"We have to go! Right now!" Zidgel snapped.

"Why?" Jason ran after the captain as he jogged down the hallway of the Rockhopper. "Where are we going?"

"We are getting you and your sister home." Zidgel said. He skidded to a halt outside of Midgel's door. He pounded his fist on it. "Midgel! Get out here!"

"You're gonna just ditch us without even telling us why?" Jason whined.

Zidgel ignored the boy and pounded on Midgel's door again. When there was still no answer, he slid open the door and marched in. The pilot was a motionless lump in his bed. "Midgel. Up. Now."Zidgel snapped.

Midgel groaned and rolled so he was facing Zidgel and Jason. He blinked blearily as he focused on the intruders. "I heard you, I just thought you were Fidg." He murmured as he sat up. "Wait, what's wrong?"

"Take us back to Earth." Zidgel said. He looked like he wanted to explain further, but he stopped when he remembered that Jason was there.

"Right now? It's way early." Midgel ran his fingers through his hair, which stuck up from the night against the pillow.

"It's an emergency." Zidgel answered. "Don't even bother getting your uniform on, just get us going."

He walked back out the door as Midgel crawled out of his bed, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

Jason grew frustrated with the captain and pulled his arm before he could start jogging again. "Tell me what's going on!" He demanded, folding his arms as Zidgel turned to look at him.

"Jase, we don't have any time-"

"I bet you do." Jason interrupted. "Please, captain."

Zidgel crossed his arms over his chest. He narrowed his eyes, which were normally filled with laughter and jokes, but right now, they were more serious than Jason had ever seen them. In fact, the captain looked nothing like his usual self. Instead of his orange Federation uniform, he was wearing a simple gray tee shirt and jeans. His hair looked like he had just woke up and didn't have time to truly style it. It was eery how different he was acting.

Finally, Zidgel sighed. "Walk with me." He said softly. He turned and continued down the hallway. When Jason caught up with him, he began to explain. "We've got some trouble back at home."

"You mean on Earth?"

"No. I mean on our home. Arctlantis."

Jason paused. He had spent so much time with them aboard the Rockhopper, he never really thought that the penguins had a home planet. "What's wrong?"

"Well…" Zidgel hesitated. He didn't want Jason to know what was going on. "There is a kind of infestation."

"Then why are me and Michelle leaving? We've handled worse!" Jason protested.

"This is different."

"How?"

"These… things… aren't like a bunch of giant ants. They're more dangerous. They try to kill." Zidgel started walking faster. "It's just better if you kids go home."

"But that means it's just as dangerous for you as it is for us!" Jason said. "We'll do better if we help!"

"This isn't a mission." Zidgel sighed.

"So?"

"Jason, you can't come." The captain stopped walking and gripped Jason's shoulder. "It's just too dangerous. I can't put you kids through something like this."

"Why can't you just say what it is?" Midgel's voice cut through their conversation. He walked up and stood next to Jason.

Zidgel stood up straight and glared at the pilot. "It's better for him not to know the details."

"Well I need to know. So you might as well just tell both of us." Midgel crossed his arms. He hadn't changed out of what he'd slept in, which consisted of a white tee shirt and shorts.

Zidgel sighed in exasperation. "Midg, I'll tell you, but this isn't the thing for a kid."

"He's part of the crew too." Midgel continued to argue. "How bad can it be-"

"Zombies!" Zidgel finally blurted. The silence between them became thick with panic. Zidgel took a deep breath. "There, happy now? Arctlantis has a zombie problem."

Midgel tried to smile. "You're funny, captain."

"No, it's serious."

Midgel didn't want to believe that it was true, but everything about Zidgel's face spoke the truth. "Well, we've got to get home."

"That's what I'm trying to do. We have to get everyone out… after we get the kids to Earth."

Jason was still speechless. He had read about zombies in comic books, but he only ever thought of them as fiction.

Zidgel glanced at the boy when he noticed his quiet state. "Jase, you aren't coming. It's not your problem."

"But…" Jason looked up at the two penguins before him. "You're going?"

"Yeah." Midgel said. "It's our home. What kind of soldiers are we if we sit back and watch the apocalypse happen from our ship."

Zidgel snorted. "Yeah, soldiers. Right."

"But you could die." The thought brought tears to Jason's eyes.

"Hey." Midgel noticed that Jason was about to break. He pulled the kid into his chest. He felt him grip his waist in response. "We aren't gonna die."

Zidgel glared at the floor. That was the exact reason why he didn't want to tell Jason the real reason. He turned and continued down the hall without looking back. He made it onto the main deck. He eased himself into his chair, thoughts running through his head. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. Their mission was not to save their planet, but to get their families out safely. Arctlantis was too far from saving at this point.

Zidgel opened his eyes when he heard the doors slide open. Midgel entered the room, trying to smooth his hair. "So when we get everyone out, then what?"

The captain brought a hand to his face. "We just get out of there. Maybe go to the Federation until we find a new planet to live on."

Midgel only nodded in response as he approached his own station. He sat down in his seat and started up the Rockhopper. As the ship started to move, Zidgel stood up and made his way to the Vizzy screen and punched in their coordinates. "Where's Jason?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"I sent him back to his room." Midgel answered. He sighed. "I see why you didn't want to tell him."

"Exactly."

"But it's a good thing you did." Midgel cut in. He turned to look at Zidgel. "It's not fair for you to drop him off at home and expect him not to wonder why."

"But he wouldn't be like this."

"And how would he be if we never went back for them?" Midgel snapped. He was growing tired of Zidgel's excuses. "If we never went back and never gave them an explanation?"

Zidgel couldn't answer. He knew that Midgel was right. "I just wanted to protect them." He murmured.

Midgel's eyes softened. "I know."

Both penguins turned as the doors slid open again. Fidgel and Kevin entered, both looking slightly dishevelled from sleep. "What are you guys doing? It's an hour earlier than normal." Fidgel said.

Zidgel sighed and explained the situation once again. When he finished, Fidgel had turned pale and Kevin's jaw had dropped. "You're not kidding?" He asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no." Zidgel said. He leaned against the Vizzy screen control panel. "Look, we'll get our families out, no problem."

"Who are we getting first?" Fidgel asked.

Zidgel had been thinking about the best way to pick up their separate families. Midgel's and his own lived close to each other so they could be picked up in one stop, but Fidgel's and Kevin's lived on separate sides of town. He wasn't sure if there was a "good" way to go about it. "Well, what do you guys think?"

Fidgel hesitated. "If I had a choice, I would of course, say to pick up Molly and my mum first." He shrugged. "Of course everyone else here would say the same thing."

"What do you think is the most efficient way?" Midgel asked. He put the ship into auto-pilot and approached the rest of the crew. "I was thinking to pick up Fidgel's wife and mother first. His mother is the oldest."

"But my wife is pregnant." Zidgel scowled. "Plus, we've got three more kids. Do you think they'll survive longer than her?"

"In case you've forgotten, I've got an infant of my own." Midgel retorted.

"Misty can take care of herself." Zidgel waved off Midgel's response.

"So can Colette." Fidgel said. "We're being logical here. We can't pick them all up at once."

Zidgel paused. "What if we could?"

Midgel looked at the captain. "What do you mean?"

"What if we land the ship an equal distance from each of our homes then split up and get to our families at the same time?"

"Split up?" Fidgel crossed his arms. "Are you hearing yourself, lad? That's always the worst idea in horror movies."

"But it could be the fastest way to get everyone on the ship." Zidgel explained.

"No." Midgel said. "We need to all stick together. We'll be more likely to survive."

"And there will be more of us to protect them." Kevin said. "I say we use Midgel's idea."

"I second." Fidgel said.

Zidgel licked his lips. "Ok, whatever you guys think is best." He turned to the pilot. "After Molly, then what?"

"We make our way towards Kevin's place." Midgel continued to explain. "Mine and Zidgel's houses are on the way, we will pick up the others quickly."

"Then Kevin's." Zidgel confirmed. "Then we're out."

"Absolutely." Midgel nodded.

"Sounds like a plan so far." Fidgel said. "But first, let's get the twins to safety." As if right on cue, a light beeping signaled that they were almost to Earth.

Midgel made his way back to the cockpit to prepare for landing. "Wake them up. We'll have to say good-bye." He said quietly.

Zidgel stood outside of Michelle's room. She was the only one aboard the ship who didn't know what was going on. He wished with all of his might that he could keep it that way, but he knew she would find out sooner or later. He lightly knocked on the door. There was no answer so he pushed the doors apart. The room was dark except for her pink nightlight that he had bought her when they first started staying on the ship. He gulped and entered the room. Michelle still slept soundly on her bed. He watched her peaceful form for a minute or two then forced himself to sit down on the edge of her bed. He placed a hand on her back and shook her slightly. "Michelle? You gotta get up."

The girl stirred. She opened her eyes a bit and looked at him. "Why?" She asked quietly.

"You're going home now."

"Now?" She yawned and stretched her arms. "What's going on?"

Zidgel reached over to her bed stand and turned on the small lamp. "The crew is going on a mission. You and Jason have to go home."

"But we're part of the crew too." Michelle sat up and squinted again the light. She reached beside her and picked up her glasses so she could get a better look at the captain. "We've fought Cavitus, what could be worse than that?"

"Well, it's about our home planet- Arctlantis." Zidgel said softly. "It has a problem that's too dangerous for you to join us."

"What is it?"

Zidgel hesitated. "It sounds crazy, but it has a zombie problem."

Michelle paused. "Yeah, right." She grinned but faltered when the captain didn't grin back. "Wait, you're serious?"

Zidgel nodded.

"And you have to save your planet?"

"No… our families."

"You have families?" Michelle asked. She was wide awake at this point. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"I don't know." Zidgel said. "It never came up."

"So you're going there for them?" Michelle asked. The same conclusion that came to Jason started to form in his sister's head. "Will you come back?"

Zidgel started to answer, to promise that he would come back to get them both. But he remembered their adventure on Planet Cross-My-Heart. He couldn't guarantee that they'd come back in one piece. "I don't know." He put a hand on her shoulder so she looked into his eyes. "But I promise you that we will try our hardest to get back to you and your brother."

"But what if you don't?" A sob escaped the girl's mouth and she fell forward into Zidgel's chest. He closed his arms around her, holding her close as she cried into his shirt.

He let her stay for a bit until her shaking slowed. Then he pulled her away and looked into her tear-stained face. "We will try, Michelle. I can promise you that." He narrowed his eyes in thought. Then he reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. Michelle had never noticed that he had one. It was a simple pendent of a silver sun with a blue gem in the middle. "Here. Why don't you keep this and give it back when we come and get you again." He unhooked it from around his neck and placed it in her own hands.

She sniffed and looked at the piece of jewelry. "Ok." She said softly.

"Get ready for landing." Midgel's voice said over the intercom.

Zidgel stood up. "Get anything that you need, sweetheart. We'll be home soon."

Michelle just nodded and continued to stare at his gift. Zidgel looked at her then backed out of the room. Once the doors closed, he sucked in a rugged breath. He swiped at a tear that escaped down his cheek. Now was not the time to get emotional. The captain marched down the hallway to prepare for landing.