Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters. I do own Alex the penguin and the two younger kids, Sam and Ethan.

Jack stood beside his friend, eyes fixed on the tall lemur who wore a leafy hat. The animal stared down at Skipper as he pointed a long finger at the Youtubers. Jack remembered the female penguin, Alex, telling them last time they were here that he was the king of the lemurs, and the creatures who jumped down beside him must be his subjects. He recognized two of them, but the third was unfamiliar to him; he looked like a smaller version of the king himself but with green eyes.

Mark leaned close to Jack and whispered in his ear," That young lemur looks just like the tall one; maybe he's his son?"

Nodding in agreement, Jack opened his beak to reply, but he was distracted when Skipper took a step back from the king. "I've no idea what you're babbling about." Obviously, he was struggling to stay calm. "You remember our old friends, who were here a few months ago?" He pointed to the Youtubers, shrugging. "We were just meeting up with them again. No biggie. Right, guys?" He glanced at his team.

As they agreed with what their leader said, the penguin, Alex, and another female aquatic bird that Jack didn't know moved over to the Youtubers. "Hey," Alex greeted them, while the younger one ducked behind her as if shy.

Noticing this, Mark smiled kindly at the small bird. "Hello," he said in his deep voice. "This is Jack," he told her, pointing to his friend. "And I'm Mark. What's your name?" He spoke gently as if not to frighten the overly excited penguin.

She stared up at Mark with huge eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Alex smiled and nudged her playfully. "This is Sam," the older bird told the Youtubers. "She's my half-sister."

Jack blinked, surprised. "Sister?" he exclaimed. He turned to look at Mark and saw the same shock he felt reflected on his friend's face. Then he turned back to the females. "How long has it been?" I know it's only been a few months, Jack thought to myself. But it seems like forever, if Alex has a sister now!

Alex was about to answer, when an annoyed snort made them turn back to the others. Julien still faced Skipper; the king's arms were crossed and he had a disbelieving look on his face. "I'm not being stupid," the ring-tail lemur insisted. "I saw what you did to them with my own eyeballs!"

Before Skipper could reply, the heavyset lemur stepped forward. "I saw it, too," he admitted.

"Me too! Me too!" The little lemur who looked kind of like a mouse started jumping up and down.

Jack expected the younger lemur to agree with his friends, but he remained silent.

Mark's voice distracted Jack and he turned back to see his friend leaning closer to Alex and whispering," Who's the young lemur? He looks just like the king."

"That's Ethan." It was Sam who spoke. "Julien's son."

Jack smiled at her, but when Sam noticed, she ducked her head in embarrassment. I hope she gets over her shyness soon, Jack thought, amused but slightly worried about the way the young penguin was acting toward the Youtubers.

Turning back to Skipper and the others, Jack saw the penguins exchanging troubled glances. "Maybe we should just tell them the truth," Private murmured to his leader; he had a really nervous look on his face.

Rico shot his friend a glare, while Kowalski whispered," I don't think that's a good idea. Who knows how they will react if we tell them? They might spread the news to everyone at the zoo!"

Skipper looked at his team, then glanced at the lemurs. The king was looking impatient, and his two subjects looked at each other, uncertainty in their eyes. Ethan stood behind them, shifting his feet, eyes glued on the ground. The lead penguin sighed from deep in his chest and turned back to the others.

"There's no use in hiding it anymore," he muttered. "Private's right." He gestured to the penguin before sweeping his gaze over all of them. "They witnessed what we did, so we have no choice but to confess." There was anger and even accusation in his voice, and he shot a look at the two Youtubers.

He blames us for getting caught! the Irish Youtuber thought, guilt pulsing through him when he realized that he might be right. If Jack and Mark hadn't come, there wouldn't have been anything for the lemurs to see. Glancing at his friend, he realized that Mark was thinking this, too.

But the Youtubers didn't speak as they turned back to the penguins and lemurs. Skipper was facing Julien again, looking defiant, but clearly he had no choice but to tell him the truth. Sighing deeply again, Skipper began to explain about the last time Jack and Mark visited the zoo, when Alex had used one of Kowalski's inventions and accidentally transformed the humans into penguins. The leader told them that they didn't want anyone to know about the mess they had caused. "I had hoped we saw the last of them when they left," Skipper went on," but a few days ago, he-" Skipper jerked his head toward Jack-" had made a video saying that he and his friend was returning and wanted to see us again."

Shame washed over Jack, and he looked away when the lemurs turned to him. Why did I have to talk Mark into coming back here? he thought, sighing inwardly.

The king looked ready to say something, but before he could, Private gasped," People!"

Everyone turned to see a couple heading straight toward them! In a flash, the penguin team bolted away, while the lemurs climbed the tree again and vanished. Leaves rustling in another tree told Jack that they were heading back toward the zoo. Panicking, the Youtubers looked around for a hiding place. Jack hardly noticed Alex, who had come back, trying to get their attention.

Pain shot through him when she slapped him across the cheek. "This way!" she snapped, grabbing his flipper and pulling him away; Mark was right behind them.

Up ahead, Jack saw Skipper and his team vanishing in a dark hole behind a poster on the brick wall. As they approached, a flat head poked out. "Hurry!" the leader ordered, eyes wide with fear.

Alex pushed Jack and then Mark into the hole, before jumping in too. But they didn't stop there. The female penguin pushed them through to the other side until they were stumbling into the brightness of outside again.

Once he could see again, Jack spotted the penguins sliding on their belly toward the center of the zoo. "Come on!" Alex said, chasing after them, with Jack and Mark behind her.

They made it to the gates of the enclosure with no sign that anyone saw them. Skipper and his team stood on the island, and Sam was just dropping down below when Jack and Mark hopped over the gates.

Alex glanced at her father before joining her half-sister inside. Jack and Mark hesitated, exchanging a look. "What about-" Mark began, but Skipper interrupted him.

"Below, now!" the leader growled.

"But-" Jack started; whatever he said was no use, though. The lead penguin went on glaring at them. Finally the Irish Youtuber sighed and muttered to Mark," Come on."

Mark looked at his friend, then jumped down. Before following him, Jack gazed at the entrance to the zoo, where people were starting to gather, excitedly waiting for the zoo to open. Beyond the entrance was the park, where Jack knew he would be waiting for them, but they weren't there. Would he wait or go back to the hotel?

Maybe we shouldn't have come back, Jack thought, but he couldn't stay there anymore. The bell on the clock tower was going off, signaling that the zoo was opening. Skipper rolled his eyes and pushed Jack closer to the hole. He lost his balance and fell down into the penguins' secret headquarters.

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