Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters, but I do own Alex the penguin, and Sam and Ethan, and a few other characters who appear in this story.

When they entered the park again, the sun was just making its first appearance of a new day and Skipper stood and watched the sunrise. He lost track of how many days it's been since Rico and Sam disappeared, but he's never felt so thankful to witness the arrival of another day.

His team and the lemur king, Julien, joined them, and a little way away, he noticed his daughter and the lemur prince watching the sun, too. He called Sam, and she joined them, followed by Ethan. With Skipper in the lead, they all headed toward the zoo, and since the gate was still locked, they had to go through the secret passageway. Skipper frowned when he saw the picture of his team ripped off.

"What happened?" Private asked.

Skipper and Kowalski exchanged a glance. "You did that," Kowalski told him, and Private gasped. "Well, you did it when you were under Blowhole's control," he added quickly.

Private frowned, and Skipper said," Come on, let's go home."

Skipper went first and he jumped to the ground, making sure everyone made it out safely. As soon as Sam landed in the zoo, Alex arrived and ran over to her. Sam spotted her, smiled, and ran to meet her. They skidded to a halt in front of each other, spraying snow all over them. They shook out their feathers and hugged.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" Alex said.

Sam seemed too emotional to reply; she only hugged her sister tighter.

Skipper watched them, overcome with emotion too. Finally they parted, and he gestured to them. They went over to him and the others. Maurice and Mort had appeared and were welcoming Julien and Ethan back, and Skipper was glad to see Mort up, but he still seemed very unsteady as he stumbled forward to hug Julien and he had a large mark on his forehead where the wolf stepped on him.

"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" Maurice asked Julien.

Julien nodded slowly. "Now I am," he said. "But I'm so tired! I just want to sleep!"

"Then come on. You too, Ethan. You both need rest." Maurice looked down at Mort. "And Mort, too. Back to our habitat."

The lemurs moved toward their home, but Julien hesitated and looked over at Skipper. He didn't say anything at first, then dipped his head. "Thank you… for saving us."

Skipper nodded in acknowledgement. Then he turned to his team when the lemurs left. "Come on, boys, we have–"

He was interrupted by a scream and turned to see Marlene running to him. She threw herself at him and they both went down. She hugged him so tight that he couldn't breathe. "Oh, I'm so glad you're safe!" she said, and he tried to fight her off, but she had a tight grip on him.

He was relieved when his team came forward and pulled her off. He took in a gulp of air and stood up.

"No need to suffocate me, Marlene," he choked out.

She looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry. I was just so worried about you."

He softened his tone and smiled at her. "I'm fine."

"That's good."

He looked up to see Scorch approaching him. The cat dipped his head as he stopped in front of him. "So you won, huh?" he asked.

Skipper nodded. "Yeah. Thank you for your help."

Scorch shifted his paws. "I didn't do much. I wish I did more."

Kowalski stepped forward. "You saved Mort," he pointed out.

"Yeah." Scorch hesitated and then looked in the direction of the penguin habitat. "I can stay and help you rebuild your home, if you like."

Skipper exchanged a surprised glance with Kowalski. "Are you sure?" he asked, turning back to Scorch.

The cat nodded. "Yeah. I'll be happy to help."

"Then thank you." Skipper was glad the cat was staying to help. He turned to his team, about to tell them that they needed to get started, when he noticed the penguin inching her way toward him, seeming unsure about how she would be welcomed. He didn't say anything at first; then he called her over, and she picked up the pace. As Victoria halted beside him, Skipper called to Sam.

His daughter looked up and spotted them. She walked over, looking nervous. Alex followed her. Without even having to say anything, Sam seemed to know who this penguin was.

For several moments they just stared at each other. Then Sam ran forward and threw herself at her mother, hugging her and sobbing, but Skipper noticed it was happy tears. He didn't want to leave them, but Alex pulled him away, and Kowalski, Rico, and Private joined them, along with Scorch.

They looked at the penguins' destroyed lair, and Skipper sighed. "We have a lot of work to do," he told everyone, and he glanced at Marlene as she came up.

"I'll help, too," she told him.

"And I'm staying to help, as well," Victoria announced as she and Sam joined them.

Skipper stared at her, not sure if he believed her. But he didn't say anything to her. He just took a breath and looked around at everyone. "Okay, let's get started."

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The End!