Aztec Zoo
Chapter 2: Snow cones
Warning: I ONLY OWN Luana/Gazer and the lemur female from the first chapter nothing else!
"SKIPPA! SKIPPA!" Private ran up to the Penguin commander a bit frantic. "Have you seen Gazer? I can't find her!" Private continued to babble a bit as Skipper rolled his eyes.
"She's up above doing the 'cute and cuddly' bit with Kowalski. She's a natural." Skipper explained, "But we'll see how she does during training this weekend!"
"Training Skippa?" Private asked a bit nervous.
"Well of course, we want her to be ready when she gets old enough to join the group on missions!" Skipper stated excited a bit, Private seemed a bit worried.
"Um is it possible to postpone that till another time? I mean she's still young and all…"
"Negative Private! She needs training to start as early as possible! Besides she's old enough to talk like a normal penguin, if she could talk! So probably in human years about four years old maybe…" Skipper said partially to himself.
"Oh well then…. Can we at least take her for snow cones then? She's never had one!" Skipper gave one of his small smiles.
"Fine, but only if she performs well." To this Private giggled and clapped.
"Yay!" Private then jumped through the entrance to the island above. Kowalski and Gazer were waddling about distracting the last few straggling humans as they left the zoo. When the humans finally left Private scuttled over to the two.
"Now this is my name!" Kowalski said as he spelled out his name on his notepad before handing it over to Gazer. "Now you try!" The little penguin picked up the pencil in both flippers and tried to copy the letters. She only managed to write the l and the o correctly everything else were just scribbles.
"Aw! She got the l and o right!" private cooed at the mute little penguin. Gazer smiled opening then closing her beak again as she always did. Kowalski sighed.
"Yes yes she did private, she always does! She can't get anything else right!" Private watched Kowalski as he tried to get her to spell out his name again and giggled.
"Yes but not everyone's a genius like you Kowalski!" Kowalski smiled at Private again.
"Yes yes that is very true!" he turned back to Gazer who was trying to spell his name again. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth as she tried to write out the k in Kowalski. Finally settling on a certain way she put pencil to paper and did a very very crude k followed by her practiced o and stopped again trying to figure out the w. Kowalski watched and was swept over by his primal fatherly instincts, picked her up and swung her around a little.
"Oh! Who cares if you can't write yet! Uncle Kowalski doesn't!" then set her down and collected himself. "Ahem well uh… this is awkward." Private chuckled.
"Hey guys!"
"Marlene!" Private called out to the otter. "Hallo!"
"Hey Private! How's things…. Going?" Marlene leaned over looking at Gazer as she attempted to write again with Kowalski happily watching and occasionally showing her again how to form the letters. "Ok whose that?"
"That's Gazer! She's our new member; Alice dropped her off earlier this week! Isn't she cute?" Marlene walked over to Gazer.
"Hey there Gazer!" Gazer turned to Marlene opening and closing her mouth, Kowalski then quickly corrected her.
"Gazer she won't understand. Try waving when someone says hello!" Gazer nodded and smiling waved to Marlene.
"Ok why isn't she talking?"
"Because she can't Marlene." Skipper said as he came from the hideout Rico in tow. "She's a mute now if you don't mind we have to move out." Skipper said as he picked up the paper while Gazer clung to Kowalski's flipper watching Marlene.
"Oh well do you have a babysitter?"
"Babysitter? Marlene Gazer's coming with us!"
"What?" Marlene yelped loudly startling Gazer.
"Please keep your voice down Marlene! It might frighten Gazer!" private asked in a hushed tone.
"But if this is one of your nutty missions she could get hurt!"
"And who said this was a mission!" Skipper asked a hint of surprise in his tone. "No we're just showing her the zoo!"
"Oh ok that sounds safe!" Marlene stated.
"Besides training's tomorrow! She'll need to know the lay of the land for what I have in store!" Marlene stared at Skipper.
"WH-what?"
"Skipper?" this time it was Kowalski, "It won't be too rough will it?"
"Gblahblah yeah!" Rico said watching Skipper worried.
"No it's not going to be like your training!" there was a collective sigh of relief from the group. "Moving on! Come along men! The recruit needs a tour!"
"Come on Gazer! You'll like it here!" Private said ushering her forward with Kowalski and Rico with her, and skipper in the lead. Marlene decided to follow them for the tour, which went well. Gazer had no real fear of the reptiles and snakes even silently laughing at Barry the poison dart frog when she heard him talk. The animals of the zoo were very welcoming towards the little penguin, Joey refused to let her near his pen though, and the penguins refused to show her the lemurs. At the end of the tour they stopped at Marlene's habitat.
"And that's the zoo Gazer! This is what we protect from the forces of evil!" Skipper said as they dropped off Marlene.
"Yeah ok, so Skipper if you need a babysitter I'm always open ok?" Marlene offered.
"Sure Marlene we'll keep that in mind. Come along boys! Looks like someone's ready for bed!" Skipper said gesturing to Gazer who was yawning. Private, Rico, and Kowalski were trying to not allow their instincts from taking over. When the penguins finally arrived back at the lair Private took Gazer to her bed, which was a large cardboard box lined with soft pillows. After about ten minutes Gazer was dead asleep and the boys turned to Skipper.
"Oh go ahead!" Skipper waved his hand and the three penguins turned to the sleeping Gazer and collectively sighed, then quickly straightened up.
"Tomorrow we're going to test the young recruit, so here's what we're going to do!" Skipper beckoned the others over and began to whisper to them.
The Next Morning
Gazer woke up and looked around the base she couldn't see any of the other penguins. Gazer waddled around the lair looking everywhere she could and couldn't find the penguins. Gazer hurriedly tried to get into Kowalski's lab which had been child proofed meaning she could not get in. Upset by the absence of the other penguins Gazer walked up through the passage to the area above, to her disappointment and worry the penguins were not there in the habitat. Gazer then began t frantically look around seeing no one, Gazer then jumped the fence and silently ran about looking for the penguins.
Elsewhere
Skipper kept his binoculars on little Gazer as she scuttled around the zoo. Their plan was simple really all it was was a large game of hide and seek. Now all Gazer had to do was find them, the other animals had been instructed not to help her.
"Come on kid your close to the first one! Just think kid, you can find him! Find Rico!"
Back on the Ground
Rico watched Gazer frantically look around for the penguins on the verge of tears. She had been searching for a good hour now and was rather upset. It pained Rico to watch her. Yes the so called Psycho explosive obsessed walking weapon had parental instincts. It didn't help that she was about to cry and he couldn't call out to her or give a hint to her she had to find him. Lost in thought Rico didn't notice that Gazer was closing in on his hiding place inside of the trash can by the Chimp's habitat. As gazer approached Rico noticed her coming and silently ducked down hoping she would find him. Rico listened to Gazer's soft footsteps as the stopped in front of the trash can. Then there was a racket from flipper hitting the metal rails on the can. It continued for a bit then the soft steps sounded hurried as Gazer ran to the other side of the can. Jumping up to the ledge of the Chimp's habitat with much effort, Gazer looked into the can and saw Rico. Hitting the top of the can as hard as she could which was not very hard but pretty hard for a little penguin, Gazer grabbed Rico's attention. Rico looked up and smiled, sliding out Rico picked up the sad Gazer.
"Gahblagbaba Found me!" Rico said happily smiling to Gazer. The chimp's took notice of her inability to respond and came over.
"She's mute isn't she?"
"Yeahuh." Rico responded to Mason. MASON TURNED TO Phil who signed something.
"Phil's willing to teach her Sign language if you want."
"Uhhhhh ask skippah!" Rico blurbbled out before jumping down with Gazer and walking towards the fountain. Once there Rico set her down and said. "Find others!"
Elsewhere
Skipper watched as Gazer listened to Rico then left to find the other three penguins. She went towards the rhino Habitat looking everywhere. Skipper smiled.
"Your close kid really close come on… YES!" Skipper silently cheered as Gazer found Kowalski hiding in the Elephant's peanut stash. "Now for the interesting part." as Skipper said this the elephant came over and charged at Gazer and Kowalski. Gazer froze in place and it obviously took all of Kowalski's self control to not grab her and run. As the Elephant closed in Gazer opened her beak like she was screaming, grabbed Kowalski's hand and scurried as fast as she could away from the Elephant. The elephant stopped at the peanuts and didn't follow them as they Skipper smiled.
"Well it seems you have a knack for this kid! You'll make a soldier yet!"
Back on the Ground
Gazer took Kowalski back to the fountain where Rico sat waiting for her. The sun was close to setting by this point since it took her until noon to find Rico then until mid afternoon to find Kowalski. Leaving Kowalski with Rico she left for the reptile house. Once inside Gazer searched high and low until she came to the Poison dart frog habitat. Barry was sitting on a branch asleep, and slightly behind him Gazer saw a Black and white shape moving towards Barry. Gazer tapped the Glass Waking up Barry.
"Hey what do you want?" He asked. Gazer pointed to the shape. "Oh! Hey Private she found you, get out of here!" Private then stepped out of the shadows and left through a vent. Gazer left the reptile house with Private in tow ad dropped him off with the other two.
"Good job Gazah! Now you need to find Skippa!" Gazer nodded at Private and left for Marlene's. upon searching that area and finding nothing Gazer searched everywhere else. Having searched the entire Zoo and not finding Skipper Gazer began to get frantic and upset.
Elsewhere
From his Perch Skipper watched Gazer search and begin to grow teary eyed.
"Come on kid! I'm up here! Look at the clock!" he silently beckoned her to look but it never happened she searched and searched until finally the sun set and she sat down with RICO, Kowalski and Private and cried. Skipper finally gave up and went down to her. Sneaking up to them Skipper stood Behind them.
"Well boys its seems we learned something today!" Gazer turned to Skipper and raced to hug him. "we learned the kid has a lot to learn! And the kid deserves a snow cone, the carts making its final round boys, let's nab us some snow cones!"
"GahblablaYeah!"
"Sounds great!"
"I concur with that suggestion!" Rico then came over and picked up Gazer. The penguins turned to leave the zoo a periscope appeared behind them.
"So the pen-GU-ins have a new recruit! Oh this will be most interesting!"
