOOOOOO~ I'll play with your lungs I'll play with your heart~ And I'll sing this song until the game is dooooooooone~!"

Pandora's mother then continued to rip open her small body and opened up her organs as well. Whenever Pandora blacked out from pain, she just received an Adrenaline shot and her mother would continue. The first incident of such activity last a few days, and by the end of it Pandora had all of her organs re-sown together and was thrown back to school. Pandora feared going home from then on, but she feared what would happen to other people if she left her mother. One year when she was eight, she went away for the weekend with school. She found herself able to relax a bit for once, however upon returning home she discovered her mother had murdered all of the neighbors children, and forced them to move. So Pandora was stuck with her mother, being dissected on a weekly basis. This had lasting effects on her psyche, when ever she smelled chemicals, like iodine and other medical chemicals, she would go into a state of shock and have a mental break down. Unlike the other penguins she didn't lash out at her attacker, instead she kept it bottled up inside and removed herself from the presence of others. Particularly when she turned 11. On her birthday, April 17th her mother decided to have a particularly bad session. However, this time instead of focusing on her daughters Organs she turned to the nervous system. She ripped open her daughters back in three diagonal slices and took to removing and reattaching her Spinal cord and various ribs and other bones. The entire time Pandora screamed out in pain. It was ungodfully agonizing that Pandora swore if Hell was real, even Satan would find it too painful to experience. The surgery on her nervous system left Pandora with three scars on her back that would never feel correctly. In addition, the damaged nervous system had to be healed in an unorthodox way by her body. By this time, Pandora's body had adjusted to having to heal some terrible wounds, but this one needed something far stronger than its regular healing. In an act of self-preservation Pandora's body released all of her stem cells to her damaged nervous system including some parts of the brain that her mother had decided to play with at the time. As a result, she lost her ability to control her humanity. When her brain, nervous system, or her life was in a dire situation, her brain would release a hormone that drove her to act as a feral rabid animal. Her mother discovered this the next time she attempted to play with her spine and her brain. Coming out of the room covered in cuts and bite marks she discarded the idea of touching Pandora's brain and spine instead now focusing on her personal organs. Pandora was thirteen and starting Puberty when that round of abuse began. When she was on her period, her mother would strap her down and dissect her more personal area, all the while explaining in detail what sex was like. And her experience with Pandora's father, this left her with her current issue with discussing sex for it only made her think of the room in which she was locked and dissected.

The torture continued on undisturbed for no person was crazy enough to move in near the house. Until one day when Pandora was 17, a FBI agent named Darla moved in next to Pandora's house. Her first night in the house she heard faint screams echoing from the house next door. In the morning, she took it upon herself to investigate and walked into Pandora's mother trying to drag Pandora down to the basement, beating her when she refused to move. Darla had been taping her experience since she had entered the house and catching the fight on tape, tackled Pandora's mother and called her boss. The investigation began soon after and they discovered the room in the basement, locked and no key in sight. Pandora's mother would not tell them where it was and Pandora was too afraid to say anything about it. Finally, when Pandora was eighteen she was entered into Central Park University, where she met others who understood her, and treated her kindly.

"Wow~! Now that was worth the extra money!" A boy named Raio Joyce sat in the Central Park zoo reading a book Written by the CEO Julien the 14th for his deceased son. Raio had short messy silver hair, and eye patch on one eye, and mechanical hands. He had paid an extra fifty dollars of the only copy of the extended edition and found the origin stories of the main five characters, Pandora, Rico, Private, Kowalski, and Skipper. Needless to say, he had not noticed the zoo had closed while he was reading, or that five animals were reading over his shoulder. Closing the book Raio Joyce looked up and finally noticed four penguins and a lemur standing behind him, reading over his shoulder. Each had a different expression of horror and sadness on their face. The shortest one with a flat head slapped the boy in the face, while the tallest with a round head swiped the book. The one with the scar held the black and white lemur who in turn held him as well. The second shortest walked up to the Lemur and penguin with a scar and they retreated to the Penguin Habitat the tallest trailing behind with the book.

"You didn't see anything! You didn't read anything, and you will never say anything!" the shortest penguin Barked before taking off. Raio watched confused before standing up and going after them.

"Wait! I have a question!"