Woo-hoo! The next chapter is here! :D Yay! Another review! Thank you, Ecto-1! :) Here's a virtual love smoothie for you! c(') Cool! Yeah, hopefully they make it out okay (they still have quite a few levels, though)! Well, let's see how levels three and four go. :) Oh, just a quick note: There are levels with humans in them; in that case, the level area is people-sized, but the exit door is still penguin-sized.
Skipper, Rico, and Private found themselves in a dark, gray hallway. It was almost impossible to see.
"Rico, flashlight." The leader instructed. Rico threw one up and turned it on, illuminating the path in front of them. "Kowalski, mind telling us what to expect?"
"This time, there are no traps to worry about," Kowalski announced. The three penguins sighed in relief. "Just the guards and vicious guard dogs around every corner."
"Seriously, Kowalski? This is only level three! What did you put in level ten!?"
"I don't want to spoil anything, Skipper!"
"Ugh. Fine. Where's the first guard?"
"Walking in the adjacent hallway, fifteen feet ahead. Once you knock him out, he'll disappear. Beware his taser! You'll lose a life if you get zapped." The penguins slid to the first intersection. "Oh, they'll see your flashlight, so I suggest turning it off." Rico did and put it away. Skipper peeked around the corner; the guard was walking with his back turned to them. He quickly slid over, flipped onto the guard's shoulder, and gave him a quick chop to the neck. The man dropped and vanished.
"Alright, one down." Private and Rico joined him and they proceeded down the path.
"Second guard at one o'clock," Kowalski warned. "This one has a dog. Oh, the dogs are not wearing leashes, by the way."
"Umm. . . Exactly how vicious are these guard dogs, Kowalski?" Private inquired. The group suddenly heard a deep growl and the dog appeared out of a nearby hallway. He spotted them and charged.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Skipper ordered. The penguins did as they were told. Somehow, halfway through the exercise, Private wound up on the dog's back, clinging on for dear life.
"Skippah! Rico! Help!" The two penguins watched as Private and the guard dog went around the corner and out of sight.
"After him!" Skipper and Rico were in pursuit. "Kowalski, where are they headed?"
"They're going to the exit door. There are two more guards along the way, these ones equipped with dart guns, so stay alert. Take the next right and then a sharp left; they're stuck at the end of the hallway." They followed the instructions. The first guard spotted them as they slid past.
"Hey!" He took his dart gun out of its holster and fired, the dart missing them by mere centimeters.
"Rico, take care of him! I'll get the other one!" Rico nodded and slid back to finish him off. Skipper took a sharp left and ran right into the second guard. He looked up to see the barrel of the gun pointed straight at him. He did a backflip and landed upright a couple of feet away just as the dart shot out.
"Ha! How do you like me now, Mr.-" The dart ricocheted off the floor and got him right in the chest. "Curse you, Kowalski." Skipper fell over and disappeared. A second later, he flickered back on-screen, standing a few inches away from where he was shot.
"Sorry, Skipper. I forgot to mention that projectiles can ricochet off the floor." The lieutenant replied sheepishly. The leader groaned in annoyance and went on to defeat the guard. Rico caught up with him and they continued to the end of the hallway. Private was still clutching onto the dog's back as it attempted to kick him off.
"Rico, dog toy." Rico coughed up a rubber duck and squeaked it repeatedly, getting the animal's attention. The dog stopped kicking and glared at it. With teeth bared, he charged at Rico, who quickly threw the duck far behind him. The dog ran past them, pounced on the duck, and started tearing it to shreds. Skipper and Rico rushed over to Private, who was now lying on his back.
"You okay?" Rico mumbled. The little penguin nodded and got up.
"Let's get out of here." Skipper said. A loud bark made them turn around; to their horror, the dog had finished destroying the toy and was now stampeding toward them. "GO, GO, GO!" Skipper shoved the others ahead of him and got through the exit just in time. The door shut behind them.
"Whew! That was close. . ." Private gasped. Suddenly, the dog's teeth punctured the door, making them jump.
LEVEL 03 COMPLETE
(Time: 2:30)
Private: 3 lives, 1,112 points
Skipper: 2 lives, 1,122 points
Rico: 2 lives, 1,242 points
Kowalski hit "CONTINUE". The scoreboard vanished and showed the starting point for level four. They were now outside on a beautiful grassy hill covered in flowers. Above them was a lovely blue sky. Private smiled.
"Ooh, I like this level!" Next to him, Skipper frowned.
"I don't. It looks too perfect, like it's just waiting for us to put our guard down."
"Oh, don't worry, Skipper, you'll like this level," Kowalski said through the earphone. Skipper cocked an eyebrow.
"And why is that?"
"Just walk over the crest of the hill you're standing on and you'll see." The penguins glanced at each other but did as they were told. The hill they were on had a magnificent view of a valley beneath them, but that's not what caught Skipper's eye; it was what was in the valley that did.
Hippies. Hippies everywhere. They were all decked out in tie-dye outfits, long hair, peace signs, and every other hippie accessory imaginable. They were just relaxing without a care in the world, like sitting ducks. Needless to say, Skipper was beyond ecstatic.
"Is this level what I think it is?" He asked, growing more excited with each passing moment. Kowalski smiled.
"Yep. It's a full-on combat level. Beat the hippies, and you advance to the next level." Nothing more needed to be said. Skipper threw his flippers up into the air and started charging down the hill.
"YES! TIME TO SLAP SOME HIPPIES! WOO-HOO!" Within seconds, hair bands, peace signs, and glasses were flying everywhere.
"Peace, man-" SLAP!
"Groovy-" SLAP!
"Flower power, dude-" SLAP!
Private stared on, mouth agape. Rico wanted to jump in, but he knew he would only get in Skipper's way if he did - what good was it if he got slapped around by Skipper in the process? The fight ended almost as quickly as it had started. Skipper was standing in the middle of the field, still in a combat pose.
"Come on, who's next?" The others slid down the hill and joined him. Private raised his flipper slightly.
"Umm. . . Skippah, the fight is over."
"What?"
"The fight is over." Private repeated. Skipper looked around to see that he was right and sighed.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted." He waddled to the exit door, the others following.
LEVEL 04 COMPLETE
(Time: 0:30)
Private: 3 lives, 1,682 points
Skipper: 2 lives, 1,592 points
Rico: 2 lives, 1,712 points
Awesome job, Skipper! You beat those hippies in just thirty seconds! (Skipper: YES! TAKE THAT, HIPPIES!) XD Okay, we're approaching the halfway mark of the penguins' VR adventure. Be prepared for some humor mixed with DRAMA in all-capital letters (like shown in this very sentence). ;)
