Cross over between POM and The Hunger Games. The characters belong to the creators of POM completely and you may recognise some parts from The Hunger Games, although it doesn't follow that story plot completely. Thank you.

Chapter 10

With the final penguins now located, Skipper gestured signals to Kowalski and Rico to move around to the other side. His plan was to surround their camp, closing in and killing them. The leader peered round a tree, staring at the four penguins sat on the forest terrain by a log fire. He glanced over to Kowalski, who had just taken his position in a shrub. Skipper gave the taller penguin a nod, who then pulled an arrow from his bag and placed it in his bow. He aimed it at a selected penguin, the tip of the arrow pointing out from the leaves. Composing himself with a deep breath, Kowalski let go of the string. There was a blood curdling scream that came from one of the other penguins, as they watched their team mate be slaughtered in front of them. Kowalski hid in the shrub, placing a flipper over his eyes in guilt. The leader then looked up to Rico, who was perched on a branch in a tree. Signalling him, Rico then regurgitated a grenade, throwing it down at the terrified group, who were attempting to scatter. The explosion sent the three victims and the corpse flying in all directions. Skipper then pulled out his throwing daggers, revealing himself to the exhausted and horrified penguins. Two staggered to their feet, attempting to run away, but Skipper finished them off with a flying blade that pierced their skulls. However, Skipper was beyond satisfied as he knew that only three of the four were dead. He turned to view the clearing. Kowalski leaped out from the shrub, pulling an arrow from his bag and shooting it out with his arrow. Skipper sucked in his gut as the arrow shot passed him, hitting the forth threat.

"Not so close next time Kowalski" Skipper let out a nervous chuckle. The taller penguin ambled over to his leader's side.

"Sorry, but I knew I wasn't going to hit you" Kowalski boasted.

"Don't get cocky when your playing with weapons" the leader scolded, raising a brow in concern. Suddenly, the forth penguin that was hit stirred, pushing it's self up right.

"I wasn't cocky... If I wanted to hit him in his heart, I would have had to have shot closer to you..." the taller penguin gulped. Skipper felt for his pocket of throwing daggers, but he was disappointed to find it was empty. With a limp from the arrow sticking out his leg, the penguin agent staggered towards Skipper and Kowalski, pulling a dagger from a corpse on his way. He lifted his flipper which clenched the dagger, aiming for Skipper.

"Kowalski, use your bow" Skipper gasped, frozen in horror of the sight.

"I-I can't...That was my last arrow..." the taller penguin stuttered. The penguin threat drove the dagger forward, making Skipper wince. With Kowalski cringing, he only heard a body fall to the floor. "S-Skipper?" he asked, behind shielded eyes.

There was only silence, followed by a metallic sound and foot steps running.

"K-Kowalski..." a voice gulped. The taller penguin glanced to his side, where he had heard his name. There was his leader, stood right beside him, not a scratch mark on him.

"Skipper but how?" Kowalski gasped, his beak gaping. Skipper didn't reply. Instead, his head dropped, his eyes cast down and staring below. When Kowalski also glanced down, he suddenly fell into a trance. Skipper dropped to his knees, picking up the heroic corpse in his flippers.

"Rico...He sacrificed his life...For me..." the leader pouted, trying to prevent his beak from quivering. Kowalski put a flipper on Skipper's shoulder, before kneeling down beside him.

"S-so that means, the other guy got away..." Kowalski pondered, receiving a harsh shove from his leader.

"Forget about the other soldier! Rico is dead, you fool!" Skipper bellowed, pulling the corpse closer. Kowalski shrunk in guilt, casting his gaze away before returning it back to Rico. "He was a brave, brave soldier...He was like a brother to me".

"Skipper, I know you are upset, I too am upset, but if we don't kill that other penguin, we can't end this whole thing" Kowalski whimpered, wiping a tear from his eye before it could trickle.

"Enough with the killing! I'm sick of killing!" Skipper cried, falling into a state of deep melancholy and depression making it difficult for Kowalski to comfort him.

"We'll give him a send off like Private, but like you said when Private died, their deaths can't be in vain. That means we need to get to Blowhole".

Skipper knew Kowalski was right, but was in denial at Rico's sacrifice. "No, no, I won't leave him" his voice shook.

Kowalski clasped his leaders shoulder, pulling him around and turning him on the spot slightly. He raised his flipper and gave the captain a stern slap around his face, before grabbing hold of his other shoulder and getting eye level with him. "Skipper, he is no more then a dead body now. He died quickly, see? The wound mark in directly to his brain, it would have been over quickly, he wouldn't have felt a thing".

The captain got to his feet, pushing away his lieutenant and giving a look of disgust. "What has happened to you?! You've turned so sick and twisted" Skipper hissed, screwing up his face. Kowalski's beak gaped slightly at the words his leader had just used to describe him.

"I-I'm not, but if we don't move, we'll get killed".

"Oh save me your excuses Kowalski! It was different when Private died, there was more competitors. There is one left now!"

"Yes! ONE LEFT! He's so close to winning that only killing us two is in the way, and he'll have no problem doing that if we just sit and mourn!" the taller penguin argued, standing up.

Skipper squared up to him. "Then you best go if you're that much of a coward" he scowled.

"B-But Skipper, I didn't mean it in a cowardice way..."

"JUST GO! I don't want you here a second longer, you're a disgrace to this fallen soldier" Skipper spat, narrowing his eyes and looking the lieutenant up and down, "You should've gone instead of him..."

Kowalski's face bared a look of frustration. "Fine, I'm going, but do you really think things would be any different if me and Rico swapped places?" he rhetorically asked, storming away, picking up some of his arrows as his did so. Skipper felt guilt serge through his body. He couldn't help but to watch as the taller soldier marched away.

'A rowel with my alliance...Probably wasn't wise to have an argument when in a game where they can kill you...That isn't what concerns me though..."Skipper thought, letting out a sigh, looking down at Rico's corpse, staring at the bleeding wound that split his forehead. He picked up the dagger from the grass, the blade that had killed his friend. 'I'm sorry Rico, but I'm not letting Blowhole get away with this... I need to get my alliance back, or else we won't be able to win as a team...' Skipper looked into the distance to where Kowalski had headed, but he was disappointed to see that he had already gone, not that he would have gone after him and swallow his pride to apologise.