Here it is, Part 2. This is really fun to write.
I don't own Penguins of Madagascar, yadda-yadda-yadda!
Skipper paused for a moment, "Lights Rico." Rico hacked up a flash light and handed it to Private, who was slightly reluctant to take it.
The Penguins began walking again until they came to a fork in the tunnel. He looked down each before turning to his men, "Alright, looks like we'll have to split up. Kowalski, you take the left. Rico will go right, Private and I will forge ahead. Report back here when you're done." Skipper ordered, everyone saluted before going their separate ways.
Kowalski studied the tunnel as he went along, he was amazed at how well it was constructed considering it had only been two hours. He figured in his head there must be an army of Meerkats down here somewhere. Lost in thought he was completely unprepared for what happened next. Kowalski yelled in surprise as he was knocked down and pinned to the ground by a strong force.
He looked up to see a female Meerkat sitting on his chest, holding down his flippers. She had a scar running down the bridge of her nose. Leaning down to look at him, pure hate filled her features. "Who… Or what are you? And what are you doing down here?!" She demanded coldly.
It took a moment for him to come to his senses, "Well, to address your first question my name is Kowalski, and I'm a Penguin. A flightless bird mainly found in cold climates. As to why I'm here, we came to welcome you to the Zoo." he responded, growing uncomfortable in his current situation.
She eyed him a few seconds before climbing off to stand next to him. "We?" she asked, not as harsh as before.
Before Kowalski had time to elaborate the other come running into the scene. "We heard a scream, what's going on man?" Skipper asked Kowalski, shining the flash light in the Meerkats face. She covered her face to shield it from the bright light.
"It was nothing Skipper, just a misunderstanding." he reported.
Skipper lowered the light so it wasn't directly blinding her but still lighting her features. He looked her over, "So you're a Meerkat? Nice to meet you! My name's Skipper, I'm the leader of this team. This is Private and Rico." he pointed to each Penguin as he addressed them. "And of course, you've already met Kowalski." He looked back at her before continuing. "And you are..?"
"My names Tammy, it's nice to meet all of you." She smiled happily.
"So where are the others? We brought snacks to-" Kowalski looked over at Rico to find him face first in the bag of chips. "Well nevermind." he sighed.
Tammy hang her head, "It's just me for now. There was a mix up and the others were sent to the wrong location. I'm only here because I got sea-sick, so the humans put me in a different crate.", she looked up with a little more cheer. "The others will be here in a few days."
"Sea sick? Where did you come from?" Private asked nicely.
"Africa of course."
"Wow, hold the phone. You mean you're from the wild?" Skipper looked her over again.
"Well, yeah. Where else would I come from?" She answered as if it were the silliest question she'd ever heard.
Kowalski replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Most animals are born and raised in a Zoo. Skipper and I were born at this very Zoo."
"I'm from a Zoo in London!" Private butted in.
"Oh, I see." Tammy turned to Rico, "Where are you from?"
Rico just stared at her, licking the chip crumbs off his face. "Rico doesn't talk much… And we're not exactly sure where he came from. He just appeared one day!" Skipper informed Tammy.
"I'm sorry, but could we possibly continue this outside? I don't like being in the dark." Private asked uneasily, moving closer to the others.
"It is a little cramped down here." Skipper concluded, Tammy nodded in agreement. Everyone began walking toward the tunnel entrance.
Kowalski again turned his attention to the tunnels construction, "If you're the only one here, how did you manage to dig all these tunnels in such a short amount of time?"
Without a pause she replied, "It's in my blood, all Meerkats are natural diggers." She pulled on a root that was sticking out as they went. "Back in Africa we used tunnels for lots of things. Sleeping, hiding from enemies, it's really important to have sturdy tunnels." Kowalski nodded taking in all the new information.
Finally they reached the end and climbed out. Under the lighting of the setting sun it was revealed that Tammy's back was covered in scars just like her nose. Private was the first to speak up, "Tammy, how did you get all those scars?"
She looked away for a moment, "Just some battle scars, it's rough in Africa sometimes."
"A soldier, huh? I think we'll get along just fine!" Skipper said, slapping Tammy on the shoulder.
Kowalski's focus shifted as he got an idea, "Would you like a tour of the Zoo?"
"That would be lovely!" She smiled, a guided tour would be useful to her directive.
Tammy seems to be an odd little Meerkat... And what's this about a directive? You'll find out more in later chapters!
