Chapter 6
The morning air was cold, although at this point Kowalski wasn't even sure if you could call it morning yet. The sun hadn't even come near rising yet and wouldn't for a few hours yet but somehow the heart of New York City had still alive with colour and noise when they had left it.
It was quieter on the outskirts of the city itself, the ultraviolet blue of the pre-dawn more prominent even with the street lights blinking past. Most buildings they passed were completely dark, not even a single blub on or lone occupant. On the occasion there would be lights from inside the dark shells, the dull halogens of a drinks cabinet or the dulled blue of an errant monitor left on by mistake. I really only added to the eerie quiet, the only sound the rumbling of the bus, broken only by its occasional wheezing screech as it would pull over to pick up the odd errant passenger before shuddering back to life and continuing.
The air was cold, but the roof of the bus was colder and Kowalski was continually shifting his weight around his flippers to try and limit his contact with the freezing metal. Private looked just as uncomfortable, though he had taken to just sitting down as opposed to just crouching unsteadily like Skipper and he still were. Rico had wandered off almost the exact moment they had landed quietly on the roof of the bus and had taken to just sitting on the ridge above the rear view mirror, kicking his feet idly and watching the world pass by under him with glazed eyes.
It was worrying that at a time where he really should have been invested enough to keep focus he had instead drifted off somewhere else. Kowalski wasn't sure if Skipper had even noticed his Weapons Expert wasn't entirely with them, wrapped up as he had been in frantically pulling together a plan of action.
Kowalski had noticed though, somewhere between his lab and the main living area he had glanced over at Rico and stopped short. Even though he was still following obediently after Skipper his eyes had been flat and glassy, the usual spark of errant mania gone. When Kowalski lifted a flipper to stop him and quietly said his name it had taken Rico a few seconds to respond, like he was running on a delay. He'd run fully into Kowalski's flipper and seemed confused as to why it was there, but not at all curious or concerned.
"Hmm?" was all he had said, and it had stayed that way since.
Now they were here, riding the bus out to the shorefront where the Aquatic Zoo was located, hopefully with a specific dolphin still housed inside.
Skipper had jumped on Privates idea immediately, and the flickers of uncertainty were banished post-haste. The rookery's leader had slapped himself on the forehead with a sigh. "Of course." He'd muttered. "That dastardly dolphin has already brain swiped me once, of course he would do it again!"
And Kowalski could see how it made sense. Blowhole had proven in the past he not only had the ability to completely wipe someone free of their memories, but also the gall to actually do it. Skipper had gone over his journey home from a deserted island after the mess they'd had with the Mutant MP3 Player, weaving a rather unlikely story of a singing dancing lion spirit guide helping him recover his lost memories. The large gash Kowalski had found on the back of his skull and the fact his irises refused to constrict under the glare of the torch beam had mostly explained that one though.
Blowhole also had a very obvious vendetta against them and would more than likely have something to gain from their lack of memories as well, so naturally he would be the smart answer.
It was just that Kowalski couldn't believe it.
He grit his beak against the cold and tucked his head down into his shoulder to try and fight off the wind cutting right through his arctic feathers. It may have been an answer but it was one that left a turbulent trail of inconsistencies and questions in its wake.
For example, if Blowhole had mind wiped Skipper and his memories had returned in less than a day, why had it yet to wear off this time? When had he even done it? Before their shipment to the Zoo? Then why hadn't such technology shown up again sooner?
His gut was turning over in anxiety and he swallowed thickly as he rolled his weight to the other side of his flippers again, letting off the pressure on the side that had been slowly freezing too the roof of the bus. Just because he couldn't believe it didn't mean he didn't want too. If the answer really was this simple then that meant rest would be just as simple. They could have all their memories back before midday and still be back at the zoo in time for lunch.
But there was a feeling Kowalski couldn't shake, like phantom flippers on his shoulders pressing him down towards the earth. It wasn't going to be this simple. There was something else here and he had the pieces but not the time to put them together. Why the fire? Why the eyes?
Why any of it at all.
The bus screamed out a rattling squall and Kowalski braced himself as it jittered unsteadily to a halt to pick up a lone teenager, the kid almost blending into the shadowed morning thanks to their hugely oversized black hoodie. Private slid forward slightly and all of his feathers instantly rose up as he snapped his beak shut to bite down a cry at the newly cold metal pressing into him, without the luxury of body heat to warm it even slightly. As it was the slight yip he made was drowned out almost completely by the hydraulic wheeze of the bus doors opening so It didn't matter. Skipper didn't seem to notice, to wrapped up in his own head to even offer the usual playful mockery.
Kowalski didn't bother to mention it either, the anxiety crawling up his throat encouraging to keep his beak shut lest he open it and it all come flooding out.
It really could all be this easy.
Almost on an instinct he craned his neck in time to watch Rico jerk forward like a limp puppet as the bus lurched forward to continue driving. He had his flippers clamped tightly around the railing at the top of the bus, but he couldn't help but think it was far from a conscious decision.
It was easy enough to slide backwards, lifting a flipper only once to reassure Private as he pushed back on them and let his feet skid across the worn paint towards the rear end of the vehicle.
Rico didn't even move to acknowledge his appearance, eyes looking down at the passing tarmac without really seeing anything. "Rico?" Kowalski whispered.
Much like at the lab he took a moment to respond, and even then it was only the same distracted hum as before, his throat seemingly the only part of his body that was working.
Kowalski's feathers were fluffing outwards, and he wasn't sure if it was entirely because of the cold. "Rico!" He hissed, turning enough to grab onto the railing with one flipper so he could lift the other to the weapons experts shoulder.
It took a couple of violent shakes but Rico did eventually turn to him, eyes scrunched like he was in pain and shaking off Kowalski's flipper. "Penguin." He barked out, rubbing the spot lethargically to try and usher some warmth back into it.
Kowalski snorted and dropped his flipper back to the railing, unwilling to be caught off guard when the bus stopped again. "Yes Rico, so you should be used to the cold. Come on we're arctic birds!"
Rico just blinked at him, still rubbing his shoulder. "Walski?" He questioned.
It was almost a relief. "Yes?" he tried, eagerly leaning forward. "What is it?"
But Rico just nodded slowly, and Kowalski could see the fog was still there in the front of his eyes as they slid ever so slightly off to the left of his face, staring at something just over his shoulder. He turned to look, almost nervously, but there was nothing there besides the empty buildings and the methodical pulsing of the streetlights as they passed by. Rico was still nodding when he turned back, looking for all the world like he was communicating with someone else there on the roof with them.
This was bad. He should really tell Skipper but somehow he didn't think their superior would really care in this moment. Hell Rico's lack of a response was probably the most normal thing in this whole situation. He grit his beak and forced himself to look down rather than try and smack Rico across the face just to get him to stop bobbing his head. Skipper and Private could take the lead with Blowhole, and he'd just have to make sure Rico didn't get hit by a car or something.
He quickly tried to tamp down on the intrusive thoughts asking nastily If he was only doing this to avoid the situation at hand. It didn't matter.
The air quality had changed, the cutting breeze now less smoke and the acrid tang of the city and more bracingly salty. They were approaching the ocean and with it the New York Aquatic Zoo.
Zoo was being generous though. From what Kowalski had gathered the place operated more as a circus than anything else, far more interested in entertaining the human population than caring for their animal inhabitants, whoever was running the place apparently more than happy to exploit the creatures there for a quick buck. He shuddered remembering one of Blowholes many gratuitous monologues where he had detailed the ring of fire and the injury that had resulted in his missing eye. Sure he was evil but no being with a semblance of higher brain function deserved a fate like that. At least at the central park zoo they were left mostly to their own animal devices, choosing of their own accord to entertain visitors rather than being forced into it and punished for non-compliance.
Kowalski tightened his grip on the railing as the bus leaned worryingly as it skirted the corner on to the yawning boulevard drawing a straight line across the coast. The muted crashing of the waves joined the pre-morning quiet, bringing with it a new chill to the air, the deep scent of washed up seaweed and wet stone greeting them. The ocean was dark, only the white tipped crests of the waves illuminated by the artificial street lights and the horizon left to seemingly blur into the light dark of the sky.
The Aquatic zoo loomed ahead, the high cage like fences shadowed somehow more than the dark around them, the arched sign marking the entrance mimicking the top lip of a gaping maw. The light from the large advertisement making up the wall of the bus shelter picked out the edges of the raw curling paint on the old wood.
A pair of humans stood in large coats in front of the light, little more that silhouettes as one of them awkwardly pulled a push bike up onto its front wheel in preparation for the bus to stop. At least getting off was going to be easy, loading bikes onto busses was never a quick task.
Skipper motioned for Private, both of them looking over their shoulders at Kowalski as he nodded back in recognition. It was go time.
Rico had stopped bobbing at some point, eyes growing almost concerned behind their sheer veil as he continued to stare at nothing. Kowalski shook his shoulder and was pleasantly surprised when he looked back at him almost immediately. "We're here."
The penguin blinked rapidly, but nodded and Kowalski decided that was enough. Private and Skipper had begun sliding back across the roof, pausing only to hold still as the bus settled to a rough stop before hurrying towards the remaining of the Rookery.
Priavte and Kowalski dismounted first, and while the road was gritty and cold under their feet it was still a damned sight warmer than metal and Private let out a soft sound of approval as he stamped his feet a few times and rubbed his flippers vigorously back and forth. Kowalski craned his neck up in time to watch Rico clumsily drop down from the rear view mirror to the bumper and stumble none to gracefully onto the road before Skipper appeared soundlessly beside him. "Watch your step soldier." He hissed, motioning quickly for the bin on the pavement.
There wasn't much of a reason to hide with no one around besides the occupants of the bus but even so they remained crouched until the beast had trundled down the darkened road.
"Can you believe what our Tax-payer dollars are going towards?" Skipper scoffed, putting his flippers on his hips as he squinted after the receding bus. "I'm surprised that thing even functions."
Kowalski opened his beak to remind him they didn't pay taxes at all, but thought the better of it.
"Awfully creepy isn't it?" Private hugged himself a little tighter as he hesitantly stepped towards the looming gate. Without headlights to help shed some light on the Aquatic Zoo it somehow seemed even more sinister, the green light beaming from the bus shelter helping none. Neither did the wide, fake smiles of the models in the advertisement, although the more Kowalski studied it the less he was sure they weren't actually grimacing, teeth bared and eyes frozen and unblinking.
He shuddered and quickly fell in line as Skipper marched up to the cold iron of the gate. "Of course it is Private, Evil has a habit of infecting everything around it." Skipper stated, awfully sure of himself. Kowalski's gut churned uncomfortably.
There were faded posters clinging on with dear life to the bars, but without pictures it was impossible to even guess at what they were supposed to be saying. Thankfully the gates were designed to stop humans breaking in and less to stop Penguins from doing the same thing so with minimal fuss they were able to squirm underneath, though the jutting spikes at the bottom did rake uncomfortably across Kowalski's back as he slid through. There was a deep gouge scraped into the feathers on Privates back though so he supposed he got off lightly.
The Inside of the Zoo wasn't much better than the outside. The cloying scent of stagnant fake seawater was almost overwhelming and the sun bleached signs only made their cartoon animal mascots look oddly mummified. But what was worse was the silence.
Skipper hadn't seemed to have noticed, already taking off towards the back of the labyrinth of tanks and banks of seating, Private and Rico following closely as the shadows quickly engulfed them.
The sign next to him displayed the warped and grinning faces of a trio of nurse sharks, the tank behind them obviously their habitat yet even as Kowalski strained his ears there was nothing. Not even the slight sound of disturbed water. Only the quickly fading footsteps of his rookery.
They came here to do a job.
Kowalski tore his eyes from the human teeth of the nurse shark doodle and slipped onto his belly to catch up with the rest of his team, forcefully shelving his apprehension and refusing to spare even a passing glance at the other signs bearing down on him. This was not the time.
Idly he wondered if he had always been this anxious? He certainly didn't think so.
Private jumped when he caught up to them, flippers clasped on his beak and eyes wide as he whirled around. He settled when he recognized Kowalski, beak twisting into a pout. "You scared me!" He hissed, breathing short and heavy as he childishly slapped at his shoulder.
Skipper paused to shoot what Kowalski knew was that patented disappointed look over his shoulder even though his body was shrouded in the gloom. "Pay attention Private." He chided, voice low and quiet.
"I'm sorry Skipper its just… this place is really giving me the heebie jeebies." He whined, pattering quickly forward to catch up with their commanding officer. "Have you noticed how quiet it is?"
Skipper sighed, but dropped the flipper onto his shoulder regardless. "It's still night Private, everyone is probably still asleep."
Kowalski frowned. "Except most aquatic animals don't sleep." He muttered.
Skipper hadn't heard him, head snapping around and focusing off somewhere else. "Shh… you hear that?"
And now that he mentioned it he did. Ever so quietly the sound of water lapping was coming from somewhere ahead of them along with the methodical slapping of something breaching the surface over and over again.
They took off quickly again, easily overtaking Rico who had continued to march blankly forward despite the rest of them having paused.
There was a light growing ahead of them, faint specks of it peeking through one of the hastily constructed banks of seating surrounding what Kowalski could only assume was the main attraction. Skipper vaulted up the back of the half amphitheater, clambering to the top in record time before spring boarding over out of sight. When he followed him over the top he saw the source of the light and sound.
Dull halogen pipes ran jaggedly underneath the railing of the small pool, one off to the far side flickering intermittently and a few even completely burned out. The cheap metal railing ran around the circumference of the semi-circle glass wall and while Kowalski paused Private dutifully launched himself at it and managed to land near their commanding officer on top of it.
In the murky water a silver body dipped and rose, tail thumping evenly against the wake left behind it as they swam in tight listless circles. Through the glass there was almost a shadow of a pointed bottle nose as they passed by the glass again and Kowalski felt his breath catch as something started trying to claw its way back up his throat.
"BLOWHOLE!"
Skippers voice was far too loud, breaking wrong against the sounds of the water sloshing against the walls and the buzzing of the halogen lights.
The silver body jerked into a hard curve and quickly splashed over to the railing, disappearing beneath the water only to emerge in a shower of stale water. On reflex Kowalski flinched back, lifting a flipper to shield his eyes. His heart was hammering frantically. Bathed in the grimy light of the LEDS his shadow looked too long and disjointed behind him. It couldn't be this easy.
"Oh." Was all Skipper said.
The dolphin that had surfaced from the water wasn't blowhole. The mammal blinked down at the Penguins on the railing curiously, dipping lower into the water to study them closer.
With its two perfectly functional eyes.
Water was dripping off its slick skin in an interesting pattern, the harsh light leaving weird pitted shadows around the left side of its face, but the facts remained the same. The Dolphin had two organic eyes, grey in colour and seemingly bewildered at the appearance of two penguins on the ledge of its tank.
Relief and disappointment flooded into the hollow cavern of Kowalski's chest and he almost jerked at the conflicting emotions roaring through him. It wasn't Blowhole. But on the other hand it wasn't Blowhole.
Skipper had started talking again, presumably questioning the stranger on the location of the Dolphin who should have been in the tank, but Kowalski didn't bother to listen. The Dolphin nosed at the railing, eyes wide as they swapped their attention between both of the small birds perched in front of it.
Although now that Kowalski was looking closer the pitted shadows on their face didn't seem to be caused by the dripping water. They were too straight and clean, a perfect connected groove that ran around the Dolphin's face, curving down into a flat arc around their left eye, like something had been placed there that had dug into the skin for so long it had left a deep mark and almost scarred. But… that couldn't…
"But this has always been my tank, There's no one else here."
There was no mistaking that voice, warbling and sharp and it caused everything in Kowalski's body to freeze.
Skipper had stopped short, one flipper that had been raised to articulate a point still holding steady in the air. "Dr Blowhole?" He questioned finally.
The dolphin frowned, tail turning lazily in the water as it looked over his shoulder. "Who? Are you talking to me?"
Skipper finally dropped his flipper, turning to Private who only shook his head and stepped back. "Uh… yes? That is you correct?" He bent down, and peered down at the mammal still bobbing gently in the water. "Criminal master mind? My Arch Nemesis? Desire to enslave or kill every human?" There was a certain desperation leeching into his voice.
The dolphin lurched backwards, swimming to a safe distance. "Listen buddy I think you have the wrong guy. I've never seen you before in my life. I don't even know any pen-gu-ins."
Skipper thrust a flipper forward, Private having to catch him around the middle to stop him from toppling into the water. "Yes you do! You're the only one who says it like that!"
"Says what?" the dolphin barked back.
"Pen-gu-ins!" Skipper snarled. "Its penguins! Everyone knows this aside from you! What's with this damned charade?!"
The dolphin was frowning now, the perturbed look he had been wearing sliding ever closer to outright anger. "I keep telling you I have no idea who you are!" He shouted.
Skipper lunged forward again with a roar, Private having to dig his feet in to keep him on the railing instead of in the water. "Skipper!"
"Sure you don't scum-bag! I'll beat the truth out of you if I have too!"
Kowalski could feel his throat working, but the words were coming out without his conscious effort. "He's telling the truth."
"I'm telling the truth you psycho! Leave me alone!" The dolphins tail was thrashing under the water, sending waves of stale saltwater to lip at the tip of the tank, far above the algae green line staining the glass.
"He's telling the truth!"
It wasn't until everyone turned to look at him was Kowalski aware he had even shouted.
Private glanced up at Skipper, seemingly debating letting him go before deciding better of it and looking back up at the top of the rows of seating. "Kowalksi?" he asked timidly.
A lot of this made sense when you looked at it. And if he was only looking at that he could avoid looking at all of the things that didn't. the dolphin was staring up at him reproachfully, both eyes narrowed in suspicion and blinking easily like there was nothing wrong with either of them.
The railing was slick and it was a struggle to stick the landing and not topple into the putrid water of the tank. "He's telling the truth." Kowalski reiterated, looking past Private to lock eyes with Skipper instead. "We wiped his mind remember? It's perfectly plausible that he has no idea who we are."
"It's a ruse." Skipper growled. "My memories came back, so should his!"
"We don't know that for sure. Maybe we hit him harder than he hit you, maybe it's because you were already missing memories." Kowalski paused to wipe a few flecks of water off his side. "I've only just started dissecting those scans Skipper we can't say anything for sure." He stopped. It could have all been this easy. He could almost taste the regret in his mouth. "Besides…"
Private had released one of his flippers, holding it instead to his chest. "…besides what Kowalksi." He asked quietly.
Kowalski looked away finally, warily watching the dolphin bob lightly in his tank. "It just doesn't make sense for it to be Blowhole. He always has a plan and he always gloats, so why take our memories and do nothing about it? Why wait so long to try the same trick again?"
"Kowalski you're overthinking this." Skipper spat.
"No! You're just under-thinking it!" He spit back, feeling the feathers along his spine rise to the provocation. "They don't even work in the same way! Like you said you got your memories back immediately so why haven't these ones returned to you in the over two years you've been without them?!"
Skipper glared at him, and Kowalski had to wonder who Private was really holding him back from. "News-flash egg-head, he's the only one who's ever wiped our minds!"
"That we know of!" Kowalski stressed. "And clearly, there's a whole lot we don't know!"
The buzzing off the lights was much louder in this new silence. He should feel bad, or at least anxious for having spoken to Skipper like that, but instead it felt like the pressure on his shoulders was finally lifting. He sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. "I know this seems like the obvious solution, and I wish it was true. I really wish it was. But even if it was he's in no state to tell us how to reverse this anyway."
"Someone mind filling me in on exactly what on earth is happening here?" Blowhole asked timidly.
Kowalski pointed and rolled his eyes. "See what I mean?"
Skipper brushed Privates flippers off him finally, stepping back away from them both and levelling a cold stare at Kowalski. A step up from the rage from before for sure. "He could be lying."
"Then why is he still here?" he replied. "This is the place that supposedly burned half his face off with a hoop lit on fire. If he really had his memories he could be anywhere in the world he wanted."
Private seemed to start at that, craning his neck suddenly to stare at Blowhole who had pressed himself back into the corner of his tank. There was an uncomfortable itch on his neck as he wondered if he had tipped his hand too far. Admitting he had no answers for that problem wouldn't help his case right now.
It didn't seem to matter anyway. Skipper deflated finally, shoulders slumping forward and voice losing its venomous sting. "Then what do you suggest exactly." He asked. "This is our only lead remember?"
"It's our only lead so far." He corrected. "We still have the scans back at base and we still understand what's happened to us. We can figure this out."
"And if it is Blowhole?"
Kowalski's head rang with his own convictions. It wasn't Blowhole. "Then I'll just have to figure out how to reverse this without him." Assurances that were easier to make then to follow through with. Trying to undo something like this without knowing how it was done in the first place would be more than dangerous, It would be tantamount to suicide. One wrong move and there goes the brain.
He swallowed and straightened his shoulders. No one needed to hear that right now though. And if he could help it they never would. There was a pattern here, he just needed more data to decipher it.
Skipper finally nodded, a slow thing that was cut off halfway through when he dropped his head into his hands and groaned. "Fine. Then let's get out of dodge before anyone notices we're gone."
Private coughed lightly and jerked his head towards the Dolphin still stuck firmly in his tank. "Skipper."
Skipper looked properly taken aback at that. "What? You're not expecting me to apologize to the mammal are you?"
Kowalski hopped lightly off the railing, leaving the pair to their argument as he looked up to scan the top row of seating. Rico hadn't even shown his face once during that entire argument and while Kowalski seriously doubted he would have been any help regardless it still left him worried. The dammed psychopath could have gone anywhere.
It turned out he hadn't gone far and Kowalski found him staring blankly at the glass wall of another tank just slightly off to the left of the illuminated dolphin enclosure. The lights to this particular exhibit were off but the light leeching from the neighboring tank were enough to cast his reflection onto the tarnished glass. Rico didn't move to acknowledge him as he stepped in beside him and cleared his throat, seemingly too absorbed in scrutinizing his own reflection. He had to wonder exactly what he was seeing that Kowalski wasn't, his mirrored doppelganger looked exactly as expected. "Rico?" He tried, watching the glass for any signs of recognition.
"No animals." He rasped.
Kowalski frowned and finally looked over at Rico instead of at his reflection. He hadn't moved but as Kowalski had turned to look at him his eyes had finally slipped from their position. "No animals." He reiterated, lifting a flipper to press it against the glass.
The light bouncing off the glass had almost hidden it, but there in a horizontal line near the bottom of the barricade was a dirty and decayed looking algae line. It was low, far lower than it should have been for any aquatic animals to swim comfortably in. The feathers on his spine were raising again, but this time it wasn't anger.
Without thinking Kowalski hauled his top half up over the railing of the tank, feet pressed against the glass to brace himself. He ignored the worrying squeak of the metal as it bent under his weight and the slight cracking sound the glass was making as it bowed ever so slightly inwards. There was another sun bleached sign, this time displaying a pair of penguins but it was clear there had been no penguins here for a very long time.
The fabricated ice floe at the back of the enclosure was cracked down the middle, exposing the crumbling grey concrete. Specks of dust swirled in the thick layer of grime sitting on top of the water, the tank now only half filled leaving some of the sloppily painted blue concrete to peak through the filmy layer of slime coating it.
No animals.
Kowalski dropped down and rushed to the next tank.
This one was completely empty, the bottom filling up with dead leaves and old rubbish instead of water. There were no halogen bulbs, just gutted wiring poking out either end of the barricade. The cartoon stingrays on the sign had been scribbled over in red spray paint.
Unbidden he remembered the posters on the front bars of the zoo. He hadn't even really registered at the time that they had been plastered not only on each individual gate but also haphazardly down the middle of them. They'd been old. How long had it been since those gates had been open?
"Theres no one else here."
Kowalski had assumed Blowhole had meant in his tank. But maybe he meant in the zoo as a whole. But he was still here. His water, while dirty had still clearly been cleaned recently. He hadn't complained of being hungry or abandoned so someone was still looking after him.
The last exhibit in a shutdown zoo.
The answer could be simple. It could be he was just the last animal waiting on rehoming. Maybe it was taking time to get a nicer enclosure ready at another zoo. Maybe most of the other New York centers for wildlife were full up on Dolphins already. But a gnawing fear clamping down on his spine was telling him that was not the case at all. This zoo had been abandoned for a long time.
"Kowalksi?" Skipper and Private had clearly arrived at some point, the pair of them looking curiously up at him as he hung onto the edge of the railing. Kowalski dropped down, not caring if he stumbled.
"We need to leave." He rasped, already moving quickly towards the exit. "Now."
"Woah!" Skipper was almost running trying to keep up. "Where's the fire Solider?"
Kowalski whirled around on him, a frightened panic blatant on his face. "There's something seriously wrong here skipper. There are no animals."
Skipper raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? There are habitats all around us."
"And they're all empty." He hissed. "This place is nearly abandoned and the only creature left is Blowhole." He knew he wasn't making sense but fear was ruling him now. Even without thought he kept glancing around, just waiting for something sinister to come out of the shadows at them. "We shouldn't be here."
"I thought you said this had nothing to do with Blowhole?" Skipper frowned.
They'd wasted enough time standing around, every extra second in this place was one too many. Kowalski started bolting for the exit again. "It doesn't, I don't think. At least not in the way you're thinking!"
He didn't listen as Skipper yelled at him, dropping to his belly to squirm back out under the gate they had come in. His chest was heaving and he could feel with an uncomfortable clarity the feeling of the concrete scraping along his chest and tugging out some of his feathers for good measure. Something about this was hitting just that side of too close to home and he didn't have time to think about it.
There was no one around. A blessing considering he hadn't even stopped to consider someone might be. Skipper dragged himself out from under the gate and stood up, annoyance clear in his eyes. "You mind explaining why an empty zoo is causing you to go into a manic Tail-Spin Soldier?" He huffed.
Kowalski was struggling to breathe. "I don't know! Something is just wrong ok? Trust me on this!"
Private was hovering worriedly, Rico still slowly inching his way under the bars. "You need to calm down man. Someone could have seen you making your grand escape and if you're really that concerned about some animal rights nuts getting this horror show shut down you should be worried about some lookie-lous seeing you leave."
"Animal rights nuts?" He echoed numbly.
Skipper nodded, turning to look to both Private and Rico for backup. "Of course. That's the most likely reason right? Animal abuse and all that? They probably just haven't found somewhere for him to go yet."
It did make sense. It was the most logical answer after all. But he just couldn't buy it with a clear conscience. The street lights were helping, as was being further away from all of that standing water. "Maybe you're right." He murmured finally.
"I usually am Soldier." Skipper assured.
Like he was 'right' about Blowhole. Or 'Right' about how the headaches had been nothing or 'right' about knowing to turn on the security alarm.
Kowalski shook his head to clear it. None of this was helping. He had no concrete evidence anything was wrong. He needed to calm down. Panicking was getting him nowhere.
Private let out a sharp gasp and shoved him suddenly to the side, sending him sprawling behind the rubbish bin they had been hiding behind earlier. "The bus!"
Skipper darted in beside him, careful to avoid stepping on him in his haste. "Well I guess your freak-out was good for something at least. We'll definitely be back at Central Park before opening now." He offered a smug grin to accompany his snark.
Kowalski sat up and rubbed his aching head with a groan, shuffling back out of view as he did.
He could worry about this all later. Despite the uncomfortable feeling still rattling around in his head logic was starting to prevail at last. Regardless of what was wrong with that place they were out of there now and well on their way home and back to more pressing problems. He could put Blowhole out of his mind for good, after all dwelling on such simple mysteries as a fake backstory and a weird Aquatic Zoo would only serve as distractions from the main issue.
At least that was one red herring they could cross from the list of possible answers.
Shame it was also the only thing on it.
The day passed in a sleep deprived haze. If the humans noticed their feathered friends were far more lethargic than usual the penguins certainly didn't pick up on it, all of them doing the bare minimum to pass the time. At one point Private had stopped waving from where he was lying on his back and skipper had to kick him lightly to try and wake him up from the impromptu nap. They were going on 33 hours without sleep and it was starting to show.
Skipper had called it at the first of Alice's 5pm five bell salute, even though they usually stuck around till the third bell when people actually started to pay attention to the fact it was really truly closing time and they actually did have to leave. Kowalski couldn't say he wasn't thankful. Private had simply collapsed as soon as the order was given.
That was how they ended up sat around the table, heads in flippers trying to hold on long enough to at least make the debrief worth it. Private had his eyes closed, but was kicking his legs under the table to try and stay awake while Skipper had resorted to absurd amounts of caffeine as he chugged back another coffee with little regard for the temperature.
The only one not at the table was Rico. Kowalski could see him clearly from where he was sat, and found his eyes wondering there more often than not just to have something to focus on.
His state hadn't improved during the day, the usually energetic maniac still wrapped in an invisible fog as he obediently and mindlessly did as he was told. He hadn't said a word since that morning and for all intents and purposes seemed to have gone completely mute. There were moments Kowalski could see him mouthing words without speaking, eyes always seemingly fixed on something despite consistently staring at nothing. Kowalski figured the sleep deprivation hadn't been helping anything, but still took to nudging him as hard as it took to get him to stop and focus. He'd simply assumed Skipper hadn't been aware of his state, but when he had called the meeting be proved him wrong by shooing Rico away with a scoff.
"Go do something else Rico, you're no help like this."
While anyone else would have probably taken the invitation and run immediately to the bunks to crash Rico had simply stood and waited for a moment, looking at Skippers flipper like it was some foreign object. He'd eventually wandered off, but not to sleep like Kowalski would have assumed.
No instead he had set himself up in a corner, His signature Miss Perky doll propped up across from him. Despite his propensity for damage and chaos the Doll was still in immaculate condition, cheap fabric dress still pressed and clean and hair free of tangles. It was certainly strange, but it wasn't the strangest thing about Rico by a long shot and Kowalski had long since let it go. He seemed more drawn to his doll whenever he was like this, and while he'd never really put too much thought into it the scientist assumed it must have been some kind of comfort thing. For whatever reason the Weapons expert simply sat across from his doll, alternating between staring intently at its face and the wall directly behind it. Every so often he would reach out, laying a flipper against her faux-blushed cheek or brushing a misplaced lock of hair back into place.
It was weird as all get out, but it at least made for compelling visuals.
Skipper slapped the middle of the table and Kowalski and Private both shot to attention.
He sighed and pressed his slippers tightly against his forehead. "I said, Kowalksi, options."
Privates eyes immediately closed again and Kowalski took a moment to loathe his position as 'the options guy.' "I need to go over those Scans in more detail. There might be something in there I missed." He mumbled.
Skipper didn't acknowledge that at all. Kowalski quickly figured that what he was really looking for was something physical they could do. He wanted to laugh, and wondered if that was some kind of hysteria he was feeling. "It might help if they were printed out." He offered, noting too late the sharpness in his tone.
Either Skipper didn't hear it or he didn't care. "Good, ok, we can work with that. Private? You have anything to add?"
Surprisingly the penguin answered immediately, though he didn't open his eyes and there was a pronounced slur to his words. "We could try and go over our memories and see if anything stands out like a clue or summin…" He trailed off.
Skipper nodded blankly. "Yes, yes that's also a good idea. Cover both bases."
Rico had his head cocked at a sharp angle, face drawn up in concern as he stared down the Doll like it was revealing the secrets of the universe to him. What a weird guy.
Skipper let out an aggravated sound. "This isn't working."
"Need to sleep." Private mumbled, voice overlapping with Kowalski's as they both spoke at the same time.
"I think this will all make more sense in the morning."
Skipper hefted his coffee mug onto his hip. "Of course this is the one time you actually want to sleep Lieutenant." He griped.
"Mmmm." Kowalski hummed. He wasn't sure if he was agreeing or not. Rico was now inspecting the dolls hands, probably looking for dirt or a scuff mark needing buffing. He would switch between the left and right at seemingly random, occasionally sparing a passing stare at the Doll's face instead.
Skipper huffed and waved irritably at the bunks. "Go on then. We'll regroup in the morning."
Private had almost fallen off his seat in relief, letting out a long happy groan as he crawled past Skipper and up into his bunk. Despite his complaints Skipper left his Cup on the sink and trudged to his bunk as well.
Rico and Kowalski hadn't moved.
"Rico?" He called.
The weapons expert took a moment, first looking around his head like he somehow expected the scientist to have turned himself into a fly and be buzzing around him. When his gaze finally settled on the Penguin at the table Kowalski raised an eyebrow and let his eyes close. God they were heavy. Shame his limbs were too, it was almost more tempting to simply fall asleep at the table then walk over to the bunks. "Go to bed." He mumbled.
He heard more then saw the Weapons expert do as he was told, staggered shuffling his only clues as Rico started to bed before thinking better of it and coming back for his Doll.
When he opened his eyes the lights were off and Private was lightly snoring. He forced himself up and stumbled to the bed in the darkness before falling clumsily into his bunk.
He was gone the second his head hit the pillow.
Hiiiiii! I'm utterly gone but heeeeres chapter 5!
Blowhole is here! Or is he? many many questions left to answer. Let's find more in the next chapter shall we? I really want to drop more clues down here in my little comment but I don't think we're quite there yet! I can't wait until we're all on the same page!
I'm pretty sure there will be another 17 chapters to this story, including a few epilogues but don't hold me to that.
See you all next week~
Peace!