Alright, Chapter 2 is here! :D As promised, things will get more interesting in a moment.

The rest of the day went on without any further problems and, after receiving dinner from Alice, the four penguins went down into their HQ to get Rico ready for their doctor's appointment.

"I've made a list of all of the items currently in Rico's stomach. I'll check them off as we go until everything's accounted for." Kowalski said, pulling out his clipboard and showing Skipper the list. He smiled and turned to Rico.

"Okay, Rico. I want you to start getting everything that's not food out of your belly, comprende?" Skipper asked. The penguin sporting a mohawk nodded and coughed up his favorite flamethrower first. Kowalski crossed the corresponding doodle off.

"Flamethrower, check." Next came a stick of dynamite. The lieutenant marked that off as well. This continued as Rico regurgitated many other items and weapons. All was fine until. . .

"Hello, neighbors!" Julien's voice rang through the HQ as he dropped down from the fishbowl entrance followed closely by Maurice and, even closer, Mort. Skipper groaned and turned to them as Rico continued hacking up his inventory.

"Ringtail, how many times have I told you that our HQ is for us and us alone?"

"Eh, I don't know, but counting is not a job for the king, which is me. That is for Maurice to be doing. Right, Maurice?" He turned to his assistant, who shook his head yes. Mort stared at Rico and pointed.

"Why is the penguin throwing up all that stuff?" He questioned. Julien looked at Rico and grimaced.

"Ugh, yes! What is the gross penguin doing? It is assaulting my kingly eyes!" He turned away from the scene, trying not to puke.

"We're going to the vet tomorrow, and Rico needs to empty his stomach so he gets a good report." Private replied as Rico retrieved a bazooka from his gut.

"I don't. . . ugh. . . remember the barfy penguin to be doing this before." King Julien responded between gags.

"This time is different. We're getting X-rays, which means all of these items would be picked up by the scanners, and that could lead to serious consequences." Kowalski explained, continuing to check items off the list. Suddenly, an anchor flew out of Rico's mouth and hit Mort in the head, knocking him out.

"Anchor, check."

"Eh, getting what-rays?" Julien inquired, confused.

"X-rays, a form of electromagnetic radiation commonly used to examine the bone structure of various animals."

"English, Kowalski. You know Ringtail is simple-minded." Skipper retorted. Julien glared at him.

"How daring of you! I am not one of simple minding! I like fancy things, like my crown! DOES THIS LOOK SIMPLE TO YOU?" He shouted in Skipper's face, making him grit his beak in anger.

"Get out of here, Ringtail! We're busy!" He shoved the lemur toward the ladder, but Julien resisted.

"You cannot be shoving me! I am the king! Maurice, punish him!" The short lemur glanced at Skipper, who gave him a daring look, and decided not to try.

"Uh, I'm going to pass on that one, Your Highness." He replied, heading to the ladder and dragging an unconscious Mort behind him. Julien crossed his arms and glared at his right-hand man.

"Well, then I will do it myself!" What the tall lemur did next was something no one was expecting.

He grabbed a heavy mallet off the floor and chucked it at Skipper. He ducked just in time, but Rico wasn't so lucky. The weapon hit him just underneath his ribcage, causing him to fall over and gasp for air. Instantly, the other penguins rushed to his side as the lemurs stared on, shocked.

"Kowalski, analysis!" Skipper yelled. He watched helplessly as the weapons expert thrashed around, struggling to breathe.

"It appears that the mallet hit Rico's diaphragm, which controls breathing. He won't be able to get air for a minute or two."

"Will he be okay?" Private asked, deeply worried for him.

"Yes, he should be," Kowalski replied as he turned to Rico again. "Try to take slow, deep breaths." The penguin nodded and tried his best to follow the instructions. Skipper got up from where Rico was lying and spun to face the lemurs, Julien in particular.

"Ringtail, if you don't get out of here right now, I swear that I will take that mallet to you myself. NOW GET OUT!" The lemurs were gone before Skipper even finished the sentence. Once he was sure of their departure, he rejoined the group and was relieved to see Rico slowly but surely getting air again.

"How are you feeling, Rico?" He asked.

"Okay." He grumbled, taking steady, deep breaths. The others gently moved him to the side wall so he could rest with his head up. Skipper crossed his flippers and looked at his options guy.

"Kowalski, when this is all over and done with, I want you to fix our security system so that no lemurs will be able to get in here, period." Kowalski nodded.

"Yes, sir." He flipped over to a blank page in his notepad and started making plans to upgrade their security system while they waited for Rico to recover. After a few minutes, the demolitions expert got to his feet.

"Are you okay, Rico?" Private questioned. The crazy penguin nodded.

"Alright, then. How much more is there?" The leader asked, turning to Kowalski for an answer.

"Hmm. . . Just a pair of sushi knives, a crowbar, and a flashlight." He responded after checking the list. Skipper clasped his flippers.

"Perfect, we're almost done. Okay, Rico, get to it."

The penguin opened his mouth to regurgitate the items, but nothing happened. He frowned and tried again. Still nothing. His third attempt seemed promising but, as the items started to make their ascent, a throbbing pain blossomed around his abdomen, and he stopped, grabbing his midsection and groaning. The others looked at him, confused.

"Kowalski. . ."

"I'm on it, Skipper." The lieutenant put down his clipboard and went over to Rico.

After looking inside Rico's beak, he went into his lab and retrieved his red X-ray vision goggles. He put them on and peered at Rico's stomach. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Kowalski stood up straight and gently poked him in the stomach. Rico winced.

"Well, what is it?"

"It appears that the blow Rico received from the mallet bruised his abdominal muscles, and is preventing him from removing the remaining items."

"You mean. . ." The leader started, concern evident in his voice.

"Yes, Skipper. Rico can't regurgitate."

Well, that's. . . INCONVENIENT! :[ By the way, the X-ray vision goggles I mentioned are the ones Kowalski used in "All Choked Up" (they will be referenced later on as well). :)