We're back!
Kowalski: Ooh, and here's the next chapter to end your long wait, readers.
Wow, we've made it to Chapter 10. That sure is good progress.
Kowalski: Yes, if only I could just... say the same for this di...
Don't sell it, Kowalski! Let's just keep it under wraps until it's time. Oh yeah, thanks for helping me hit 45 reviews. :)

"Pleased to meet you, Colin," Private beamed, accepting the lobster's claw.

"Yeah, right," Kowalski muttered, "Look, if you're here to help us, why don't you release us right now?"

Colin shook his head. "Remember, Boss has that one-touch mutation button. Once he realizes you're gone, he'll push that button. And once he does, Skipper goes before you can even step out of this corridor."

"You do have a point there..." Kowalski agreed, "And this is your best plan?"

"You going by it or not?"

An awkward silence.

"Fine. What is it?"

Colin brought out another vial, which was filled with an identically colored liquid as the antidote.

"I'm swapping this for what you have there. I'll then make sure this gets to your Skipper in less than half the the time required, then he can break in and rescue you three before you become part of Boss's army. Sounds legit enough?"

"I think we can trust him," Private prompted.

"Yes, and you also think there's a little man in the fridge who turns the light on and off," Kowalski shot back, "and you'll never catch him either. But perhaps, just this once..."

He held out the antidote. Colin gingerly took it in his claws.

"Don't worry," said the lobster, "I won't fail you."

And without another word, he scuttled off.

"Gosh, what a kind guy," Private remarked, "but something sounds familiar about his voice..."

Colin had only gone for about five minutes when alarms sounded throughout the lair.

"What's going on?" Private looked around worriedly.

"SECURITY BREACH IN SECTOR B-DASH-ONE-TWELVE," a deep voice boomed over the intercom, "INTRUDER IDENTIFIED: ONE PENGUIN..."

"A penguin?" even Kowalski was perplexed, "But we're all here, and as far as I'm concerned Skipper's still bedridden!" (A.N. This fan fiction is OC-free.)

"Maybe he's here to rescue us!" Private brightened up.

"Yay!" Rico cheered.

There was a noise of lasers firing, then a moment of silence.

"INTRUDER HAS ESCAPED," the voice announced.

"Aww," Rico was disappointed.

Blowhole drove his Segway up to them. "Well, it appears the mobile lair was sabotaged by... whoever that was... who escaped. I intend to boil a couple of lobsters later... but we have more, er, important matters to deal with first."

"Why are you helping us like this?" Private wondered.

"To ensure your complete allegiance, of course."

10 02 hours, Blowhole's MUL (mobile underwater lair)

Private peered at the tiny vial they had swapped their precious antidote for. Somehow, he had a strong feeling Colin could be trusted. He was a lobster, but there was something about his voice. Something... familiar. Someone he had met once. Private was sure of it, but he just couldn't place a flipper on who it reminded him of.

11 32 hours, outside Penguins' HQ

"Come on, hurry up," one of the half dozen lobsters poked Kowalski in the back, "Boss can't wait forever."

The strategist almost dropped the vial in his flippers.

"The container is delicate!" he shot back, "Even the slightest jolt could shatter its glass! We have to be extremely gentle and careful with this..."

"Yeah, whatever," the lobster rolled his eyes.

Slowly, the three penguins and their lobster escorts descended into the penguins' headquarters. Private glanced at the clock and gasped.

"We're almost out of time!" he fretted, "Kowalski! Please hurry!"

Kowalski just stood there, staring at the bunks, the vial still unopened in his flippers.

"No, we're not."

He smiled. Waddling over to Skipper's bunk, flanked by two lobsters, he placed his free flipper on the bedsheets and dramatically pulled them off.

The bunk was empty. Cue the collective gasp.

The bedsheets caught on the light switch and flipped it off, plunging the entire HQ into darkness. (A.N. It was a cloudy day. I should have mentioned this earlier.)

"Hey, who turned off the..." one lobster roared, before he was knocked out from a blow to the back.

I tried my best to write as much as possible in this chapter, seeing that this is the tenth. And the cliffhanger probably killed a few readers. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Kowalski: Please review!