Death in the Zoo
Chapter 14 - The Fight for Life

"Rico!" Skipper said, sounding relieved. "I thought you were Maurice or one of those crazy zoo animals." He gripped two bars on the crate and leaned forward to get a better look at his explosives expert. "Now how's about you help us out of here?"
Rico stood in silence for a few moments, staring at his inconsiderate leader. Then he softly shook his head.

"What?" said Skipper, shocked. "Why not?"

"No Team!" the Penguin grunted softly, and then turned around to leave. Skipper, wide eyed and confused, couldn't help but look at his only means of saving Mort walking away from him. Suddenly, his mind cleared and he remembered what had happened that morning.

"Rico! Wait!" He cried out. The penguin halted for a second, but then continued walking. Skipper's heart sank. He didn't know what to say. "Rico! Please come back!"

Rico stopped and turned around this time, glaring at his leader. His eyes were full of something Skipper had never seen in the large penguin's eyes before—hatred. Hatred towards him. He had hoped he would never see the day he screwed up so badly as to make Rico stare at him with that look in his eyes.

"Rico..." Skipper said, looking directly into his explosive expert's eyes. He spoke clearly but weakly. "I'm sorry."

Rico looked surprised at first, then tilted his head at his leader in confusion. Kowalski stood quietly to Skipper's side and listened.

"I shouldn't have been so hard on you..." confessed Skipper. He hoped the penguin wouldn't think he was sounding sarcastic, as he often was. "You didn't deserve what I did to you."

"Uhh!" Rico grunted, waddling back to the makeshift prison. Skipper noticed he no longer looked angry—but hurt. His true emotions had just been covered by anger. The heavyset penguin wasn't angry at his leader at all; he was simply hurt. Skipper averted his eyes from Rico's and looked at the ground. The stare from him now seemed to burn into him even worse than when he was filled with rage.

"I was so hard on you during training the last few days..." He choked on his words for a second. "I did it because I was scared, Rico." Skipper could feel hot tears forming in his eyes, and he tried his best to hold them back.

Kowalski seemed a little confused at this point, and Rico was listening with intent.

"I had a dream a few nights back." explained Skipper. "That you, Kowalski, and Private were all killed buy some sort of intruder. In my dream I was too afraid to help any of you, and I watched you all get slaughtered." Skipper clenched his eyes shut tight to keep the tears from streaking down his feathered face. "I watched you all get slaughtered... and I did nothing..."

Rico heard his leader's voice quiver with the last sentence. He knew his leader was on the verge of breaking down. He had never seen Skipper in this state before. Rico knew that the leader penguin's words were sincere.

Attempting to gather his composure, Skipper continued. "I was so afraid, that I thought going hard on you and the others would make you better able to defend yourself. I went so hard on you because I thought I was too weak. I thought making you stronger would make me stronger. I'm so sorry."

Several moments of silence passed. Kowalski was surprised at Skipper's confession, although he knew that it was the truth. He remembered the night Skipper fell out of his bunk and woke him up by screaming out his name. Rico was awe stricken—he had not expected his hardened leader to break up so easily. Skipper had just spilled his guts in order to apologize to him, and he knew that was not an easy thing for the military penguin to do. Skipper suddenly broke the awkwardness.

"And our last combat session... I went too far. It wasn't training to me anymore. I was fighting as if you were a real enemy... I saw you as if you were the intruder in my dream. I'm sorry for that too. I shouldn't have kept going even when you bested me." Skipper seemed to have regained his composure to some extent, and was no longer on the brink of crying. He was looking back at Rico, who was beginning to sympathize for his leader.

Skipper's voice sounded calm once again. "Rico, you're a very vital part of our team. Without you our teams would be incomplete. More importantly, you're one of our family, and we just wouldn't be one without you! I'm sorry for everything."

"Aww..." purred Rico. He still looked hurt, but now he averted his eyes from Skipper's.

"What's wrong?" Skipper asked, hoping he hadn't hurt his explosives expert even more.

Rico pointed to the crate, and then spoke a raspy word. "Maur'ce." Skipper wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to say.

"Rico, did Maurice tell you to set this trap for us?" Kowalski said, speaking for the first time since they had been trapped. Rico nodded wildly. Skipper was not sure why Rico would listen to Maurice, but after what had happened with Private and the air pistol, and Skipper being cruel to him during practice, he probably believed anything the corrupt lemur told him. After all, Rico didn't know anything that they knew yet.

"Newsflash, Rico." Skipper said, suddenly seriously. "Maurice was the one who killed Julien, not Maelie. Now he's on his way to kill Mort and frame Private for it."

The heavyset penguin looked surprised at first, but then was unsure.

"Please, Rico! It's the truth!" Kowalski begged. Skipper hoped his explosives expert would believe him.

"Help us get out of here so we can save Mort!" Skipper said, almost in the form of a command.

"Please!"

Rico didn't show any emotion before turning around and walking away from the pair in the crate. Skipper wasn't sure what he was doing, but soon he was just a faint outline again. He hoped the penguin wasn't going to abandon them there.

Suddenly, Skipper heard some grunts and the crate was slowly lifted a few inches off the ground. When it had reached about a foot, both penguins were able to slide underneath it. The crate quickly crashed to the ground following them leaving, and Rico emerged from the shadow again, smiling.

"Thanks, soldier. I'll explain the whole story later. For now, we have to save Mort!" Skipper said, seriously.

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"Maurice, what are you doing here?" Private growled, getting into a defensive stance. Maelie looked in horror at the wide lemur standing in the doorway, caressing Skipper's swiss army knife.

Maurice laughed. "You ask a lot of obvious questions, you know that?" Private scowled and his face twisted up with anger. His heart began to beat faster and his muscles tensed, ready for the fight he knew was going to come.

"You were going after Mort..." Maelie said weakly. She was severely fatigued from her major loss of blood, and was in serious pain from the stab wound.

"I can't believe you fell for that." said Maurice, rolling his eyes. "Mort doesn't know anything that could let the truth get out. Not like you do." He pointed to Maelie, who was breathing heavily.

Private looked back at the female lemur and then looked forward at Maurice. It made sense. Maurice was targeting Maelie because she knew that he was the one who killed Julien. He and the other penguins knew that as well, but Maurice had seen to it that the penguins' reputations were destroyed and nobody would believe them. They would believe Maelie on the other hand. She was the last thing that was of any threat to the deranged murderer.

"So you need to get rid of the last piece of evidence against you?" Private snarled.

"That's the plan." Maurice said. The fact that he was completely calm even when talking about murdering another animal sickened Private. "And what a perfect set-up. My target and the guy I want to frame in the same room."

"You're not getting away with this, Maurice!" Private shouted. He wanted to attack the mammal... but he knew that charging directly at him while he was wielding that knife was not a good idea. He would have to disarm the lemur somehow before he could attack.

"Oh? Then why have I in the past?" Maurice responded.

"You... what?" Private said, confused suddenly.

"Remember that time I got 'sick with power' after eating what you thought was rotten lychee nuts? Well it turns out those nuts don't actually make you power hungry. That's just an old legend.

I got Julien drunk that night. I was planning to kill him right then, but the stupid zoo keepers came in and took him out before I could do anything. So instead of wasting all the confusion, I took the time to see just how far I could go. I managed to bring the zoo to it's knees in the matter of a day, didn't I?"

Private didn't know what to say. Seeing how speechless his audience was, Maurice continued.

"It's amazing how gullible you all are. I blamed it on that old legend and you all believed me, so I got away with it unnoticed. The zoo hospital gave Julien some guavaberry smoothie because it calms him down—not because it counters the so called effects of the nuts. You thought you cured me by spraying me with it, but I only acted like it cured me because I knew that Julien was back on his feet and I would have to wait until my next chance to try to kill him."

The young penguin gulped. The lemur had played them all for fools, attempting a murder right under their noses and then blaming it on some lousy false legend. They had all fell for it. If they had been smarter, they could have caught him right then and Julien would still be alive.

"Why... Why'd you do it, Maurice?" Private asked, a little amount of fear showing through his voice. He was trying to buy as much time as he could until Maurice let his defense down.

"Maelie can tell you." Maurice said. Maelie looked at Private and explained.

"He thinks that he was supposed to be king of the Lemurs instead of Julien, and he thinks that if he got rid of Julien he would be able to take over."

"You know that I was going to be King. Until Julien cheated, of course." Maurice said, sounding as if the memory angered him. Private was confused, but he got the general idea.

"Julien didn't cheat. He defeated you in combat and proved that he was a more worthy lemur for the throne." Maelie sneered. She seemed to have regained some of her strength. She was standing next to private now, her paws clenched into tight fists.

Maurice suddenly spoke loudly, pointing at Maelie. His eyes seemed to cloud over with rage. "I was supposed to be king! I was supposed to wear that crown. I was supposed to be the one ordering Julien around!"

Private noticed his grip slacken on the handle of the swiss army knife. Not knowing if he would get another chance to strike, he charged at full speed. Maurice noticed the small penguin coming at him, but it was too late. He had been detracted and the penguin preformed a perfect roundhouse and knocked the knife clean out of the lemur's hand.

"Oh? So I'll have to kill you too?" growled Maurice, cracking his knuckles. "Well if this is how it's got to be."

"Run, Maelie!" cried Private before Maurice charged. The Lemur came straight at Private and threw a fist at his head, but the swift penguin ducked and countered Maurice in the gut. He wheezed and stumbled backwards but regained his balance.

The evil mammal smirked, and it made rage surge through Private's body. He began shaking slightly and he could feel his mind start to cloud. He had to maintain focus—blind fury would not win this one.

Meanwhile, Maelie was making her way to the fishbowl exit, grunting in pain with every step she took. Something caught her attention as she walked, though. On a table not far from the exit, there lay a small object that reflected the light it shown back into her eyes.

Private was busy deflecting Maurice's blows. He was a large and possessed great strength, but he was also swift and quick. The small penguin knew the lemur had to have had hand to hand combat training before—he was having trouble.

Knowing the that situation wouldn't end well, Private grabbed Maurice's arm as he swung and twisted it with one flipper, then used the other one to chop him in the gut. Once again, Maurice was thrown off balance. Private didn't waste this opportunity, however, and continued to land blows on the Lemur's body and face. Maurice used his arms to shield his head, and at his first opening used his foot to trip the unsuspecting Private.

Private was thrown off his feet, but he caught himself and went into a roll. He sprang back up just in time to see the deranged lemur charge at him and swing his fist full force in a run. He had no time to dodge it this time, however, and he held up his flippers to block the blow. It had more force then he thought, though, and when it contacted with his flipper a sickening crack filled the air. The power of the blow had shattered Private's thin wing bones and sent him flying backwards, dazed with pain.

Maurice walked over to the stunned penguin, leaned over, and picked him up by the throat. Private felt his feet begin to leave the floor and the grip tighten on this throat. He grabbed on to one of Maurice's paws with his good flipper and attempted to pry it off, but it was no good. Soon spots began to dance in front of his eyes. In a last hope he kicked his foot out full force. It contacted with the lemur's diaphragm and it knocked the air clean out of the lemur. He let go of Private who quickly gulped in several mouthfuls of air.

Private didn't think that he would be able to hold of the lemur for very much longer. His left flipper was broken and he was already feeling fatigued. Knowing the fight wasn't going to end well for him, he started to plot his escape when he saw Maelie across the room fumbling with something on a table.

"Maelie! Run!" he cried again. The female lemur looked up and then back down. "Get out of here!" Private was caught unaware by a fist to the side of his face, sending him flying to his right. His vision spun for a second, but it settled and he hopped back up.

"Get out of here!" mocked Maurice in Private's accent. Then he laughed. Private threw a flipper at the lemur's face and slapped him, stunning him and sending him stumbling a few steps away. Private spun around to his front side and used his good flipper to elbow him in the chest, and then spun back around. The small penguin let out a cry as he attempted to roundhouse kick the lemur again, but he was caught off gaurd when Maurice grabbed his foot out of midair.

The deranged mammal used the leverage to flip Private, who landed on the corner of a ledge and felt the air forced from his lungs. He gasped for air, leaving himself vulnerable on the ground. Maurice took advantage of it by grabbing the pocket knife from where it lay on the ground returning to Private, who was struggling to get up.

"You're weak," Maurice snarled, whipping Private with the handle of the blade. Private was becoming too weak to continue defending himself and Maurice's subsequent blows knocked him back down. He tried to get up again, but his body gave up on him and he fell onto his back.

"Maelie... Run..." he wheezed weakly. He could taste blood in his mouth and his vision was blurred from tears and a concussion.

"I'll deal with her in a second," Maurice said, standing over the defeated penguin. Without much of a warning, Maurice turned the blade upside down and jabbed it swiftly downward. Private managed to grab the lemurs wrists with his own and stop its decent. He pushed with all of his strength but his broken flipper gave out and the knife slowly made its way towards his chest.

"Maelie!" He cried out desperately. Maurice was too strong for him and his other flipper gave out, letting the knife slide smoothly into the penguin's exposed chest. He let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain and shock. The the sharp blade stopped for a moment, then Maurice forced it further into the penguin's chest. He chuckled as Private emitted only a low gurgling noise as the knife punctured his lung.

Maurice continued by slowly removing the knife from his victims chest and posing it for another strike. He was smiling, his eyes filled with madness. The lemur deranged and insane—he enjoyed watching Private squirm as his body went into shock.

He was ready to shove the knife down again when suddenly there was a loud pop and his arm was hit by something moving fast. He felt the bones shatter and the knife dropped out of his hand, clattering to the ground near Private. He let out a demonic cry of pain and rage, then turned to look at what had hit him.

Standing across the room was Maelie, holding the Powerline 15XT and looking up at the deranged lemur in disbelief. She was shaking wildly, but kept the gun steady. She seemed shocked at what she had just done.

Maurice let out another battle cry, and then scooped up his life. He charged at the lemur with all of his might. Maelie closed her eyes and looked away. She depressed the trigger and...

Bang. She heard nothing but a slight whimper and the sound of metal banging against the floor. She pulled the trigger again.

Bang. The sound echoed around the room. She pulled the trigger again, her eyes still tightly closed.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Click. Click. Click. She pulled the trigger even though there was no shot to be fired. Slowly, she looked up.

Not more than a foot from her face was Maurice's, twisted in pain and shock. His body was riddled with bullet holes that blood was already beginning to trickle from. He slowly fell to his knees and then onto his stomach in front of her. He emitted a slight gurgling sound and then fell silent.

Maelie opened her paws and let the Powerline fall onto Maurice's unmoving body. She found it hard to breathe; her breaths came in short and choppy bursts. Her mind was still processing what had just happened. It was all over too fast for her to know what really had happened.

Was it all finally over? Had it really have to have come to this?

Suddenly, the door to to the penguins' HQ burst open and Skipper, Kowalski and Rico jumped in. The assumed combat positions but fell apart when they saw the body laying on the ground in front of them. Maurice's eyes looked up at them, still filled with shock.

"What happened here?" Skipper asked, his body shaking.

AN ~~~~~ AN

Woah that was one intense chapter to write =D. It was also the longest one I have ever written.

I hope you're enjoying the story. R&R please! Oh, and check back later. This isn't the last chapter, I swear!