Chapter 2

Sorry everyone! I posted the second chapter for my Other Story last night, instead of the second chapter for this one. This story is not going to have Hazel, or locked boxes, or anything. Sorry again to those of you I confused.

Thank you so so so so much to all of you who have reviewed!

Private rushed into the HQ, panting. Kowalski and Rico had arrived just before him, and they, too, were panting from running so fast.

"Why did you run away?" Asked Private when he had caught his breath. "You know the credo! Nevah swim alone. Skippah is swimming alone..."

"Okay, maybe running away may not have been my best plan yet..." Answered Kowalski.

"Were you afraid of Darla's magic?"

Kowalski glared and answered, "There's no such thing as magic."

"Then what were you afraid of?"

Kowalski was stuck, and he knew it. "Whatever..." He grumbled.

Private allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction before he continued, "Well we need to go back there and help him! I'd use maneuver tango delta romeo."

"Since when are you the options guy?" Asked Kowalski bitterly.

"Since you left Skipper to swim alone." Retorted Private.

"Touché. Fine. Commence operation: um... Stop the curse?"

"Works for me!"

So, they jumped out of the HQ and ran back to the lemur habitat. They vaulted the wall, and looked around to see... Nothing. Well, not quite nothing. The lemurs and baboons and other animals were there, but Skipper was gone.

So, they ran up to Darla and soon had her cornered.

"What did you do to Skipper!?" Shouted Kowalski, growing angry.

"He's gone." Answered Darla mysteriously.

Kowalski decided to humor her, so he asked, "And where did he go?"

"I don't know."

"Well you better find out!"

And so the interrogation continued. Kowalski eventually figured out that Skipper wasn't dead, which was reassuring. But otherwise the baboon couldn't be cracked.

Meanwhile, out in the park, Fred the squirrel was wandering around, searching for acorns. He was just biting into a nice one when a black and white creature approached him.

"Who are you?" Asked the squirrel.

The creature stood up on his hind legs, and Fred realized that he was a cat. This cat was stockily built, with short, sleek fur. His body was almost completely black, besides his chest, head, and paws. He looked like he was wearing a tuxedo!

When he spoke, Fred thought that his voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. (Mostly because he's dumber than a box of hair.) The cat said, "Well, I used to be Skipper... But I don't know who I am now."

"I thought Skipper was a penguin?"

"Yeah. He was."

"But you aren't a penguin."

"Noooo... I'm not. Good observation, Sherlock."

"I'm Fred."

"Whatever. Look, can I bunk with you until this whole thing blows over?"

"My grandma told me to avoid cats. They eat squirrels, you know."

"But I'm not a cat!"

At this, Fred looked really confused, "but... Um... Then why don't you go to the zoo?"

"Cats aren't allowed in the zoo."

"But you aren't a cat."

"Yes, I am! I mean.. Um... I don't know." He growled in exasperation. "I can't work with this. Bye, Fred."

"Is that my name? I thought I was Sherlock?"

Skipper ignored him and continued walking away. "He is a nuisance to the whole world, including himself" He thought to himself. "I guess I'll just spend the day out here in the park. How bad could it be?"

Three hours later, he was regretting that decision. Small children had seen him and hugged him, which bugged him to no end. They had tugged at his tail and at his fur, and the stickiness on their hands rubbed off on him. This stickiness gave him an irrepressible urge to lick himself. Before he could stop his own actions, he had turned around and began licking his own back.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself, as he continued washing himself. "Cats are stupid. This tastes disgusting!" But he couldn't stop until he was done. Finally, 20 minutes later, he was "clean," and fluffy, and covered in his own saliva.

"Why do I feel cleaner?" He was going to say more, but he was overcome by another cat instinct. He crawled in a zombie-like trance to the nearest object, which happened to be a park bench. He climbed up onto it, and promptly fell asleep. This was the first of many cat naps.

Finally, many torturous hours later, the day was over, and most people left the park. Skipper found an unoccupied tree, and went to sleep on a large branch.

As the clock struck midnight a few hours later (why is it always midnight?), erie music began to play, a green mist surrounded the sleeping cat. After a few minutes of the green swirling, yet another change took place, but Skipper slept on, not noticing as he completely changed his shape once again. He was in for quite a surprise in the morning!

This is the shortest chapter I have ever written... But, oh well! Review! Now! That's an order, I'll continue when I get me some quality reviews. :)