Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters. I do own Alex the penguin and a couple of more characters in this story (Victoria, Emily, and Skipper's daughter, Sam).
The sun shone in a cloudless blue sky, and the dazzling light bounced off the water, blinding Skipper as he looked up. All he could see was endless water, waves bobbing their makeshift boat up and down, making the leader feel a little nauseated. But he pushed it down as he turned to the tall penguin.
"How much farther, Kowalski?" he demanded.
The strategist opened his beak to answer, then crumbled over and vomited into the ocean. Skipper rolled his eyes, remembering the last time they were in a situation like this, stranded in the ocean; Kowalski had been sick as a dog then too. But things were different this time. Private wasn't kidnapped, and now the lemurs and Skipper's daughter, Alex, were here with them.
And a new recruit, he thought, glancing over at Victoria, who was sitting beside the female ring-tail, Emily. They were talking about something that didn't interest Skipper one bit. Yet his gaze lingered on the female penguin, his heart starting to pound faster.
Quickly he looked away, not understanding the emotions running through his body when he looked at her. On Madagascar, they found out that she once belonged to the group of cats who took over the lemur kingdom, and Skipper had been furious that she hadn't told them before then.
But he begrudgingly admitted that he felt thankful to her for keeping an eye on his daughter and Private while he and everyone else stood up to the evil cat, Dark.
Skipper was knocked out of his thoughts when Private suddenly gasped and jumped up and down, the boat launching underneath everyone. A couple of the others shot him a glare, while Kowalski vomited again. Getting up, balancing as he walked over to the young private, Skipper looked down at him.
"What is it, Private?" he asked.
The small penguin turned a look of pure joy on his leader. "Land, Skippah! I see land!"
At that, everyone got up and ran to the edge of the boat, almost tipping it over, but they retreated back to their spots when Skipper ordered them to. The leader looked out across the seemingly never-ending water, and exhilaration coursed through him when he saw just on the horizon several hills and buildings sticking up.
"Well spotted, Private!" he congratulated his teammate, and Private looked over the moon at his leader's praise.
Then Maurice appeared beside them, a look of doubt on his face. "How do we know it's the right land?" he pointed out dishearteningly.
Skipper remembered how once they landed on a beach, so glad to be out of the water, but then they realized that it wasn't the right place, and they all reluctantly got back into the boat, and they've been sailing for a very, very long time; too long for anyone of them to keep track of.
He's right, Skipper told himself, agreeing with what Maurice said. Before they got their hopes up, they needed to make sure this was the United States and even better, New York. He didn't know how likely it was that they would land so near to home, but he could hope at least.
But how can we be sure? he was wondering when he noticed a flag blowing in the wind. A rush of relief ran over him, and he felt so lightheaded that he had to sit down. An American flag! he thought, sending a prayer of thanks to whoever might be watching over them and guiding their boat home. If there is someone, he suddenly thought, embarrassed that he might have, for a split second, believed in whatever the lemurs believed in.
The land grew bigger and bigger until at last the boat washed ashore. Stumbling, the animals climbed out and stood on the sand.
"Okay, we're on the right land," Kowalski said, his throat sounding dry, but he seemed over his seasickness. "But where are we?"
Skipper's daughter, Alex, stepped forward and looked up and down the beach, looking thoughtful. She moved forward and everyone followed cautiously. It wasn't long before a small house came into sight. Skipper ordered the lemurs to stay here, and after a moment, he decided to leave Victoria out of this one, too. When he told her, she flashed him a look, and he was afraid she was gonna disobey him, but finally she dipped her head in agreement and stepped back.
He ordered Private to keep a lookout from the back while he, Kowalski, Rico, and Alex crept up to the house. The leader jumped into the air, grabbed onto the window sill, and pulled himself up. He peeked inside, but didn't see anyone. He managed to open the window and gestured for everyone else to go in ahead of him. Private appeared last and he checked their surroundings before plunging inside. Skipper followed.
When he landed on a desk, he noticed that Alex and Kowalski were looking over the paperwork in a drawer while Rico and Private kept a lookout near a door. Skipper joined his daughter as she let out a noise and lowered the paper she was reading.
"I know where we are," she announced, and Skipper glanced at the paper, unable to read the human words.
"Where?" Skipper asked.
"Oakwood beach," she told him, and he blinked, confused, so she explained," We're on Staten Island, so…"
"The Central Park Zoo isn't too far away," Skipper finished, feeling excitement coursed through him. We're so close to being home!
Exhaustion hit him, but he knew they still had some way before they could stop and rest. He looked around. Near the door stood a bookshelf full of paper. He recognized the pictures of landmarks in New York. "Grab a map," he ordered Private, and the young penguin obeyed. He waddled over to the desk and Skipper reached down to take it, then handed it to his daughter, knowing she'll be able to read it. Then he ordered everyone to move out.
Returning to the others, Skipper took the lead away from the beach. They walked along for a long time, but it was a struggle. Everyone was exhausted, and soon Skipper realized that they wouldn't be able to get home this way. They were walking along an empty road, no sign of a car, and disappointment stabbed him.
Then the road ended into a parking lot, and hope flared inside Skipper as he spotted several vehicles. Humans were everywhere, climbing out of their cars or coming in and out of a large building.
"We can catch a ride down there," the leader announced, pointing to the vehicles.
A snort came from Victoria, who pushed her way forward. "And how would we know that we're going the right way?" she demanded, glaring defiantly at him.
Hot rage pulsed through Skipper, and he opened his beak to give her a stinging retort. But he was cut off when Alex stepped to his side.
"She's right," his daughter said, surprising Skipper, and he gaped at her. "We wouldn't know where we were heading if we got into a car," she quickly explained, and Skipper reluctantly agreed, though he shot a glare at Victoria.
"We need to go this way," Alex went on, pointing to the map, then in a direction that would take them past the store. "It'll take a bit, but we'll come to a Ferry that'll take us off Staten Island and then we'll walk the rest of the way to the zoo. But we need to stay out of sight of humans," she added, folding the map.
They moved on, sticking to the very edge of the roads, sometimes hiding in trees when a car or someone on a bicycle rode by. It was a long, agonizing journey. Several times Skipper doubted they would be able to go any farther, but then his companions surprised him by helping each other over hills, around houses, through undergrowth.
He led them through areas that didn't seem to have much human activities, but after a long time, Alex said they needed to go toward the city if they were going to catch the Ferry. Reluctantly, Skipper turned his feet toward the buildings in the distance. Once or twice, he stumbled in a hole in the ground, and each time, Victoria helped him back up.
The leader growled at her, then continued to lead everyone on. To his annoyance, the female penguin was hanging around him a lot, and she kept glancing at him. A few times she tried to speak, but she broke off when Skipper would glare at her.
Finally, she understood that he wasn't in the mood to deal with her, and she fell back to walk alongside Emily.
It was evening time when they came to the Ferry, and Skipper was so glad to see that it hadn't left yet. He watched as his daughter walked over to a sign. She looked it over, then returned, a smile on her beak.
"Good news," she announced, and Skipper thought, That's just what we need: Good news. "The Ferry is going out one more time today."
"And the bad news?" Kowalski asked, uncertain.
Alex frowned, shifting her feet. "It won't leave for at least another hour," she finally said.
"What do we do until then?" Private asked, glancing at his leader.
Skipper opened his beak, then looked away, embarrassed when his stomach growled loudly. Alex giggled and smiled at him. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "Food," he decided. "We all need food. Maybe we can look for some fish around here-"
"Hold on," Julien interrupted him, walking forward, and Skipper narrowed his eyes. The ringtail king had been uncharastically quiet most of the journey so far, but Skipper knew it wouldn't last. He sighed and faced the lemur.
"What is it, Ringtail?" he demanded.
"I'm not about to be eating fish," Julien said, glaring at the penguin. He glanced at his friends, who all murmured agreement.
Skipper didn't reply right away. Finally he sighed and said," Fine. We'll go find fish," he went on, gesturing to his team. "And you, Ringtail, and the rest of the lemurs can go find fruit or whatever you want. Alex." He turned to his daughter. She started in surprise. "Go with them to make sure they don't get into any trouble. You," he added to Victoria. "Come with us, but I'll be watching you. We all meet back here in 0030 hundred hours."
They all split off in their own groups, and Skipper led Victoria and his team farther into the city, while Alex decided they should go in the opposite direction, toward some houses to see if they could find anything in gardens.
The penguins traveled through the streets, ducking into hiding when people would pass by. Luck must have been on their side because soon they found a shop selling fish outside. Skipper ordered his team to go take some while he and Victoria stayed behind, keeping a lookout.
Skipper was so focused on his frontside that he didn't realize someone was coming up behind until Victoria crashed into him and pushed him behind a garage can. He opened his mouth to protest, then saw that three men walked out of the alleyway, just where he had been standing. If Victoria hadn't knocked into him, he would have been stepped on.
Skipper sighed and muttered a "Thank you", but he quickly hurried away before she could reply. He risked a glance behind him, warmth spreading through him when he saw the happy expression on her face. He tried to fight it, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking, Maybe she's not so bad after all. She's even a little… pretty…
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he slapped himself, forcing anger to sweep away all the soft feelings inside him.
Soon, Kowalski, Rico, and Private joined them again, and they all retreated into the alleyway, feasting on the fish. Skipper made sure to save some for Alex, feeling guilty for sending her away with the lemurs when she must be hungry too. Then they all returned to the ferry, and before long, the others came back too. Skipper gave his daughter the fish, and she flashed him a thankful look before eating them.
Not a lot of time went by before people started gathering around the ferry. Skipper was afraid they wouldn't be able to get aboard without being seen, but Victoria found a spot that was free of humans, and the animals hurried onto the ferry. As they all settled down below deck where they were unlikely to be spotted, Skipper found himself beside Victoria. He knew he should move away, but he stayed. He placed his flipper on the floor, startled when he brushed against hers.
Their eyes locked for no more than a split second, then he looked away. His heart pounded and he was afraid everyone else could hear it, but if they could, they made no sign of it.
Everyone was glad to sit down and rest. Most fell asleep, but Skipper tried to stay awake, keeping a lookout in case someone did come down here. Victoria was also awake, and they sat there in silence, while everyone else slept around them, their snores like a great beast, especially Rico, who twitched in his sleep, turned over, and went on snoring loudly.
Skipper and Victoria exchanged a glance, then started laughing. The leader shook his head good-humoredly, then leaned back and closed his eyes. He didn't expect to sleep, but the next thing he knew, he was blinking awake. Voices had aroused him, and he lifted his head to see his daughter and Kowalski talking quietly not far away.
Skipper yawned, then realized something was pinning him down. He turned, startled to see Victoria curled up beside him, her head on his stomach. When he jumped to his feet, she woke, raising her head and looking around, confusion in her eyes.
He wanted to glare at her and tell her to stay away from him. But he couldn't bring himself to, so without a word to the female penguin, he got up and walked over to Alex and Kowalski.
"Status report," he ordered his teammate.
"Alex and I just went topside, and we saw land in the distance," Kowalski told his leader. "We should be coming to it soon, so we need to get ready to get off before someone notices we're here."
Skipper nodded, then called everyone together. They all went topside just in time to see the ferry coming to the dock. As soon as it was safe, they all got off, hurrying away from the large ship before someone saw them. They made it into safety with no problems. In hiding, Alex looked over the map, murmuring to herself.
"Okay, I know where we are now," she announced. "And it's not much farther to the zoo!"
Everyone looked relieved, and Skipper nodded, telling them to move on. He found himself walking beside Victoria, and for once he didn't mind. They even talked, discussing a few fighting techniques, and Skipper realized that he and his team could learn a thing or two from Victoria.
He wasn't sure how long went by- maybe 30 minutes to an hour- until he started recognizing stuff. Pure joy shot through him when he realized how close to the zoo they were.
We're almost there! Soon, they'll be back into our lair, and I can sleep in my own bunk!
"Come on!" he called, running ahead. "Almost there!"
Everyone followed him, and soon the city turned into a wooded area. Skipper dropped to his stomach and slid through the park, the rest of the penguins right behind him, while the lemurs traveled through the trees. They all made it to the entrance of the zoo at the same time, and relief crashed over Skipper that he became lightheaded.
It was nighttime so there were no humans around, and Skipper found the hole in the wall behind the poster. He made sure everyone was through, but Victoria hesitated, looking at Skipper, then the dark hole. He blinked at her, confused.
"What's wrong?" he demanded.
She sighed. "I'm not sure if... " She paused, then blurted out," I'm thinking about leaving to go… I don't know where, but I don't think I belong here…"
Skipper stared at her, shocked. "B-But…" He narrowed his eyes. "I thought… Well…" He hesitated, not sure what to say, but he had thought- hoped- that she would stay.
She frowned. "I… I thought you would be glad to see me go…"
He took a deep breath, confused about the emotions running through him, but he just knew he had to talk her out of leaving. But when he opened his beak, no words came out. She was looking worried. After another moment, he took a step forward and looked her in the eyes.
She stared back, still looking anxious. Then she seemed to see how he really felt about her and a small smile crept on her beak. She leaned into him and whispered," I'll stay."
He let out a breath and wrapped his flippers around her. They stayed like that for a second, then separated and went to join the others inside the zoo. They all gave him a weird look, and anger pulsed through him. "Come on," he snapped, walking farther into the zoo.
Then their path was blocked by a familiar shape, and Marlene stepped out of the dark.
"There you all are!" She ran to them, and looked over Skipper anxiously; the leader backed away and glanced nervously at Victoria, whose eyes narrowed but she said nothing.
"Where have you all been?" she asked. "I looked in your habitat," she went on to Skipper. "But all that was there were toys. And robots in the lemur habitat," she added, glancing at Julien and the others. Her eyes landed on Emily. "Who's she?"
"This is Emily," the lemur king told the otter, gazing at his friend fondly. "She's going to be staying at the zoo from now on."
Skipper sighed, more exhausted than ever. "I'll explain everything later," he promised her. "Right now I just want to go to sleep in my own bunk. Come on, boys," he added to his team, also gesturing to the two female penguins to follow.
As Victoria passed Marlene, the otter widened her eyes in surprise. "Hello," she greeted her. "Who are you? I'm Marlene."
Before replying, the female penguin glanced at Skipper, then back at Marlene. "My name is Victoria," she told her, but before any more could be said, Skipper called to Victoria, who rushed over, looking relieved.
Leaving the lemurs to go back to their own habitat, Skipper and the others went inside their HQ, and Skipper crawled into his bunk. He was so tired that he barely heard Kowalski telling Victoria that she could sleep on the floor. It felt like he just closed his eyes when he had to open them again.
He woke to find Private shaking him. "Zoo's about to open," the young penguin told him, jumping down.
Groaning, Skipper climbed out of bed. He looked up to see his team waiting by the ladder, while Alex and Victoria talked quietly a little way off. Skipper waddled over to the females, resisting a yawn.
"You need to go topside with us," he said to Victoria. "Alice will be expecting you since she brought you here."
Victoria nodded and went to join the others. Skipper turned to his daughter. "Are you going to be okay in here by yourself?"
"Sure," she replied, and went to go watch TV.
Now topside, Skipper watched the others and tried to join in, but he was so exhausted and he wished so much that he was asleep. After what felt like longer than the journey home, the zoo finally closed, and Skipper sat down with a sigh. He looked up at the sound of footsteps.
"Is there anything we should do, Skippah?" asked the private as he fought against a yawn.
Skipper looked around. They had been gone for a long time. He should check in on everyone, but he saw that his team seemed just as exhausted as he felt. They needed to rest, but he had to go on patrol.
"Get some sleep," he told his team, and Rico fell over, snoring loudly. Kowalski and Private exchanged a look, then they each grabbed a leg of the psychopath and pulled him downstairs. Victoria was about to follow, but Skipper stopped her. She too looked tired, but he didn't want to go on patrol alone.
"I'm going to check things around the zoo," he told her. "Want to come with me? You can meet some of your new zoomates."
Victoria looked nervous, and Skipper was afraid she was going to say no. Then she nodded and agreed to come with him.
Everything looked fine. He had been worried that one of his enemies would find out that he had gone. The whole time he was away, he kept imagining coming back and Hans or even worse Blowhole would have done something terrible to his beloved zoo. But nothing happened, and it seemed like nobody even noticed they had left. He heaved a huge sigh of relief as they headed back to their HQ. Now he could rest more soundly knowing everything was fine.
Before they could go back inside, a loud yelling sounded from the lemur habitat, and Skipper rolled his eyes. Victoria glanced at him, looking nervous, but he patted her shoulder comfortingly and jumped over the wall.
They landed on the tall platform just in time to see Julien kicking the little mouse lemur across the habitat. Skipper sighed. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
"We heard you yell," Victoria explained when Julien looked surprised.
"Oh." Julien groaned dramatically. "Mort was just being annoying. Nothing new really, but-"
He broke off when the female lemur, Emily, appeared and walked over to him. "Julien," she spoke softly," try not to be too harsh on Mort."
Julien looked like he was about to argue, but then he sighed. "Fine, my beloved," he murmured, entwining his tail with hers. The moments dragged on and still they stood like that. Suddenly feeling awkward, Skipper started backing away, gesturing for Victoria to follow him. At first she hesitated, then they left the habitat.
As the days went by, Skipper spent more and more time with Victoria. He found himself enjoying her company, but he still made sure he got in some training for his team, even having a few sessions where Victoria taught them everything she learned from her time with Dark and his cats.
One day, just over a month since they returned to the zoo, Victoria approached Skipper, and he was surprised to see how nervous and frightened she seemed. They had grown very close, even going as far as calling each other mates. He blinked warmly at her, encouraging her to tell him what's on her mind.
"I… um…" She paused, glancing down. Then she looked up again and blurted out," I'm expecting!"
He stared at her, shocked. I'm going to be a father… again, a voice in his head added, and he silently vowed to stay to watch this kid grow up. He still felt guilty about abandoning Alex, and he didn't want his next child to grow up without him.
The next couple of months Skipper spent even more time with Victoria, making sure she had everything she needed. He thought about when his first mate, Daisy, was pregnant with Alex; he had fussed over her, too. Excited and nervous about being a father, and now he felt like this was his first time all over again.
Especially since I wasn't there for Alex, he thought miserably.
He didn't mean to, but he had started to neglect his team and even his daughter. He tried to set a time for them every once in a while, but whenever he was about to do some training with the others or watch TV with Alex, he would think Victoria needed him and he'd go rush off to tend to her.
Then the time came that she was to give birth. Skipper didn't trust the humans to take care of his mate so he begged Kowalski to do it. The tall penguin seemed hesitant, but seeing the desperate look on his leader's face, he agreed. Now Skipper paced around the lair, casting anxious glances at the lab door.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize someone had approached him until Alex cleared her throat. He turned to her, glanced once more at the door, then reluctantly turned his attention on his daughter.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Skipper was about to reply with a "Fine". Then he sighed and decided to be honest. "I'm worried about Victoria," he confessed, glancing nervously at the lab door. He hesitated, before adding," And I'm worried about becoming a father again."
A gentle look appeared on Alex's face. "You'll be a wonderful father." Then a darker expression appeared in her eyes. "If you don't leave this one."
Her words stung, and he opened his beak to defend himself, but just then the door opened and Kowalski waddled out. Skipper ran forward to meet him. "How is she?" he demanded.
His teammate had a warm look on his face. "She's fine," he answered. "She wants to see you."
Skipper lingered in the doorway for a heartbeat, then he entered the room. He found his mate on a bedding, curled around an egg. Skipper stared down at it, fear and love threatening to overwhelm him. Just inside this egg was a baby- his baby.
And I can't wait to meet him, the leader thought. He lifted his head and his eyes met Victoria's, exhaustion and love in their depths. And something else… A hesitation? Fear, maybe? He couldn't be sure, but it sent an uneasy feeling down his spine.
The next few days, Skipper didn't leave Victoria's side. He didn't even try to get his team back on a regular schedule. His whole focus was his mate and the egg. Days turned into weeks, and as Victoria got her strength back, she spent more and more time away from the egg; but Skipper rarely left it.
They barely talked to each other now, and when Victoria would enter the lab, she would sit quietly next to the egg and seemed to refuse to look at Skipper. She never stayed for long, and he was glad when she left. Once or twice, he thought about the look she gave him after she had the egg and he realized that love that had been there was there no more.
One day, about two months later, she came to sit with the egg, and he exploded, unable to take it any longer. "Why do you come here?" he snapped angrily.
She looked taken aback, but then she got over her shock and faced him boldly. "It's my egg!" she reminded him.
He snorted. "Our egg," he growled. "And you obviously don't care about it because you hardly ever come in here anymore! Why don't you just leave us alone?"
Anger blazed in her eyes. "Don't tell me what to do!" She sat down, stubbornly disobeying him, but she must have eventually decided to listen to him because sometime after their fight, she just stopped coming, and she would turn her back on him when they saw each other outside of the lab.
It was a cloudy day when Skipper felt the egg twitch. Excited, he called for everyone, and with annoyance, he saw that Victoria came, too, but he refused to let her ruin this for him. It wasn't long until the egg moved again, and then a tiny beak broke through the shell. Next came two little webbed feet, and Skipper watched with growing pride as his child hatched.
Kowalski bent over and checked it. Then he straightened up and faced his leader, glancing nervously at Victoria. "Congratulations," he said. "You have a baby girl."
Victoria looked down as the little penguin stumbled toward her as if she sensed that she was her mother. Anger burned inside Skipper when he saw his former mate take a step backward. Gently he redirected his daughter toward her older sister.
All that day and the next, Skipper stayed with his baby daughter, thinking about names. On the third day, he came up with the perfect name, and he thought he should go tell everyone when the door opened and Victoria came in.
Hot rage pulsed through him, but he tried to hide it. No matter his feelings toward her, she was still his daughter's mother, and for her sake, he had to be nice to her around their child.
He was about to tell her the name he chose, but Victoria interrupted him. "I'm leaving," she announced.
He stared at her, dumbfounded. For several moments, he wasn't sure what to say. Then fear ran through him. He looked down at his daughter, heart pounding. Will Victoria take her with her?
As if she could read his mind, Victoria shook her head. "I'm not taking her," she told him, and his relief was almost drowned out with anger that Victoria wouldn't even try to fight for her daughter.
"Have you named her yet?" she asked unexpectedly.
Skipper stared at her, deciding not to tell her. "No," he lied, lowering his eyes.
She nodded and backed out of the lab. Within hours, everything was arranged that Victoria was shipped out of the zoo, but Skipper refused to go when his daughter, Alex, asked him to. He stayed behind with his little girl, watching as she slept.
He reached over and stroked her head. "Don't worry, little one." He took a deep breath and continued: "I promise to always be there for you, Sam. I won't let anything happen to you."
The End!
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