Authors note: And now the plan is revealed! Remember to review!
Chapter 31: Skipper's Great Plan
The sun shone brightly as the nine New Yorkers trudged through the Kenya savanna. In front was Skipper followed by the other three penguins. Behind them was Gloria and Melman. And behind them was Marty. And in the very back was Alex carrying Julien on his shoulder.
Alex was very quiet, continuing to think about the pride. Julien was still as well. After all, he did have much to consider.
Marty slowed his pace and waited for Alex to catch up to him. "Hey Al, why so sad? We're going back," Marty asked.
Alex lifted his head and smiled weakly, "I know. I'm just going to miss them that's all."
"We'll all miss them," Marty acknowledged, "Maybe one day we'll see them again."
"Maybe..." Alex added.
Julien was still as quiet as death. He sat with his knees pushed to his chest. On his knees he rested his head; his large orange eyes staring off into space. Marty pointed at Julien and made a, 'what's with him?' motion.
Alex shrugged. He then made a waving motion meaning, 'forget about it'.
The lemur noticed none of this, and simply continued his cycle of thought.
But then, Alex was growing a bit doubtful. With a slight increase in speed he neared the front of the group, "Hey Skip?"
"What did I tell you about that name?" Skipper complained.
Alex rolled his eyes, "Fine, Skipper."
"Yes?" the penguin answered with a docile quality.
Alex looked to his left and to his right, "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise remember?" Skipper teased.
Private was a bit bothered, "Skipper, just tell them where we're going!"
"Fine, Private, fine. I'll tell them the first step, but the rest must be kept spontaneous," Skipper answered.
"So what is this first step?" Gloria inquired.
Skipper continued, "We're headed for the cages you were dumped in."
"Why there?" Melman asked.
"Because," Skipper answered, "We got to the second step from the place we were dropped off. It's just a way to get to where we got before. It's not like we have a map or anything."
"I guess that makes sense..." Alex said to himself while returning to the back of the group.
Marty followed, "Alex. Why you wanna be back here so much?"
"I dunno. It's quiet, I guess. And I don't want anything to bother Julien," he said.
Julien's head suddenly lifted up, "What? Did someone say my name?"
"As long as your up," Marty commented, "What have you been thinking about?"
"Things," the lemur answered plainly.
"Things?" Alex asked.
"Just things, alright?" Julien snapped back. He turned the other way on Alex's shoulder, his tale now facing Marty.
"Don't yell at me," Marty grew defensive.
Alex's eyes widened. He knew what was wrong. He bent over and whispered almost silently in Marty's ear, "He's deciding whether to go back to Madagascar or not."
"That's right I am," Julien huffed.
Alex laughed, "I didn't really mean for you to hear that..."
"I'm sorry Julien, I had no idea," Marty apologized.
Julien closed his eyes in self-disappointment, "It's my fault. I was being too testy," his eyes opened once more, "Besides...I think I know my decision..."
Alex wasn't eased by the way he said that, but the group continued. At last the familiar acacia tree came into view, and behind it the four large cages.
Skipper noticed something while approaching the tree, "Hey look. It's that winoki stuff." As he said, the old hand-crafted jug of the winoki juice rested on the trunk of the tree.
"Oh," Julien exclaimed, "Must've left it there."
"I wonder if It's still drinkable," Kowalski pondered.
Julien nodded, "Oh yes. It only tastes better with age."
"Interesting," Skipper raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly. Rico took up the jug and sniffed the opening and drank a bit of it's content."
"I still think drinking is wrong," Private declared.
Skipper rolled his eyes, "Yes yes, Private, we've heard it all before."
Melman interrupted, "Ok, we found the cages. Now what?"
"We continue," Kowalski answered.
Skipper interjected, "Wait!"
"What is it, sir?" Kowalski asked.
Skipper glanced at Julien, "Primate! Have you made your decision? Are you going back to Madagascar or are you going to New York with us?"
Julien gazed at the penguin. Everyone's attention was fixed onto the lemur. "I have made my decision."
Marty felt a nervous twitch in his thigh.
Alex grew anxious in anticipation. 'Please stay. Please stay. A life without Julien... It just doesn't feel right. I've really gotten attached to the little guy. C'mon! Please stay. Please stay...'
Julien closed his eyes. It seemed as if he and everyone around him was swimming in his thoughts and his emotions. Slowly, he opened his massive eyes, "Madagascar was my past. I will forever cherish it and the memories it holds in me... but my present is with you all... with Alex, with Marty, with Melman, with Gloria, and with the penguins."
Kowalski smiled at being acknowledged correctly.
Julien continued, "I will be perfectly happy in New York. Through this experience, It became obvious that I did make the right decision. Change was exactly what I needed. And I'm glad that I made such great friends."
Alex ruffled the hair on Julien's head, "Good to hear it, fuzz-bucket!" The lion smiled brightly.
Gloria came up and hugged the lemur right off of Alex's shoulder, "Aw, that was such a nice thing to say. Thank you."
"To think, I use to call you a squirrel," Melman muttered.
Marty chuckled, "Well I'm glad that your coming with us, but shouldn't we be getting to New York first?"
"Correct, quadruped," Skipper nodded, "Now let's take a drink and get going."
The animals did take a drink, though not all from the puddles that remained from the passing rain. Kowalski decided to take a swig of the winoki juice. He immediately felt a warming sensation run through his body from his mouth, to his throat, to his stomach, and then outward. Skipper grabbed the jug before he could have anymore. Besides, it might be convenient for the journey home. Travelling by sea took quite a while and Skipper knew he'd be craving something to pass the hours.
Having confiscated the drink, Skipper climbed to the top of what was Alex's cage, "Alright everyone, time's up. We're headed eastward from here."
"Well, here comes more walking," Melman groaned, "I'm going to need some serious work on my hooves when we get back."
"Stop complaining, Melman. Be happy," Marty suggested.
"Come on, Marty," Gloria retaliated, "You can't say your hooves don't hurt."
"I didn't say they didn't," the zebra replied, "I'm just demonstrating that I don't need to vocalize it."
"Will you stop bickering, you're boring me," Julien commented from the top of Alex's head.
"Guys. Guys. We're wasting time. It's probably already one o'clock," Alex judged from the sun's position, "Ok. Where to, Skipper?"
"Just follow us," the leader penguin commanded. The other penguins formed a horizontal formation behind him and they began to walk. The others followed. Luckily, to spare them the horrid heat, a cloud drifted over the sun covering the savanna with a cool shadow.
Some time had past. Skipper had been keeping Kowalski and Rico from the winoki juice. Private silently protested the action. After another hour of walking, Skipper finally came to a halt.
"What's going on?" Alex inquired.
Skipper muttered to himself, "...now, where was it?..."
Rico grunted and pointed at a group of sandy hills.
"Oh, that's right!" Private exclaimed, "There it is right there."
Skipper instantly recognized the spot, "Ah. I see now. That slightly discolored hill." The penguin then turned to the others, "A word of precaution: If you see any extreme movement by that tan-ish hill over there, get low to the ground and be quiet."
Being as curious as he was, Marty had to question, "Why?"
"No time. Now approach at my pace," he instructed.
They followed the penguin, but did so apprehensively. Alex thought to himself, 'What's by that hill? How can it help us get back to New York? Why do we have to be so cautious?'
Identical thoughts ran through the heads of the other zoosters, with the exception of Julien who simply thought, 'Some fruit would taste good right now...'
After a while the group had safely reached a half-way distance without any sign of trouble. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that the structure wasn't a hill at all, but rather a tent for people disguised to look almost identical in color to the hills around it. Alex flinched. In his head, he could still feel a tranquilizer piercing his skin. His recent encounters with the people hadn't been very enjoyable.
"The people," Melman whispered to Skipper, "Are we going to ask them to take us back?"
Skipper sighed. He turned around to face the group the winoki jug making a sloshing sound, "Okay everyone stop."
They obeyed.
The penguin continued, "Now we've reached step two. We must be silent and stealthy. If these people see you guys, they'll think you're native, tag you, and put you back in the wild. As for us and the squirrel thing, who knows? The point is, we must be still and soft as night."
"If we're not asking the people, then why are we here?" Julien asked.
"We didn't come for the people," Skipper explained, "We came for their transportation devices." He pointed at the right side of the tent, "Behind there are a few transportation vehicles. One of them is large enough to meet our requirements. Now follow me. And remember: be quiet."
Together they became ever closer to the tent, and luckily with no sign of movement from the people inside. At last they halted right outside of the tent. Making a corner check, they then sneaked to the side of the tent. Four vehicles were there: three Jeeps and a large tan bus.
Skipper stood outside the bus door. He wanted to open it, but he didn't want the hiss of the hydrolic opening system to sound. He made a head motion to call Alex over. He put the jug down and whispered to Alex, "Open this door. And do it slowly."
Alex nodded and slowly pried the bus doors open with little more than a quiet creak.
Skipper gave a nod of approval. They all then proceeded to silently fill the bus. Melman was quite uncomfortable, having to bend his head tremendously. Gloria was having difficulties of her own. After she got on, anywhere she sat the bus would lean that direction making a squeaking sound. Luckily, the others counterbalanced the bus before the people heard anything. Skipper stayed in the front. Alex then closed the door again.
"Alex," Skipper called, "Get ready to drive." He pointed to the driver's seat.
"What? I don't know how to drive?" the lion protested.
Skipper rolled his eyes, "It's an automatic. How hard can it be?"
"Why me?" Alex asked.
"You're the closest to human size. You can sit down and reach the pedals!" Skipper explained.
Marty added, "Why not me? I'm about Alex's size."
Skipper answered bluntly, "And how do you plan on holding the steering wheel?"
Marty glanced at his hooves, "Oh yeah... didn't think about that."
"Fine I'll drive," Alex sat in the seat
Julien asked, "... where are the keys?"
"No need for them, my friend," the penguin smiled slyly. He put down the jug of winoki juice. "Rico, Katana!"
The penguin obeyed, leaning back his head and pulling out the shining Asian sword. He then handed it to his captain.
Skipper warned, "You might want to keep your hands away from the steering wheel, Alex."
Alex quickly lifted his hands. With a flash of sliver, the sword cut the plastic off where the key hole used to be, exposing a matrix of wires underneath. "Alright. As soon as I start this thing, it's going to be loud, so be ready to floor it."
"Right," Alex nodded. He set his right foot on the acceleration and his left on the break, his right hand hovered, ready to shift into drive.
"Three...," Skipper counted, "Two...," the penguin grabbed a set of cut wires.
Julien tightened his grip on Alex's shoulder.
"GO!" with a spark he joined the wires. The bus roared to life.
Alex quickly set the gear into drive and put the acceleration to the floor!
Suddenly, the roar ceased. The bus died.
"Shitaki Mushrooms!" Skipper cursed. He stared aghast at the fuel reading, "We're out of gas!"
Nervously, Alex looked back towards the tent. A burly man was approaching them, armed with a tranquilizer gun.