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Split
Chapter 4: Alone
Kowalski paced in the small space of he cage, constantly passing in front of Rico as the manic watched him. There was too much on his mind right now. Hans had done this on purpose, he was sure of it. How could he think about their means of escape when his mind was constantly drifting toward Rico, and what his anger towards the puffin could mean.
Genius. Frustrating, but genius.
"K'walski."
The strategist turned his eyes to his teammate, smiling weakly. "Yes, Rico?"
Rico tilted his head to the side. A frown turned his beak downward and the murderous look that had once been in his eyes was instead replaced with concern. How did he do that so quickly? Kowalski guessed it had something to do with his mental stability, or rather, his lack there of.
"Hans."
Sometimes it was difficult to decipher exactly what Rico was trying to say. Kowalski knitted his brows in thought before it clicked in his mind. "O-oh, no... Hans didn't get to me." That was a flat out lie. He laughed nervously. "I mean, what he said was ridiculous, right?"
There was a beat in which Rico simply stared.
"It was ridiculous... right?" Kowalski prompted again, nervously.
"Uh... yup." Rico smiled innocently. Or rather, as innocently as he could. It still looked a little creepy and unsettling, but that was just Rico.
Still, for some reason, that wasn't very convincing. Kowalski slowly stepped closer to be face to face with the shorter penguin. "Rico... Is what he said true?"
Rico hacked up the can of compressed air that Kowalski needed, holding it out to him. The intellectual peered down at it, uncertain. Rico was diverting his attention, for whatever reason, but... There was a point to it. They couldn't do this now. They had more important things to think about. Sighing, Kowalski took the can, peering around. "Now's as good a time as any..." He got the feeling that if they waited any longer, things would only get worse.
He leaned toward Rico, lowering his voice. "Our priority is to get out. We can't fight Hans and Blowhole's lobsters ourselves."
Rico gave a soft, dissatisfied growl.
"I know you don't want to run away, but it's just for now." The intellectual smirked. "We can find Skipper and Private and come back to kick their tails."
Rico seemed happy with that, smirking and nodding. Kowalski straightened himself out again, peering around. No eyes on them at that moment, as far as he could tell. He motioned for Rico to help him out. The weapons expert stood by the door of the cage while Kowalski climbed on his shoulders. He turned the compressed air can upside down and sprayed the lock. Liquid Difluoroethane hissed from out of the can, coating the lock and freezing it through.
"Rico, some sort of blunt-force object." One regurgitation and balancing act - on Kowalski's part - later, and Rico handed Kowalski a rock. "You literally have Rocks in your stomach?" Rico shrugged, causing Kowalski to almost lose his balance again. Once he regained himself, Kowalski shook his head. He gripped the rock firmly, slamming it against the frozen steel lock. There was a sharp crack, as well as a jolt up the intellectual's arm, before it snapped open.
Sirens screeched throughout the lair, bouncing off the walls and echoing down each tunnel to be sure that it would be heard.
Right, an alarm system. Kowalski should've guessed.
"Rico, go!"
Kowalski jumped down from his shoulders, sliding on his belly with the weapons expert right behind him. With the sirens, lobsters came pouring out from every direction, forcing them to a stop. Rico and Kowalski turned so that they were back to back, flippers raised and ready for attack. They'd been trying to avoid this. Perhaps he'd been hit harder on the head than he'd thought, having not considered this possibility. Kowalski's gaze snapped up as he saw metal doors beginning to slide shut around the lair. They had to get out and fast if they wanted any chance at all.
He had to fight and now or risk everything. Kowalski was reminded of the reptile house, alone and in the dark, panicking. He wouldn't wait for Rico to be pulled away again.
"Rico, cirrus formation!"
Rico grinned. He tumbled forward, straight into a group of lobsters with Kowalski right behind him. Startled, the lobsters jumped back for fear of being crushed by the weapons expert's brute force. Kowalski grabbed a lobster by the tail, using his solid claws as a weapon against the others. They were already getting overwhelmed, though as they got over their shock and began to charge. The doors creaked as they continued to close. Soon they'd be trapped again.
"Foolish Kowalski," Blowhole suddenly spoke from the other side of the room, watching with boredom. "Did you really think you could get away?"
Kowalski's gaze flickered toward him, eyes going wide. "Rico, hurry!"
Hans dropped down in front of Kowalski, smirking. Kowalski knew he didn't stand a chance. Hans was an even match for Skipper, and Skipper could still wipe the floors with the rest of the team put together. He took a step back, glancing toward the doors again. It was too late. They couldn't make it in time-
Kowalski yelped in surprise as Rico was suddenly in front of him, kicking Hans straight in the ribs and sending him stumbling back. The maniac grabbed Kowalski's flipper, planting his feet and using all of his strength to launch his teammate over the lobsters and toward the door. Kowalski yelped in surprised, hitting the ground ungracefully and skidding a little bit, right under the metal door before the opening became too thin to get through. It took him a moment to realize what had happened.
"Get the crazy one! As long as we still have one of them, Skipper will come!"
Kowalski lied down on his stomach, looking through the quickly closing gap. He saw Rico, struggling through the pod of lobsters and Hans moving in for an attack. "Rico!"
Rico glanced toward him, grinning psychotically before Kowalski was forced to pull back or get his beak crushed under the door. For a moment all he could do was stare at the metal door, panting heavily as everything processed. He clenched his flippers into fists, banging against the metal door. "Rico!" he repeated, shutting his eyes tightly. He knew there was nothing he could do, other than hope that the weapons expert didn't take too much damage. That would only happen if he kept fighting, right? If he let them catch him, they'd just take him back to the cage, right?
He had to get himself together or they'd come after him too... Kowalski took a deep breath, stepping back from the door. Rico... It was all he could think. Rico's in there, he couldn't leave. What about the penguin credo? Never swim alone. Rico was there. Rico...
He forced himself to turn around and run. He had to find his way out - he appeared to be in some sort of underground area - and find Skipper and Private. Then they could get Rico.