This had been a very good season for King Julien, which was saying something, because the previous one had been pure hell, the single worst experience in his entire kingly life. After his time in exile, where he had been reduced to a crown-less, unroyal, no-kingdom-having loser desperately trying to find help and reclaim his beloved kingdom from that evil jerkface Koto, things were finally starting to go his way.
Not only was the aforementioned jerkface now pushing up daises, but the fossa clan was also off the lemur's backs thanks to Mary Ann's influence, who, of course, had been lemurized by the brilliant and forward-thinking king himself. Sure, she had tried to eat them and had been plotting to turn the fossa into an unstoppable army but her love for Horst prevailed and made her see the light in the end. Plus, the other fossa being braindead morons also ensured that her lofty goals never went anywhere.
Not only that, but Julien' self-proclaimed archnemesis, that chatty, self-absorbed weirdo of a fanaloka, Karl, had retired to some place called "Florida" with his creepy hissing cockroach and Julien's own evil uncle had run off with Mort's ex-wife Zora, his inexplicable love for the hulking indri lemur eliminating his desire to reclaim the throne, while his sexy hench lady Crimson was chilling with her gal pals on Siren Island and was out of Julien and Clover's hair (some harassment complaints in relation to Pancho notwithstanding). Julien couldn't deny that Crimson was quite a hottie but she was also WAY too clingy for his taste. He sure dodged a bullet leaving her at the altar.
And speaking of Clover, his devoted if overzealous and violence-prone former bodyguard? After five seasons of teasing, she and Sage Moondancer (a.k.a Babak, the rightful heir to the Mountain Lemur Kingdom) had finally tied the knot and Clover was now the queen of the mountain lemurs! It had been one of the most beautiful weddings in Madagascar history, even if there had been a few minor complications after Julien and the boys had buried Sage and thought that they had lost him (long story). Julien couldn't deny that he was immensely proud of Clover as he watched her fly off to her new home with her new himbo of a husband. Who would have guessed that a lowly commoner such as her would grow up to be royalty?
Either way, all's well that ends well, right? Julien was happy? Clover was happy? His kingdom was thriving once more now that they were rid of all of their enemies? Even his uncle got a happy ending? It would be nothing but smooth sailing from here on!
Well…? In hindsight, it might have been wiser if Julien had looked into the whole "fossa rebelling against Mary Ann" thing a bit more before he married off his one-woman army of a bodyguard who had spent years single-handedly striking fear into the gluttonous brutes' hearts and let her go to another, far, far away kingdom? But Julien and his peeps trapping Bone-Fossa and his followers in a net proved that they were more than capable of defending themselves without Clover's aid? Surely this wasn't just a fluke?
It didn't matter, as the lemurs didn't have much time to dwell on that question and its incredibly obvious answer, as the morning after Clover and Sage's wedding, during one of their routine dance parties, the fossa came back with a vengeance!
Luckily, like angels sent by the Sky Gods themselves, a quartet of strange, giant mammals arrived in the nick of time, and their apparent leader, a big dude with big fangs and sharp claws and freaky hair, calling himself Alex the Lion, the "King of New York", easily scared off the dreaded fossa via screaming his head off at the sight of a spider that had snuck up on his back. A true paragon of courage!
Clearly, this total stranger that they knew nothing about and his band of freaks were the lemurs' saviors who would protect them from the vicious fossa! That much was obvious to King Julien! And he was quick to assure his adoring subjects that the giant mammals, which Julien had affectionately dubbed the "New York Giants" would be keeping the fossa out of their hair forever. His subjects, of course, showered him with support and cheers of approval!
But of course, as usual, Maurice had to be a Doubting Debbie and gripe about Julien's ingenious plan, claiming that it was too risky? Maurice had a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Alex was an even bigger threat than the fossa, that he too was a savage carnivore that would gobble them up if they turned their backs on him. Of course, Julien was too distracted by his own mind-numbing brilliance to heed Maurice's warning and proceeded with his plan of integrating the New York Giants into their society.
And ultimately, Julien was proven right! Sure, Mr. Alex might have briefly gone completely bonkers and tried to eat his friends, resulting in some soul-searching and their friendship being put to the test, but in the end, Mr. Alex pulled through and channeled his inner lion to save his friends and kick a lot of fossa booty!
Julien and Maurice were fortunate enough to have front-row seats for the event, watching in awe as Alex sent the fossa clan packing with an earth-shaking roar.
"No! Fossa stay! Fossa fight!" Bone-Fossa yelled as he stood on his back legs and tried to stop his forces from fleeing, only to get trampled in the process.
Now bruised and beaten into the dirt, the new leader of the fossa noticed a huge shadow looming over him and whimpered fearfully as he saw Alex looking down at him, with his arms crossed and sporting a confident smirk.
"Boo."
Bone-Fossa screamed and scrambled to catch up with his clan, while Marty, Melman and Gloria cheered for Alex and they had a big, joyous group hug.
"Yes! I did it! My brilliant plan has worked flawlessly!" Julien exclaimed happily, hoisted Maurice up and spun him around on their branch before turning to the larger mammals.
"Awesome work, Mr. Alex!" Julien cupped his mouth. "You were a beast out there! And I am meaning that in the best way possible!
"Oh, it was nothing…" Alex said bashfully, his usually neatly kept mane still a frizzled mess.
"I never doubted you for a second, unlike some people." Julien added while unsubtly eyeing Maurice.
"But I'm sure they have finally learned not to doubt their king's wisdom." Julien patted the chubby aye-aye on the shoulder.
"Uhhh…my smartness is so ginormous, it sometimes scares me! Oh yeah! Go me! King Julien for the win!" he continued praising himself while shaking his booty left and right.
Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria just rolled their eyes in jest.
"Ya know there were a dozen or so ways this could have gone wrong?" Maurice said flatly.
"Yay! King Julien has saved the day, again!" Mort cheered as he popped up from behind the aye-aye. "You are my hero!"
"Ah! See! Even the little trash goblin knew that this was all part of my elaborate plan to vanquish the fossa!" Julien huffed and crossed his arms as he looked to his left. "Right, Clo-Clo?"
Maurice and Mort frowned sadly while it took Julien a couple of seconds to remember that his four-man band was now just a trio, much to the other animals' confusion.
"Oh…right?" Julien deflated and grew somber. "She's not here?"
"Um…who was he talking to?" a befuddled Melman asked his friends, who all shrugged.
Below them, the penguins belly-slid into the scene.
"Anyone got intel on the prancing hippie with the ringed tail?" Skipper inquired with an air of suspicion.
"Based on the crudely-made tribal head-adornment, I wager that he must be the leader of this backward community of indigenous prosimians." Kowalski replied matter-of-factly.
Skipper narrowed his eyes. "Hmmm…I already don't like him."
"But, Skipper? You haven't even spoken to him?" Private pointed out innocently.
"Not needed. I'm a very good judge of character, Private." His leader told him with unflinching conviction. "And I don't trust him."
Rico hacked up a machete and gave his leader an eager look. "Huh…huh?"
"No, Rico. But keep your tranq gun on standby." Skipper gave his order while studying the ring-tailed lemur.
"Awww…" the psychotic penguin dropped his weapon with visible disappointment.
"So…what's for lunch?" Alex suddenly asked, startling the others.
A great feast was held in honor of Alex and his friends for defeating the fossa. Luckily, the penguins found a way to control Alex's savage hunger without sacrificing any mammals, or birds, by introducing him to the fine cuisine that is fish, with the tall one prattling on about the nutritional values and many other benefits of a piscine diet, such as it "boosting cerebral development", whatever that meant? And fortunately for everyone, Alex liked it. Julien didn't even have to sacrifice Mort as his plan B.
Naturally, the feast was followed up by another wild party. The penguins didn't stick around for it, preferring to do a stake-out, but the other zoo animals gladly joined in on the fun. Except for two.
Teeth chattering was heard as Mason and Phill were sitting on a log at the fringes of the party, shaking and wrapped in blankets, despite the sweltering heat of Madagascar. Their noses were red and they were sneezing uncontrollably when Nurse Phantom brought two bowls of hot soup to them on a cart.
They were only found and freed from their cage by accident after Alex and Gloria had returned to the ship to make absolutely sure that there weren't any humans left that could help them, and brought the chimps back with them, cradled in their arms, since the simians were on the verge of death from hypothermia.
Apparently, the penguins had completely forgotten about the two while sailing to some frigid wasteland at the bottom of the world, which they called Antarctica, or that chimpanzees weren't built to withstand polar weather?
"I don't get this?" Julien whispered to Maurice as he watched the chimps drinking their soup. "If Stanislav and his peeps can survive in an icy dump like "Mudder Russia", why can't these guys? Yeesh, they must be living up to the "pansy" part of "chimpanzee"."
"Your majesty? Might I suggest that we offer 'em further medical attention?" Maurice suggested. "To make sure they don't have frostbite or any other life-threatening ailments from their polar voyage?"
"An excellent idea, Maurice." Julien agreed. "After all, it is my kingly duty to ensure the survival of helpless and inferior commoners, and the freaks are no exception. If these guys are too wimpy to be living in their own homeland, they need all the help they can get."
He elbowed his advisor in jest and Maurice muttered under his breath as he and Julien approached the apes.
"Greetings, my dear pansies. As the great and generous and super-awesome king of Madagascar, I wish to inform you that you are more than welcome to crash in my glorious kingdom until you're feeling all better."
The quivering Mason gave him a weak smile, trying to be polite. "Y-your h-hospitality is g-greatly app-appreciated, y-your highness. I j-just hope m-me and my p-partner won't b-be any sort of in-inconvenience to you and y-your people?"
"Oh, no problem, you hairy cosmonauts. Being the awesome king I am, I make it a rule to offer sanctuary to all creatures in need." Julien shot them two finger guns.
"C-cosmonauts?" the chimps exchanged confused looks.
"And rest assured, I shall leave you in the care of the most skilled and experienced doctor I have at my disposal!"
Maurice gave Julien a worried look. "Wait? You're not talking 'bout-"
"Oh, Doctor S!" Julien shouted and the chimps tensed up as a huge cobra with a head mirror and a glove on his tail slithered up to them.
"Could you please assist the pansies with their recovery?"
"Oh, it would be my pleasure, Mr. Julien!" Doctor S giggled in an unhinged manner. "I always wanted to find a cure for the common cold! I just needed proper test subjects!"
"Eh…on second thought? I don't think medical treatment will be necessary." Mason and Phill threw away their blankets and backed away fearfully.
Phill made some strange hand gestures and Mason nodded. "Stellar idea, Phill! We are terribly malnourished and this island seems to be filled with banana trees. Have a nice day."
The two made like the wind, while Doctor S hung his head sadly and threw his glove away. "Aww…why do they always run away?"
"Perhhaps we couhd ask King Hoey if he couhd lehnd us some volunteehs?" Nurse Phantom slurred.
"Uhhh…that's a great idea!" Doctor S exclaimed. "The rats are too simple-minded to worry about their own safety? Let's go."
The cobra and his hunchbacked assistant left, while Julian put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot in indignation.
"Can you believe this?" he asked Maurice while gesturing in the direction the chips left. "I try to be a good host and they just snub me? Not cool, man! Some folk just have no sense of gratitude."
"I'd never question your judgement." Mort suddenly appeared next to him, sounding just as indignant.
"The creepy, cackling snake doctor might have been the deal-breaker?" Maurice suggested with thinly-veiled sarcasm.
"If King Julien told me that getting dissected by a mad doctor was the best way to cure my sickness, I'd jump at the chance." Mort declared happily. "And I carry every disease known to man!"
"Meh, who cares about those inconsiderate stowaways." Julien laughed it off. "What matters is that we are in the New York Giants' good graces and they'll be protecting us against the fossa until the end of their days!"
"Yeah, I guess?" Maurice said with uncertainty. "We sure got lucky, didn't we?"
"Not "lucky", Mo-Mo. I had everything under control this whole time." Julien said confidently while checking out his fingernails. "See? I told you that we would be doing just fine without any help from…" his voice trailed off and he scratched his eye "…Clover."
"King Julien, are ya feeling okay?" Maurice asked with concern.
"I'm not crying!" was Julien's snippy response as he turned around and wiped the obvious tear away. "I just had something in my eye."
"It's okay, King Julien." Maurice told him. "There is nothing wrong about missing a friend? I miss her too."
"Well, it's just…" Julien stammered, trying to keep his kingly composure "…I didn't think that Clover not being here would feel so much like…..Clove not being here?"
"Yeah…it sure feels weird without her?" This hit Maurice hard. His lips trembled and his eyes started watering. In a millisecond, the overemotional aye-aye hugged his friend and sobbed like a big baby.
"Who am I kidding! I miss her so much!"
"I know." Julien whimpered, patting his back. "My entourage feels so incomplete without her!"
"Lemur up, Maurice!" Mort scolded the aye-aye. "I've outlived all of my loved ones and I'm just fine. Granted, I may have directly or indirectly ended most of their lives, my memory is still fuzzy on that?"
Julien scowled. "Y'know, whoever said, "Out of sight, out of mind" was a filthy liar!"
"Well, Uncle King Julien told ya that when your parents disappeared?" Maurice composed himself a bit. "And when you thought Karen got eaten by the fossa?"
"Ah-ha! I knew it!" Julien exclaimed. "You don't get more filthier, or more liar…er than my uncle."
"I agree, I wouldn't touch his icky feet with a ten-foot pole." Mort nodded.
They heard a slurping noise and someone tapped Julien on the shoulder. The three were met with a familiar blue-eyed lemur holding a beverage.
"Excuse me, King Julien?" Horst said sheepishly. "I wasn't meaning to interrupt you crying over Clover's departure-"
"I was not crying, Horst!" Julien adamantly insisted. "I…I was just comforting Maurice over here, because, as well know by now, he's such a big, blubbering crybaby."
"I know…" Maurice wiped a tear and sniffed, too upset to argue with his king.
"Yes, King Julien only shed one manly tear." Mort stated firmly. "He's above such petty things as emotions!"
Horst took another sip. "Well, I'm just glad to finally have your attention. With all this malarky with the New York Giants…anyway, I really need to discuss an important matter with you?"
"Yeah, things have been pretty cray-cray." Julien chuckled. "Alright, shoot. What's the problem?"
"Yeah, if memory serves, I didn't see you anywhere during our last meeting on the plane?" Maurice recalled.
When most of the citizens were identical-looking, dull-colored lemurs, the absence of more colorful individuals (literally and figuratively) like Horst, Willie, Ted, Pancho, Hector, or Abner and Becca was easy to notice.
Horst took another sip. "Yes, yes. I apologize for that, but I needed to help someone. Someone very special to me, who is also in a lot of trouble."
"Hello, King Julien." A gravelly female voice was heard and Julien, Maurice and Mort all jumped as a ruby-colored fossa with a beauty mark appeared from a nearby palmetto.
"Mary Ann?!" Julien recognized her, while Maurice and Mort ducked behind him.
"Clover, save your king!" Julien shouted on instinct, only to once more remember that she wasn't there anymore.
"Please, keep your voice down." Horst implored him.
"Yes, I mean you no harm, King Julien." Mary Ann said humbly as she sat down and pressed her front paws together. "We just came to talk."
"No harm?" Julien scowled and pointed at her, jabbing her in her nose. "Is that what you call not keeping your blood-hungry subjects under control and letting them attack my kingdom?"
"King Julien, please be careful." A terrified Maurice begged him, but Mary Ann made no move. Her ears just flattened and she wilted with shame.
Horst hugged her protectively. "King Julien, please try to understand." He said pleadingly. "Mary Ann had nothing to do with the last two attacks. She was doing everything in her power to keep the other fossa under control until that dastardly usurper, Bone-Fossa, staged a coup."
"Bone-Fossa? Oh, you mean that guy with the bird-skull crown thingy? I don't see why anyone would follow someone with such a garish sense of fashion?" Julien chuckled snidely while adjusting his own fabulous crown.
"Oh, I know! Because fossa are as dumb as dirt, everyone knows that." Mort giggled while Maurice tried to shush him, pointing towards Mary Ann.
"The other fossa weren't happy with the…restrictions imposed on them during my rule, especially after me and Horst got back together." Mary Ann said sullenly. "Bone-Fossa's proposition to return to our old ways was far more appealing to them, so they disowned me as their queen without a second thought."
"Yes, and that's why we came to talk to you, King Julien." Horst continued. "I know this will sound crazy, suicidal even, but we were hoping that you could grant Mary Ann asylum in your kingdom."
"What now?" Julien didn't follow. "But we don't have a looney bin to lock her up in?"
"No, your majesty." a dumbstruck Maurice explained. "He's requesting for you to let Mary Ann stay in the lemur kingdom."
"Stay in my kingdom? You serious?" Julien, finally understanding his subject's request, was outraged. "Are you crazy, Horst!"
"Your majesty, I beg of you." Horst clutched his hands. "She's got nowhere else to go, and if we don't offer her protection, she'll be a goner!"
"What do you mean by that?" Maurice inquired.
Mary Ann hung her head. "With Bone-Fossa in charge, I've been declared a traitor to fossakind. If I show my face there again, they'll surely execute me on sight. Bone-Fossa has always harbored bitter resentment towards me and he has already sent other fossa to scour the jungle for me."
They suddenly heard a mighty roar and Mary Ann was seized around the neck by a huge paw.
"Stay back, everyone. I got this!" Alex announced heroically as he lifted the choking fossa to eye level.
"I thought I told you creeps to stay off my turf." The lion said threateningly while lowering his voice for dramatic effect.
"No, please don't hurt Mary Ann!" Horst cried and pulled on his leg. "She's with me and she means no harm!"
"She?" Alex asked before panicking and putting the fossa down.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I had no idea you were a girl." He said while ironing out her ruffled fur with his paw. "I'd never hit a lady!"
"What the heck?" Maurice asked him. "I'm pretty sure half of the fossa you pummeled were female."
"Mr. Alex, allow me to explain." Julien stepped in. "This here is Mary Ann, she and I go way back. She was the product of an ingenious plan of mine to bring peace between the lemurs and the fossa."
"Unfortunately." Julien gave her a scolding glare, making her shrink. "That plan was a big, fat failure because Mary Ann couldn't control her savage nature."
Alex scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well…can't say I don't understand? Those hunger pains can do a number on you."
"Oh, also, she and Horst are an item." Julien casually stated while pointing over his shoulder at the blue-eyed lemur.
"Wait, what?" Alex was caught off guard. "Wow. Yikes? I…I honestly didn't see that one coming."
"Yeah, they're a couple who likes it rough, if you catch my drift." Julien snickered and gave him a wink.
"You insinuating there's something wrong with our relationship?" Horst asked the lion in an accusatory manner.
"What? No, no, not at all." Alex held his paws up, scrambling to save face. "I'm a very open-minded cat. I'm all for free love!" he pumped his fist and chuckled awkwardly.
Of course, he wasn't one to talk, given he was best buds with Marty, a zebra, but not like Alex had fully grasped at this point that the striped savannah horses were a lion's favorite dish.
"Love should not have any boundaries. Not even between…eh….whatever lemurs and fossa are."
"Primates." Horst shrugged.
"Cousins of mongooses and civets." Mary Ann said helpfully.
"Then again, maybe some boundaries wouldn't be too bad." Maurice grumbled, earning an annoyed look from Horst.
"Anyway…" Julien cleared his throat and glanced at the odd couple. He felt a knot in his stomach, once more being faced with a tough decision.
"Horst, buddy…" he tried to be gentle. "Don't think I'm not feeling for you and your carnivorous lady friend, but what you're asking…"
"Is insane and dangerous." Maurice said frankly. "Need I remind you that Mary Anne tried to cook us all in a jacuzzi?"
"I say we burn that sharp-toothed witch at the stake!" Mort shouted and held a tiny pitchfork. "Or rip her wicked heart out and then stuff and mount her in King Julien's plane, either works for me!"
Mary Ann gulped while Horst got between her and the lemurs.
"No way, Jose! You gotta get through me first!" he said protectively.
"Actually, I gotta back Maurice on this one…" Julien agreed sullenly. "Look, I tried to make peace with you guys, Mary Ann. I really did. Many people thought I was crazy for trying to reach out to a fossa, and I won't sink so low as to name them."
He started coughing. "Maurice!ItwasMaurice!" The aye-aye gave him an annoyed look.
"I tried my best to convert an unruly savage like you to our own, clearly superior culture, but you still succumbed to your beastly urges in the end. I'm sorry, but maybe some things are too crazy to work, even for me."
Horst looked desperate. "But, King Julien? Please consider-"
"No. He's right, Horst." Mary Ann deflated. "King Julien was the only lemur who had faith in me, and I still let him down. A meat-eater like me has no place among your people. I need to eat something to survive and the longer I suffer from food-depravation-"
"Wait a minute?" Alex spoke up. "If the problem is simply about you eating, can't you do what I did? Eat fish? If you two want to be together, can't she just eat fish?"
Horst and Mary Ann's faces lit up, while Julien looked uncertain.
"King Julien, don't go there." Maurice whispered to him in a pleading tone. "This is a bad idea and you know it."
"That's it!" Mary Ann grew hopeful and looked back at Julien. "I can sustain myself on fish and I promise, I won't harm a single hair on any of your lemurs. If that giant fossa with the crazy hair can curb his carnivorous cravings with fish, surely I can too!"
"Eh…lion." Alex corrected her. "It's in my title."
She held her tail up. "I can even use my long tail as a lure!"
"Huh…your tail really is very long?" Julien noted and rubbed his chin. How come he had never noticed that with the fossa before?
"Then, can she please stay with us?" Horst gave him a pleading smile. "Please, your majesty. If you reject her, you'll be sending her to her doom."
"I…" Julien shifted, that nagging feeling called "guilt" galvanizing him on the inside. If Mary Ann could live here without posing a threat to his peeps, who was he to split up a loving (and very unconventional) couple like her and Horst? Sure, he was the king. He could technically do whatever he wished and nobody could question the ethics behind his decisions unless they wanted to face severe consequences, but he wasn't like Koto or Uncle King Julien? He couldn't ignore someone's pleas for help, no matter how hard he tried to do a lot of the time.
"Fine, you have my royal permission."
"What?" Maurice blurted while the couple smiled with great joy, and Mary Ann gave Horst a bone-crushing hug.
"Love hurts…" he smiled in a daze.
Julien sighed in defeat. "Yes, you can stay here, but on one condition." He stated firmly.
"Mary Ann, you must tap into and abide all the training you were put through when I "lemurized" you. If you want to live with lemurs, you must act like one. And the number one rule is; no eating your fellow lemurs! Cannibalism is so not cool, man."
"Of course, that's only fair." Mary Ann nodded happily. "Since I'm a pariah among my own people, I have no reason to respect my fossa heritage. My beloved Horst alone is enough of a reason to make that sacrifice." She and Horst looked at each other lovingly.
Maurice sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, ya heard the conditions for your asylum and you're going to follow them to a T, understand? If any lemurs go missing, know that yall be the first person Clover's gonna investigate…" he paused and sniffed sadly.
"Well, we'll send someone to investigate you." Julien continued with an air of authority. "So, do we have a deal?"
"Deal." Mary Anne nodded and bowed down to him. "Thank you so much for your kindness…my king."
Julien felt a little giddy on the inside. It was oddly empowering having your predator treat you like their superior. He could get used to this?
Maurice rubbed his temples. "Oi. This is gonna be fun explaining to the kingdom." He muttered sardonically.
"Great." Alex clapped his paws. "I'm so happy for you guys. As a matter of fact? I'll gladly help you stock up on fish while you're adjusting to your new home, ma'am. Because I'll sure be needing to stockpile as much fish in the ship as possible."
Julien and Maurice looked at each other. "Eh….and why is that, Mr. Alex?" the former asked.
"Why, so I won't eat my best friends, duh." Alex replied. "That Skipper guy says that it's gonna be a long voyage back to New York."
"Wait, what?" Julien and Maurice blurted.
At that moment, Rico jumped up on a nearby rock and hacked up a harpoon gun.
"FIIIIIISHHHH!" he exclaimed.
"Thanks for the assist, Rico." Alex smiled. "But remember Skipper's orders? You'll help me catch fish, but no eating my supplies. Capiche?"
"Awww…" Rico hung his head.
"Wait, wait…" Julien smiled nervously "…the way you're talking about catching fish and stockpiling? You're talking like you're gonna leave us?"
"Oh, course." Alex shrugged casually. "Me and my friends agreed on it. We're heading back to New York as soon as the ship's seaworthy again and we have the proper supplies, and the penguins are helping us."
Julien and Maurice froze in horror, Alex's words hitting them like a giant boulder.
All they could do was gape.
So this is my first crack at a Madagascar fic, specifically All Hail King Julien. This will be a two-parter.
The Madagascar franchise holds a special place in my heart, because it was something I was first introduced to as a kid with the original 2005 film and the franchise kept going until today, and even more surprisingly, I have greatly enjoyed almost every installment (sans a few like penguin's lackluster theatrical movie), from the original trilogy to the penguin's spin-off show to the more recent installment that is All Hail King Julien, which might be my favorite, due to its off-the-wall, self-referential and often twisted sense of humor, which jive greatly with my own sensibilities.
For this particular chapter, I addressed some things I noticed with the franchise. Firstly, in regards to AHKJ itself, I found it weird how the penultimate episode had a whole subplot devoted to showing how Horst and Mary Ann were going steady again and showed the latter's own people rebeling against her, only to completely leave out Mary Ann during the final episode, despite including Horst and that episode being one giant continuity extravaganza. Based on the other fossa's actions, I think it's clear that Mary Ann was exiled and logically, the only thing left for her to do (short of being hunted down and executed) was to seek out Horst and his people for safety, basically be a defector from decadence (which is doubly ironic because she was already "lemurized").
The other thing was Mason and Phill, who spent the entire second and third act of the original movie locked in their crate/cage on the ship, since we see them at the very end, waving and still being locked inside it. This would mean that they were there while Skipper and his crew sailed to Antarctica and reached it (in the middle of a blizzard no less) and while they were sailing back and eventually reached Madagascar, completely exposed to the bitter cold for the entire voyage. In hindsight, that really needed some kind of payoff XD