(Welcome to the Fantasy level. While the original brainstorm drawing I did showed them as humans, I decided to go with my friend kitsune106's suggestion and make them part-animal humanoids in the third level – think anime catgirls, except penguins. I know that's hard to picture, so there's further description in the fic. To reviewers who haven't seen Sucker Punch; Skipper is an analogue to the hallucinatory Wiseman, and so he isn't in the Asylum level. That doesn't mean he won't show up a lot in the overall fic, though – keep on watching. Also, go see Sucker Punch. Like, now. A lot of feminists hate it and I can see their point, but a) one of the most feminist girls I know loved it and I can also see her point, and b) it has STEAMPUNK ROBOT ZOMBIES AND MECHAS WITH BUNNY DECALS. And yes, my movie tastes are very very shallow.
While I'm using the shrine which was in the first dream sequence in SP, I don't want to use the same sequence settings for the future routines. In the movie, there were battle sequences in a steampunk World War 1 setting, an orc- and dragon-infested castle, and a train full of robots. Anyone got any suggestions for different weird battle settings?
Also, does anyone but me get a kick out of putting Julien and/or a human analogue of him through really severe pain?)
Chapter 4: The Perfect Crime
"Okay, men, this is the big one!" Skipper slammed a flipper down on the table. "This time, we're taking Dr Blowhole down for good!"
"Hooray!" Private clapped his flippers. The others glared at him, and he stopped. "Oh. Sorry, yes, I am taking this seriously. So, er, what's the plan, Skipper?"
Before Skipper could continue, a cheery greeting rang through the HQ; "Hello, friendly penguins!" King Julien slid down the ladder, landed with a neat pirouette, pranced over to Skipper, and hugged the annoyed penguin. "So what are my cute and cuddly neighbours doing?"
"That's classified, ringtail!" growled Skipper, pulling free of the hug.
"Hey, guys!" Marlene dropped through behind Julien. "What's up?" She saw the diorama on the table and hid a giggle. "You're playing with dolls' houses now?"
"It's not a doll's house!" snapped Kowalski, leaning over the diorama protectively. "This is classified information and you should leave right now-"
"Oh, I like the dolphin!" said Marlene, plucking the Dr Blowhole figurine from under Kowalski's flipper and examining it. "Funny little guy."
"He is not!" Kowalski snatched the figurine back. Julien leaned over his shoulder and caught sight of the figure.
"Hey, that's the crazy fishy guy!" Julien grinned as he reminisced. "Remember how I tricked him? He never did give me that jet ski either."
"W-wait, this is Dr Blowhole?" Marlene squinted at the model dolphin. "Aren't you guys taking this thing a little too far?"
Skipper took Marlene by the shoulders and stared her in the eye. "Marlene, Dr Blowhole is a genuine threat to the planet! If you don't believe us, come along on the mission and we'll show you what this deranged dolphin can do!"
Marlene looked thoughtful. "Yeah, okay. Show me."
"What?" Skipper jumped backwards. "No, no, no! This mission's no place for-"
"Women?" said Marlene sourly.
Skipper groaned. "Rookies. I was gonna say rookies."
"You said I should come along if I wanted proof. I'm coming. You think I can't handle myself?"
"What happens when you get outside? Remember what happened in the park?"
"Okay, I can't deal with open spaces, but you know I'm fine in the sewers or inside buildings. He's hardly going to be carrying on his eeevil business in the open, is he? And even if he is, you know how tough my feral self is – you could use the extra firepower."
"Good point." Skipper tapped his chin. "Okay, we'll give it a shot, but I take no responsibility for this if it goes wrong."
"What about me?" Julien demanded. "I saved you last time! I'm coming too!"
Skipper pressed his forehead against the table. "Fine. Same rule applies to you, ringtail; if you die, don't blame me."
The scene changes. Percival feels the snowflakes settling on his eyelashes. He is wearing only an evening suit of odd design, no warm coat, his shirt open at the neck under a loose cravat, bareheaded and barefoot. He feels the cold, but doesn't care. The icy breeze ruffles his hair. Shadowy figures surround him in the snow, but he senses no threat. The blunt claws and thick webs on his feet push the snow out of the way, the scales keeping out the bitter cold. He pulls his cravat tighter to keep the snow out of the downy patch on his chest. The stiffer feathers on his back and forearms bristle under his shirt.
He hears crunching snow behind him and whirls around, dropping into a fighting stance, but it proves to be only four fellow pilgrims. Kowalski, glancing around warily; Rico, beaming and waving; and Julien huddling up to Marlene and shivering. Lemurfolk are not well-adapted to the cold. All of them wear variations on the evening dress worn by Percival; highly impractical for the cold weather, but traditional. Percival relaxes and waits for them to catch up. He grins, exposing the hard beaklike plates penguinfolk have in place of true teeth.
"Took you long enough!" he says.
"Hey, you may be meant for the snow, but we're equatorial breeds," Marlene objects, brushing snow from her whiskers with the hand not wrapped around Julien. Her rudderlike tail flicks behind her, under her tailcoat.
"Speed up, then, it'll keep you warmer!" laughs Percival, leaping up the steps two at a time. Julien breaks away from Marlene and races him, both of them giggling. Rico joins them, catching them up but unable to outpace them. Kowalski and Marlene shake their heads and smile.
The racers reach the top first, stopping to wait for their companions. It would be unthinkable to leave one of the group behind here. When all have caught up, they walk, slowly and reverently, towards the gates.
The Temple has been a place of both worship and training for generations. It takes in any brave and determined enough to find their way to it, and sends out heroes. It is very beautiful. Snow slides from the gabled roof and sizzles in the lanterns outside.
The pilgrims have to break the ice on the font outside the door. They wash their hands and feet, trying not to flinch at the cold. They will face far worse than a little discomfort. Side by side, they walk up the steps, and Percival pushes open the double doors. Blazing candlelight greets them, gleaming off the soft golden-coloured wood of the floors and walls. A dark-clad figure stands before the altar, his back to them. They know they make no sound, but he speaks without turning.
"Welcome."
The figure turns slowly. Another penguinfolk, short and stocky but still imposing. His own tailcoat billows in the wind from the open door, and a captain's stripes are visible on his shoulder. The pilgrims kneel before him.
"Are you the Skipper?" asks Percival, eyes cast modestly at the ground.
"Some call me that," says the man. "Stand up. All of you. If you're worthy to be here in the first place, you don't have to bow." The pilgrims stand, and Skipper paces back and forth in front of them. "So, tell me. What is it you seek?"
"We seek freedom," says Percival immediately.
"Good answer. Do you think you're worthy to find it?"
"We hope so."
"Good." Skipper lays his hand upon the floor. Something clicks, and a hidden panel opens. Beneath the panel is a stash of weaponry, of all nations and eras, oiled and polished, the guns fully loaded. "Choose your weapons."
Percival takes a katana and a sturdy revolver, and clips their sheaths onto his belt. Rico slings a huge axe onto his back and then, of course, picks up the largest machinegun he can find and cackles happily. Julien selects a pair of small sleek matching handguns, then picks up a naginata and twirls it around, leaping and twisting in practice battle. Kowalski polishes a longsword with his glove, then examines a carbine rifle. Marlene runs her hands possessively over a sniper rifle and a duelling sabre.
Skipper nods. "Now. You will need to find five items to win your prize. A map; a fire; a knife; a key. The fifth is a mystery. All I can tell you is that it will be both a great sacrifice and a great victory, and that you will know it when you find it." He smirks and winks. "That's half the fun of a quest, am I right?"
"Hey, Private! Snap out of it!" Skipper slapped Private upside the head in his usual officious manner.
"Ooh. Sorry, Skipper, I was ... nothing. So what do we have to do?"
Skipper spread out a blueprint on the table. "From what intelligence we have, or rather Kowalski has, been able to gather, his diabolical doomsday device is split into four parts, spread throughout the city, with a fifth and final activating device in his HQ. We have four days to find all the devices and destroy them before he finishes the activating device and, well, activates it. We don't know precisely what the device does, but if it's Blowhole, it's worth stopping." Skipper slapped his flippers down on the table and looked Marlene and Julien in the eyes. "Now I should warn you two that this mission is going to be dangerous. You may not come back alive. If you still want to join us, you can, but if you want to back out, I won't think less of you."
"No way, we're coming!" Marlene insisted. "You need all the help you can get!"
"I am not missing out on the fun!" Julien protested.
Skipper deflated. "Well, darn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to coddle a pair of rookies through a mission this big ..."
"Ah, you love us!" chuckled Julien, airily waving a paw.
"Fine, we're all in. Now we seal this the penguin way ..." Skipper raised his flippers. "High five!"
The six of them joined in a complicated high-five pattern, culminating with paws and wings clasped in a circle. The mission was on.
"Percy? Percy!"
Percy snapped back to reality as Marlene jabbed her nails into his hand. "Ow! What was that for?"
"You were miles away figuratively when we're trying to get you miles away literally! Pay attention, kiddo," she said with a grin.
"Um, actually, I was thinking, and ... I may have a plan," Percy said tentatively. "I don't know if it'll work."
"Any plan's better than none," said Kowalski. "Go ahead."
"Okay." Percy started to check the items off on his fingers. "First we'll need a map. We'll never find our way through that darn maze without one."
"There's a plan of the hospital in each of the doctor's offices, I can take one and use the copy machine if we can break in."
"Second, we need something to cause a distraction. Something big-"
"Fire!" Rico said gleefully before Percy could suggest it.
"Actually that's a really good idea, that would disable all the electric locks," said Kowalski, tapping his fingers thoughtfully. "But where will we get anything to start a fire with?"
"Blauman," said Julien unexpectedly. "When he's done with m-my checkups, he lets me smoke with him, and he uses matches, not a lighter. I'm due for another tomorrow afternoon, I can probably get hold of some."
"Excellent. And there's plenty of alcohol for wound-washing in the infirmary, that's suitably flammable. If we can break into the medicine closet nobody will miss one bottle." Kowalski looked at Rico, who smirked. "No, I'm not trusting you with the matches."
"Aww."
"Third, we need at least one weapon. A stick, a knife, anything we can use to defend ourselves if we get caught."
"I guess we could break into the kitchens and steal a knife," said Marlene hesitantly.
"And fourth, we'll need to get hold of the outer door key. We'll have to do that last, it's the item most likely to be missed so we'll save it for the very last minute."
Kowalski shook his head. "I don't know, it sounds like a terribly long shot."
"I know," said Percy. "But like you said, any plan is better than none."