Private was clutching Princess Self Respectra in his flippers as he tried to ignore the violent screams that were emitting from the telly behind him. Once the two had returned home, the youngest member of the team tried to approach Rico about what the chimpanzees had commented on. However, the hefty penguin merely brushed him off as he plopped himself in front of the television, holding Miss Perky tightly to his chest, as he turned the channels until he got to the 24/7 Horror Channel. It was a known fact, among the penguins, that Rico preferred to watch the bloodiest, scariest, most disturbing movies when he was very upset and needed time alone.

Which was just what Private did, as he found himself shaking and jumping every so often as the music would become too creepy, or as another cry would blast from the speakers. It was starting to become a little too much for the lad to handle, and besides...he didn't quite think mind-numbing gore and violence was the way to go. So working up the courage, Private put down his equestrian doll as he waddled his way to in front of the telly, blocking the strange bandage-covered nurse that just popped up in the movie.

Rico glared.

"Ey! Man, 'ohm on!"

Private folded his flippers over his chest, in a gesture he hoped looked more confident than he felt. "Rico, you can't just ignore matters of the heart, by watching bloody, violent movies all day!"

Rico scowled at the penguin blocking the television. "Yeah-hah!" he argued, swinging Mrs. Perky at him like a baseball bat. Private luckily ducked in time, and stood his ground.

"No, you can't! It doesn't work that way, Rico! You have to go talk to Kow-HEY! Knock it off- OW!"

Private couldn't dodge the doll while he was being pummelled with it. "Ca' too, ca' too, ca' too! Moooove!"

Private scurried off, to where Rico didn't care, and the psychopath settled in again to watch his bloody horror- the news? The channel flicked over again, this time to some sappy soap opera, and Rico found the remote had gone missing. He searched around himself, and then spotted Private across the room, holding the precious device. The television clicked off, and the young penguin waved the remote in the air, teasingly.

"You want to watch the telly? You'll be needing this, then, won't you?"

Rico got up and charged for the much smaller bird, who yelped and took off, past Rico, weaving just in time to avoid being grabbed. By the time Rico spun around, Private was already at the lab door. The walking storage unit's stomach dropped out as he watched Private open the door, and chuck the remote through the doorway, the door clanging shut after it.

"There, now you have to face the truth!" quipped the private. He didn't bother mentioning the fact you didn't technically need the remote to turn the telly on or change the channels, and luckily Rico didn't seem to realize it.

Rico growled and grumbled incoherently, the glaring scowl never leaving his features. Private smiled sheepishly, and scurried away, past Rico again, and over to the ladder, ready to ascend if necessary. But the hefty bird didn't give chase again, he simply looked back at him with an almost hurt expression, before turning back to the lab door and sighing loudly.

The heavy laboratory door cracked open, and Rico listened closely. He could hear Kowalski mumbling from inside.

"Valve...cylinder and cylinder head...crankshaft and distributor.."

As the scientist continued to list things, Rico found himself growing curious as they were parts he actually recognized. The weapons expert opened the door a little wider as he squinted his eyes and he tried to hear the mutterings.

"Piston, carburettor, fanbelt…" Kowalski paused as he looked over his notebook closely, his good flipper holding it as his other was tucked safely to his side in a cast and sling. The scientist grumbled as he violently shook the pages in frustration. "Nix that! Of COURSE I don't have one in my inventory. Great, just great. I have every piece I need to start my drill regiment underground sub-ewer BUT the fanbelt. CAN this day get any WORSE?!"

The tallest penguin, in his fury, wasn't paying attention to where he and his surroundings were. Kowalski cried out in pain as he ended up banging his bad arm onto his workbench. His misfortune seemed to just upset him more, as he ended up throwing his notebook over his shoulder.

"Why? Why must fate be a cruel mistress to me? Haven't I been a GOOD man of science? Haven't I always done the right thing...er, for the most part, anyway? Why, OH WHY, must all these misfortunate events keep happening to ME?!"

Rico, still hidden behind the door, found his heart ache at seeing his fellow teammate in so much pain. His stomach felt heavy as he felt sick- a part of him wanted to run up to the scientist and just wrap his flippers around him as he tried to make him feel better. Another part, however, wanted to run and hide as he recalled what Kowalski had said just a mere hour or so before. Rico felt guilty as he remembered that a lot of Kowalski's bad luck, as of late, really WAS his fault.

But, most of all...he heard Mason's words echoing in his head as he gave a name to his illness- love. He still had his doubts about it, not sure how one could just so suddenly fall for a friend out of the blue...Yet, as he continued to look onto the scene before him, Kowalski more miserable than he had ever seen him before, the hefty penguin felt himself glare in a steely sort of determination. Seeing the notebook just a mere foot away from the door, Rico carefully crept into the room as he grabbed it. Just as cautiously, he snuck out again as he closed the door behind him. The weapons expert looked down at the checklist as he saw the crude doodle that Kowalski needed for his whatchamacallit.

Fanbelt.

Got it.

"So," Private said as he waddled closer to Rico, careful and equally unsure of the stronger penguin's mood, "how did it go, then?"

Rico bumped the youth to the side, as he made his way to the hatch. Tucking the notebook under an arm, he started to climb as Private worriedly followed after him. The muscled bird stopped, before shaking his head telling the other penguin not to follow.

"'Otta 'oh. 'Atch over 'Walski!"

"'Watch over Kowalski?' But Rico, where are you going? Rico?"

Rico climbed out the hatch, not giving his comrade any reply. Private rushed up the ladder after him, peeking his head left and right as he desperately tried to see where his friend had run off to.

Private didn't like the unsettling feeling that was growing in his stomach, as all that greeted him was the silence of the night.


Moonlight sifted through the dust covered windows of the Autoparts Store located a mile from Central Park Zoo, casting a dull glow on its abandoned linoleum floor. A disheartened penguin peered in at the stripped empty store, his flippers and face pressed to the outside of the glass door, and even though he couldn't read the "CLOSED" sign, or the hastily scribbled "FOREVER" directly under it, the barren interior told the same story.

Rico sighed as he stepped away from the door, his normally black flippers turned a pale gray from the dust now clinging to them. He rid the tip of his beak of the thin layer of dust with his tongue, wrinkling his beak at the taste. "Bleh!"

Well now what? Rico glanced down the street... well, there was another mechanics store about eight miles away... but there was no way he was going to get there on foot or belly. Not before morning, anyway. Thankfully, the city was full of opportunities, and soon the hefty bird was speeding down the road towards his supposed destination, clinging to the underside of a taxi.

The ride was over twenty minutes later, and the penguin slipped out from under it, hid behind a trashcan, and waited for the taxi to pull away again.

It didn't take long for Rico to realize the ride he'd hitched had taken him in the complete opposite direction of where he intended to go. "AWWWwwwohhh..." moaned Rico, before pounding his head into the side of a brick wall repeatedly in frustration. Yeah okay, planning wasn't his strong suit. This is why he didn't do solo missions. This is why is was the "blow things up" member of the team.

A tap on the penguin's shoulder had him spinning around, flippers raised and ready to throw down if necessary.

Mooncat stumbled back and cringed at the threatening pose. "AH! Please don't hit me! I'm innocent!"

Rico relaxed and smiled. It was the Mooncat! Mooncat was always a welcome sight. "Oh 'ey, Moon'at!"

Max relaxed now, too, and returned the smile. "Uh, yeah, it's Max, I wish you'd just call me Max." he said, scratching the back of his head. Rico just stood there, smiling at him for a moment.

"Moon'at!"

"Yeah I thought so. So hey! What brings you all the way out here? And where are the rest of you? Aren't there usually four of you?"

The penguin in front of him began babbling incoherently and gesturing, obviously telling a story that completely eluded the feline. Max scratched his head and shrugged.

"Oh yeah, you're the one who can't really... speak so good, huh?"

Rico frowned... right. Not everyone could understand him the way his team could. Oh, wait! He belched up Kowalski's notepad and held it up for the Mooncat to see, tapping the drawings with the tip of his flipper with a grin.

Max leaned in to study the crude drawings. "I'm guessing these are... car parts, maybe? You're lookin' for car parts?"

The penguin eagerly nodded his head, as he did a little dance in place- FINALLY they were getting somewhere!

"Ya know, I always did wonder how you guys always had dough on ya. Especially considering the fact you're just birds. So I assumed you found out the Ma and Pop place on Fifth Avenue was closed down, huh? WELL, did you ever think t'try the dump? I see old cars lying around there ALL the time. Like junk yard heaven!" Max paused before continuing to sell the idea. "Plus, ya know, free. Free is always good. Trust me on THAT one."

And trust Rico did. Heck, free worked for him. He was desperate enough that he was actually considering just taking some random car on the street apart to get that fanbelt. So if this saved him some trouble, and was a bit better on a morality base, then by all means! The penguin grabbed onto the felines paw, as he began dragging him in the area he assumed the closest dump was.

"Om on, 'Oon'at! 'Ump!"

"Gah! Oh, um, you want me to go with you? Right, yeah, okay. But we're KINDA going the wrong way here, man!"

...Okay, maybe he should let Max lead the way.


All was quiet, as the hours continued to tick on. Not much could be heard but a few mumblings of soft conversations, and running water. The manhole next to the fountain on the west side of the zoo, however, broke that silence as it suddenly sprung into the air and clashed on the ground not to far from the spot. Out from the sewer entrance emerged a small penguin, as he lept from the hole with as much energy as ever. following shortly behind him, however, was the head of a severely beaten and bruised lemur king as he rode on his aye-aye servant's back. Maurice was grumbling as he carried the weight, as the royalty moaned dramatically from his pain.

"Sheesh, I get why you're upset with the guy," Maurice mumbled, "but couldn'tcha have waited until AFTER we were up here to kick his butt?"

"Oh, oh da pain! The royal everything is throbbing and achey in all sorts of horribly ways!" King Julien continued to whine, as his servant removed him from his back and plopped down next to him. "Maurice! Be making de pain be going away!"

At the moment, Mort sprung up from the sewer as he landed next to his fellow lemurs.

"I know what will be making you better, King Juuulian!" The smallest mammal jumped onto the royal toes, as he began to hug and kiss them passionately. "Kisses make aaaall the ouchies go away!"

Julien wailed pathetically again, but this time it had an underlying tone of anger to it. "Mort, you are making it be worse! Go be annoying in another place, that isn't this place!" complained the king, scraping him off his foot with his other foot. Mort plopped to the ground in a dreamy daze; the royal foot had touched him! On purpose!

Skipper turned to face the lemur trio, flippers behind his back. "Men... I'd like to say it's been a pleasure working with you, but that would be a bold-faced-stinking-LIE. In fact, you're pretty much worthless." Despite the sting behind the meaning of the words, the penguin's tone had no vehemence to it. He spoke in a very calm, matter-of-fact way. It seemed he had expelled all of his anger while beating up Julien. He turned to leave.

"You are dismissed."

Skipper ignored the lemur king as he insisted it was not him who was being dismissed, as he walked away, to where he wasn't sure. He didn't feel he'd be able to rest knowing how distraught Marlene was... and because of him, when it came right down to it. He didn't figure he could face her right now, either... so where did that leave him to go?

"Psst! Hey! Hey, Skipper! Hello?"

The commando penguin was torn from his introspection by the loud whispering, and looked up to see Roger leaning over his habitat wall across the way. The large reptile waved when he was spotted, giving a smile that was obviously meant to be friendly, but the jaws full of razor-sharp teeth were hindering its intention.

"Roger? What are you doing up so late?" questioned Skipper, waddling over to the habitat wall and craning his neck up to face the alligator.

"Oh, I know I shouldn't be up so late! But I just can't sleep! I'm too nervous..." the hulking alligator covered his eyes with his claws and shook his head. Skipper raised a brow, his own woes momentarily forgotten.

"Nervous? What's a big guy like you got to be worried about?"

"Well! You see, I was down in the sewers not too long ago, looking for things to use for my arts and crafts... you'd be surprised the kinds of things you can find down there!"

The penguin nodded. "Right..."

"Anyway, I found this really nice necklace down there, and-"

"A necklace?!" interrupted Skipper, his woes not so much forgotten anymore.

"Yeah, I know! Who would throw away something so lovely? Now, now I know what you're thinking; 'Roger, you should try and return it to its rightful owner', but trust me, as an alligator I know, when it ends up in the sewer, it's because no one wants it anymore."

Skipper was only half-listening at this point. Hope glimmered on the horizon. "Um yeah, great, Roger, could I-"

"And I was thinking... of giving it to Pinky. What do you think, too bold? Would that be coming on too strong? Oh, I just don't know! I don't wanna mess this up..." the giant reptile collapsed dramatically, draped over the wall, his face hidden.

"Could- wait, what? Pinky? ... The flamingo? Isn't he a... well, a he? ... Not that there's anything wrong with that." shrugged Skipper, awkwardly. Roger sprung up again, and gaped at Skipper.

"... Is he? Are you sure? How can you be sure? Is there a way to tell with you birds?"

"DNA test, apparently." The penguin smiled fondly as he recalled how Kowalski had botched up his own test, and how it was yet another moment where he and his girl grew closer. "But seriously, not that I'm one to say anything against love-"

"Love?! Oh, well, I wouldn't go THAT far! Really, I just think they're cute and we've talked a few times, and I rather enjoyed their company. I was thinking maybe LUNCH first, nowhere even near the whole LOVE department. But who knows? Maybe Pinky and I will tie the knot as man and...Er. Would it be rude to just ask what they are? Not that it matters too much, one way or another I suppose, but I'm sorta having pronoun trouble here. Or do you think that's too personal and can be seen as an insult? Oh, I REALLY don't want to offe-"

"ROGER," Skipper interrupted the alligator, only feeling a little sorry when he jumped from fright," LOOK, can I see the necklace you found? Not to jump to conclusions, but I have a sneaky suspicion I know who it belongs to."

"Oh! Yeah yeah, sure thing pal. Wait here for a moment, would ya? I left it by my tree for safe keeping."

Roger returned a moment later, and the hope on the horizon washed over Skipper in a wave of relief as he saw the string of shining pearls dangling from the reptile's claw. The commando penguin felt like he could jump for joy, but he wasn't the type, so a cool smile would have to suffice.

"And my suspicions were correct! Roger, I'd know those pearls anywhere. They belong to the lovely Marlene."

Roger gasped. "Marlene? The nice otter with the scary snoring, oh! I feel terrible I was going to keep them! Oh, she must miss them terribly, I- why were they in the sewer?"

The penguin's smile fell and he looked shocked for a split second. "Oh, um... well, Julien-"

Roger held up a claw to stop him. "Say no more, say no more. Here, bring this back to Marlene, please? Would you?"

"You got it, reptile. Consider them delivered and accounted for."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" The pearls dropped into Skipper's flipper, and he waved his farewells to the alligator. Skipper was practically all smiles as he slid away and rushed to the other side of the zoo, where the otter habitat was located. Sure, he was tired, slightly sore from the beating he received from the Rat king, and he probably smelled like something that died and then was boiled in stomach acids of a sheep…But, in all honesty, he couldn't care less.

He had a special lady to cheer up, after all!


Max and Rico looked up at the sign attached to the gate surrounding the dump. An Autumn chill was settling along the New Jersey coast; however, that wasn't what made them shiver. While neither of them could read, they were very good at reading symbols and telling when something was ominous about them. Max was shaking violently as he pointed to the sign.

"D-d-dog! That's a dog! That means there are MUTTS here, just waiting for us on the other side to shread us LIMB from LIMB!"

Rico sniffed the air, confirming that there were, indeed, dogs somewhere. There was also some unfinished tuna somewhere in there! Heeey, that sounded promising! However, the hefty penguin shook his head as he tried to make himself focus. No, not fish. This is not the time for fish. Fish was not on the agenda. They were there to look for parts of an engine, that's all.

Finally, Rico turned to his feline companion as he placed a flipper on his back for support.

"'Ey, no orry 'out et!" He smiled, even as he chucked up a small stick of dynamite. "'Ee 'og? KABOOM! Yeaaah, WHOO!"

For a moment, the Mooncat was far away, his face blank, as he stared straight ahead at nothing. Dogs... exploding? Oh, oh yes, that was a dream come tr- NO! Bad Max, that is NOT okay! He shook his head, and he was back.

"Jeez, big guy, you really don't have any sense of morality, do ya?"

"Mmm..." Rico thought for a moment. "Nope."

Max gingerly took the dynamite from the penguin's flipper and tossed it away over his shoulder... where it exploded with a deafening ka-boom. The feline jumped, cringed, and looked at Rico with wide, unbelieving eyes. "It wasn't even lit! How does that even HAPPEN?!"

The penguin shrugged. "I 'unno."

Unfortunately, the sound didn't go unnoticed by the dogs inside, and the bone-chilling barking that arose was enough to make the fur on Max's tail stand on end. "They found us! They know we're here! The jig is up, we're done for!"

Rico gave the cat cowering behind him at his feet a mildly disgusted look, as the barking grew steadily louder. Soon the pack of four dogs were in sight, charging and snarling. The Mooncat screamed, shot up, and took off- or, at least, he intended to, but he just wasn't going anywhere with Rico standing on his tail.

"What are you doing! Run! They're almost here, they'll rip us apart, they-"

Max was grabbed by the shoulders, and his heart nearly stopped as he was shoved mere inches from the small pack of snarling dogs. This was it, his final moments, he had been betrayed by one of his only friends, why wasn't he dead yet?

Oh, right. There was still a gate between them. After taking a moment to get over feeling like a fool, Max smirked at the dogs, and, confident he wasn't going to try running away again, Rico let him go.

"Yeeaaah, not so tough now, are ya? Yeah yeah, growl, snarl, I'm a big mean, stinky dog! I sniff my own butt and roll in my... well, you know."

The dogs all grew silent, as most of them looked offended. The feline felt like he had won a small victory, until the dogs moved aside so that a giant scary looking doberman could come up front and glare down at the both of them. He growled as he showed his fangs.

"What did you's say t'us, kitty cat?"

Max momentarily forgot about the fence once more as he cried out and hid behind Rico for safety.

"NYEAH! I-uh- I was merely saying that you guys are all great, classy even, and in no way do you guys do anything like rolling around in your-"

"BEAT IT," the doberman leader snarled out, "You's ain't suppose to be here. An' you don't wanna see what happens to nobody that comes around MY turf!"

Rico scowled as he began to size up the dog. Oh, he could take him. He could take him easily, no problem. And he was ready to do it, too - already beginning to regurgitate another bomb- when he was suddenly lifted into the air as they started going the opposite direction.

"'EY! What da?!"

The hefty penguin looked down to see that Mooncat was the one holding onto him, as they ran a good distance before hiding around a wall. The feline huffed and puffed, before seeing the penguin's glare turned at him instead.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! Tactical retreat, an' all that. Did ja see those guys? *I* saw those guys! And if we're gonna get you that car part, we're gonna have t'think outside the box here. Gotta come up with a plan, be the dog and all that kinda stuff!"

Oooh, right. Rico was beginning to understand the jist of it a little more, as his glower softened. He nodded his head up and down excitedly, before dropping on all fours and wagging his feathery bottom, tongue hanging out as he panted. Skipper always called him an attack dog for a reason, and Rico assumed it must have been for his canine like properties.

Max merely watched in mild amusement, until the penguin tried to sniff his rear. He jumped, before waving off the flightless bird.

"Woah now! Alright, maybe thinking like a dog might not be the best plan here." Mooncat paused, as a lightbulb went off in his head. "Buuuut, thinking like a CAT might just be! Alright, buddy, here's the plan…"

Rico listened intently, as a smile grew wider and wider on his face. He chuckled darkly to himself as he was enjoying what he was hearing. Now this plan…

This he could get behind.


An ear twitched, and the dog's head jerked up, as he listened. Another dog spoke up beside him. "'Ey, you hear somethin'? Because I definitely heard som-"

The first dog's paw swatted him in the face to shut him up. After a while more of listening, the first dog turned back to him. "Yeah, there's a somethin that needs checkin' out over there, alright. Grab Lenny and Granger and meet me over there."

'Over there' happened to be near the fence a few yards away. The dog sniffed the air and growled. Cat. That same cat from earlier, if he wasn't mistaken... and his nose was never mistaken.

"Hey there, I'm a cat over here, Meow, meow, hiss, and snarl!"

The dog turned and his nose was proven right, not that there had been any doubt. That cat from earlier sat perched atop an old rusted out bus, grinning in a way that made the canine's blood boil. Oh, how he hated cats.

"How'd you's get in, anyway?"

"It's a little thing called 'climbing'. Something that I, a cat, can do, and you, a stupid dog, cannot."

Max's grin was gone as this dog was joined by three other dogs. "Oh, you's is gonna regret comin' in here, cat."

The feline yelped as two dogs lunged, missing his tail by inches. "Oh, I already am, I already am!" he cried, as he took off, four very angry dogs hot on his heels.

How was it, Max thought to himself, that whenever there were penguins involved, he ended up running in terror, scared for his own life? He really needed to find new friends.

Their chase led them deep into the dump, back to where the old, rotting tires were kept. The four dogs skidded to a stop in a small clearing, mounds of said tires towering on every side. The cat's trail had been momentarily lost, his scent obscured by the smell of old rubber.

"We know's you's here, cat. Why doncha' just come out an' make it easier for all of us?" called out the leader dog.

"Hey, I think I smell 'em..."

"I think I smell some tunafish."

From somewhere not too far away, they heard "'Ey! 'Ats 'ine!"

The four canines spun around just in time for the ground to begin to shake, as the six piles of tires surrounding them shot into the air, scattered by some sort of explosion. The sound alone on their sensitive ears was enough to make them yipe, in spite of themselves.

Tires rained down upon the dogs, each of them hunkered down, holding their paws over their heads. By the time the tires had stopped falling, the dogs found their world had gone dark.

Max and Rico high-fived one another, outside of the tire prison. Rico's expertise on explosives really was impressive; it looked as if the tires had been stacked up by hand, to form a sort of crude pyramid.

"Oh," Mooncat began, all smiles, "You, sir, are a genius. Real craftsmanship goin' on here!"

The penguin looked down at his feet, actually feeling a little modest, as he waved a flipper at the cat. Oh, flattery will get him far in life! However, Rico's gushing quickly turned to seriousness as his eye caught the tire pile once more. Right, they had work to do. And who knew how long the dogs would be knocked out? Heck, he sure didn't know!

Nor did he want to find out.

Rico regurgitated the list, before shoving it into the cat's paws. Max looked confused for a minute, as the flightless bird pointed at the image of the fanbelt before pointing in two different directions.

"Oo 'at way, eh go 'at way. Yeah?"

"Uh," the feline stalled, as his brain took a moment to put together the pieces," oh! Split up- gotcha. Can do. We'll just signal somehow if we find it, okay?"

Rico nodded before dashing off in the direction he pointed in, penguin sliding away and soon out of Max's sight. The weapons expert looked left and right, trying to see if he could see any cars laying around. A few times he got excited as he would see a piece of an automobile peeking behind a tower of junk, only to see it was just a tire or a bumper. He grumbled before bolting off again, still on his search.

About half an hour had gone by, and Rico wasn't having any luck. The penguin was starting to feel down, worried that they had done all that work to get in there, for nothing. Right when he was going to signal for Max to find him, so they could leave before the dogs woke up and found them, the hefty commando perked up as he suddenly heard a car horn go off. Once...twice...Yeah, he was SURE he was hearing it! Rico quickly turned around before making his way to where he was hearing the horn coming from. It didn't take long for the penguin to find Mooncat at the wheel of 1996 Honda Civic- rusty, without wheels, and all its windows broken- on top of a pile of garbage.

"'Ey! 'Oo oun' uhn!"

The cat grinned at him through the shattered windshield. "I sure did, buddy-boy! Now, let's pop the hood of this bad boy, grab the whatchamacallit, and get the heck outta' here, what do ya say?"

"Yeah!" cheered Rico, already scrambling up the pile of trash. Max searched around for the lever, or switch, or button, that would pop the trunk, but let's be honest here, he had no idea what he was doing. "Okay, I uh, I think I almost got it, runnin' out of buttons over here."

The car buckled and Max covered his ears as the sound of groaning metal filled the air. It seemed Rico was tired of waiting, and the hood was lifted right off of its old rusted hinges, and tossed to the side. Max shuddered; that penguin was downright scary sometimes. Rico hopped down into the car, out of Max's current range of sight.

The feline sat there and watched as various nuts and bolts and other small parts flew up and out of the gaping hole left in the front of the car. After what seemed like hours, but was more likely a few minutes, the penguin hopped back up onto the bumper, a long black belt looped around his neck like a much-too-long necklace. His white feathers were smeared with grease now, but if the bird's ecstatic grin was any indication, he couldn't care less.

"Ta-daaaah!" Rico sang.

"Very fashionable, it's a good look on you." The striped cat hopped out of the broken window, before continuing. "So that's all you needed, right? We all good, here?"

Rico hopped down next to him, before squeezing Mooncat in a big hug. The penguin then let go, still smiling even as he saw the cat look down at the black gook now on his fur in disgust, before holding out his flippers and upchucking three big and tasty looking trouts. He put them in the feline's paws.

"'Ere ya oh, 'uddy. 'Ee ya!"

Max merely looked down at the gift happily- it had been a while since he ate a good meal, after all- before looking up and seeing his penguin friend already a good distance off. Max waved as he called out to him:

"No, thank YOU, pal! Pleasure to help, ya know, and all that jazz!" He looked back at the fish, as he licked his lips." Mmm, ya know...Those penguins really aren't that bad. Good group of guys. Though...I wonder what the tubby one even wanted with that thingamawhoozit anyway…"

Mooncat didn't get a chance to question the matter any further, as he suddenly heard barking a little too close for comfort.

"Nyeah! Nevermind THAT, I'M GETTIN' OUTTA HERE!"


All was quiet in the otter habitat... all right, no it wasn't. Marlene was snoring like a bulldozer; but, the point was, the otter was fast asleep. And by the way she was tossing and turning, it was a troubled slumber.

She awoke with a short yelp, sitting bolt upright in her bed. The dream was already fading from her memory, but it hadn't been the dream that had awoken her, anyway. She had heard something... she sat and listened for it in the silence.

And there it was again. It sounded like a rock tapping against another rock... or was it against the cave wall? Marlene shivered and squinted into the murky darkness, and silhouetted against the moonlight at the cave entrance was-

"Skipper? What are you... doing?"

She heard the rock clatter to the ground as it was tossed away, and shielded her eyes from the flashlight that was suddenly switched on. "What, I was knocking. I thought you liked that common courtesy hogwash."

"Knocking? ... With a rock?"

Skipper rolled his eyes impatiently. "Marlene, you see these flippers? They're lethal weapons! Perfect for a throwdown with anyone, at any time, any place. But knocking, not so much."

"Ah, I...see," the otter wrapped her blanket tighter around herself, as a cold wind blew past the cave entrance. She shivered, as the penguin began waddling into her home. Marlene quickly had to hold her nose, as a foul stench suddenly greeted her. "Oh, man, what's that smell?!"

"Sewers."

"...Sewers?"

Skipper smiled as he finally made it to his mammalian girlfriend, as he grabbed her hand and stuffed something in it.

"Yep, sewers."

Marlene's confused and disgusted features began to vanish as she looked down to see what was given to her. Her honey eyes lit up, as a smile spread widely on her face. There, in her mitts, was her lost trinket she had been lamenting over for a good many hours. She was so happy, she felt tears beginning to prick her eyes.

"My...My necklace…"

Skipper genuinely found himself surprised as the next thing he knew, his lover had thrown her arms around his neck as she hugged him tightly. Her blanket slipped, as she had gotten onto her knees to reach him. The penguin heard quiet sniffling as he felt the otter's hands resting against him- the one still holding those precious pearls.

"Oh...Oh Skipper! You found them! You actually found them!"

The avian commander found himself relaxing, as he wrapped his own flippers around the mammal's form. He smiled softly as his girl still refused to let him go.

"Of course I did! What kind of man would I be if I didn't at least try to find them? Especially after that look you had after losing them."

"But," Marlene began as she pulled herself away from the embrace slightly, "wasn't it hard? I mean, to even find them? We've been down there before, that place is huge!"

"Hard? Naaah. Difficulty level was minimal- pretty much a cake walk." He paused as he recalled all the trouble he went through. "And I got to pummel TWO annoyances in the process. Win-win, I say!"

The otter smiled brightly again, not even feeling bothered enough to question the pummeling comment. She hugged her man tightly again.

"Oh, just thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me! Thank you thank you thank-" Marlene paused, as she threw herself back and covered her nose again. "But seriously, though, you REALLY do reek. Appreciative, here, but it's kiiiinda hard to show just how much when you smell like something just died. Sorry, hun."

Skipper laughed, not offended in the least. He was used to getting dirty- not everyone else was.

"No problema, mi encantadora, comes with the job. Just happy to serve." The penguin let go of his woman, as he prepared himself to turn and leave. "Guess I'll be heading back to HQ for operation: Get Rid of the Funk. So if you'll excuse me…"

The flightless bird was stopped in his track by a hand on his shoulder. He looked at it, before looking at the woman the said hand was attached to.

"Yes, Marlene?"

"Oh, well, come on- nobody said you had to GO. How about you let me return the favor, and draw you up a bath? Huh? Help you out, and...and stuff? I mean, least I can do!"

Skipper was about to say how ridiculous that plan was, considering he was a full grown bird and could take care of himself. But as he looked into the eyes of his secret lover, seeing the alluring mix of shyness and flirtation...He felt himself smirk as all arguments seemed lost for the moment.

"You know...I kinda like the sound of that." He put a flipper on top of the otter's hand. "Yeah...I really do."


Watching Lunacorns was the perfect way to distract from being alone in the HQ. At night. After bearing witness to Rico's horrible monster movies earlier. The colorful ponies talked about friendship and sunshine and hugs and other such things that drove the scary things away.

Sure, Kowalski was technically home, but he was still holed up in his lab, and his rotten mood he'd been in lately wasn't something Private wanted to deal with.

Kowalski could be just as scary as movie monsters when he was angry.

Despite the comforting ponies, the young penguin screamed and whipped around when he heard something behind him. "AH! PLEASE DON'T EAT ME oh, hello Rico."

Although Private had been mildly upset with the guy for leaving for so long without telling anyone where he was going, he was still glad that Rico was smiling, and seemed to be in good spirits tonight.

"Yo!" replied Rico, with a wave and a smile. It seemed he was headed right for the lab.

"Well, you seem awfully chipper tonight! What have you got there? A necklace of... some sort?"

Rico paused and held up a side of the belt around his neck. "K'walski nee' it."

Private raised a brow in confusion. "You got a necklace for Kowalski... huh. Well, it's um... it's, quite nice, it's... pretty?" The young bird offered a smile he hoped was convincing, but his dishonesty showed in his eyes. The storage unit just gave him a look.

"Nah neh'lace."

Rico ignored the awkward staredown he was getting from the private, as he stood at the lab door, and raised a flipper... and paused.

Uhg, flippers were useless for knocking. Luckily, he didn't have to, as the door opened right then, anyway, and Rico suddenly found himself standing awkwardly close to the team scientist. The hefty bird stumbled back just as awkwardly. "Heh heh... 'ey."

"Er..Hello?" Kowalski felt himself clenching his body tightly, suddenly fearing something awful was going to happen. He cleared his throat, as he tried to calm down his nerves. "May I help you?"

Before the weapons expert could reply, Rico noticed how the analyst's eyes suddenly widened as his gaze locked onto the hefty's penguin neck. It took Rico a moment to realize it was because something was, indeed, around it. He smiled, as he began to remove it and hand it over.

"Is that a…" Kowalski stopped his inquiries, as he used his one good flipper to hold onto the gift that was being given to him. The scientist squealed in joy. "YES! It IS! Rico, where did you even FIND this? How- OH! I'm not even going to QUESTION the hows! Or even the whys, for that matter! This...did you get this for me?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, I retract my previous statement- how did you even KNOW I was in dire need of this missing part?"

Rico's smile grew wider as he expelled Kowalski's notebook from his gut, before holding it over his head proudly.

"Ta-daah!"

"Ah...That does explain THAT mystery. I was wondering where that went off to…" The scientist's frown was quick to return to a bright smile as he draped the fanbelt over his injured arm, letting it rest there, as he began to fidget slightly. "But, um, no matter! Thank you, Rico. You haven't the foggiest idea just how important this component is to me! You see, my newest project requires me to make an engine from scratch. My drill regiment underground sub-ewer- or D.R.U.S.E, as I affectionately prefer to call it- is...well, pretty much what the name says. An underground sub-like vessel that drills through the earth. And I figured...OH! No matter! That isn't so important now! Again, thank you so much Rico! I full-heartedly appreciate the gesture...especially after what I, um, ya know...said earlier."

Though still a bit nervous to admit his shortcomings and to bring up a situation that showed himself in a negative light, Kowalski was far too thankful and in his happiness found himself resting his good flipper on Rico's shoulder.

"I take back what I said. You're not a hindrance in the slightest and I truly do enjoy your company. I am very honored to have such a considering, if also slightly crazed, friend looking out for my wants and needs."

There were more than moths in Rico's stomach now. The sincere words spoken in his favor, the genuinely happy expression Kowalski wore, the gentle flipper on his shoulder, it all added up to an almost electric giddiness in his chest he'd only ever felt once before, back in Guatemala, all those years ago... so it really was love, after all.

When in Rome, do what the moths in your stomach were screaming at you to do. Rico was pretty sure that was how the saying went.

Private, having no one there to do it for him, shielded his own eyes, as Rico stretched up, and pressed his beak to Kowalski's.

No, definitely not friendship.