Many years later, the Penguins have completed many missions since their escape from Antarctica – breaking out of the Central Park Zoo, hijacking a ship, flying and subsequently crashing a plane, and eventually, commandeering a circus. It had many years since they had seen their home in Antarctica. In fact, their last trip to their homeland was let's just say unimpressive. They soon reunited with the zoosters in Madagascar, and are currently now running a circus with their friends. Sure, they have their differences with the zoosters, as Skipper often describes them as hippies, but the Penguins are always there for them in a pinch. Much like their loyalty to one another. The circus is something they enjoy doing. It keeps them busy, but deep down they have an urge to do something more. For this reason, they are always eager to take on the occasional adventure elsewhere.

Today in particular is a special day for the Penguins. They are in their circus tent, busy at work. However, this mission will hopefully be a fun one. Kowalski and Rico are standing on ladders at opposite ends of the rooms. The two are on their tippy toes, holding up a long, pink banner. Kowalski holds up his side, reaching up to prevent the top from folding down. He has mixed success in this endeavor. Rico begins spewing nails to hold the banner to the tent. He starts on his side, and as he turns to secure Kowalski's end of the banner, movement from below catches his eye.

Skipper walks into the tent holding a double-layered cake. It's stacked decently high and slathered in blue icing. Three fish adorn the top, still flapping. "Looking good, boys!" Skipper beholds the banner in-progress. "I've got a feeling this is going to be the best birthday Private's ever had."

"Ooh, cake!" Rico's attention is instantly stolen from the banner and redirected to the pastry in Skipper's flippers. He leaps down from the ladder.

Not expecting Rico to let go so soon, Kowalski is taken by surprise. It is enough for the banner to slip right out of his flippers. "Oof!" He watches as it swishes and twirls towards the floor.

Skipper places a flipper between Rico and the cake. It's met with the tip of Rico's beak. "Nope! Not yet, mister." Skipper instructs.

Rico deflates. "Aww!" This is only momentary, as he turns back to spew another nail up into the banner.

"We have to wait for Private. Speaking of which, how are those presents coming along?" Skipper puts his flippers to his hips and looks around to inspect the decorations.

Rico salutes, "all wrapped!"

Skipper claps his flippers. "Excellente!"

Three wrapped presents sit on a upside down crate. Given their shape, it is evident that they are fish. They are aligned in a row and ready to be opened. Next to them on the crate, sits the cake. At the very back of the tent is the banner that Kowalski and Rico had been securing. It is a bright pink and pops out against the red and purple background of the tent. It reads in big, bold letters: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRIVATE!"

Skipper sighs, looking over their handiwork. "I just hope he likes it."

Kowalski slides in next to Skipper to reassure him. "I'm sure he will, Skipper."

This moment is interrupted by Rico who is peaking out of the curtain. He swiftly gazes back and turns to his brothers excitedly. "Coming!"

Skipper and Kowalski know this must mean that Private is approaching. Ready or not, the celebration is about to begin. Kowalski rushes to turn off the lights, while Rico and Skipper hide. They duck behind the makeshift table and wait in silence to spring their ambush of festivities.

In the dark, Skipper whispers his commands. "All right, boys. Steady… steady…"

By the time Private waddles in, the room is completely dark and silence. Had his brothers gone somewhere without him? Was he late for their next show? He was utterly befuddled. "Um, hello? Guys?" He called out into the seemingly empty room.

In a nearly choreographed fashion, Kowalski flips the light and Skipper and Rico spring out of hiding. This sudden change of events startles Private. The silence is broken with harmonizing cheers from his brothers. "Surprise!"

Once Private recovers, he exclaims happily. "Aw, you remembered!"

"Of course, we did!" Skipper cheers.

"How could we forget?" Kowalski adds.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten." Private laughs. "But you fooled me!"

"We could never forget about you, Young Private." Skipper declares and scruffs up the feathers on Private's head.

"Thanks, Skippah." Private smiles, flattening down his feathers.

Now that the excitement is over, Rico's attention quickly returns to his appetite. "Cake!" He gladly recalls, rushing over.

Private admires the cake, as Rico brings it over. In his frenzy, Rico nearly smashes the dessert in Private's face. Private luckily leans back as to not take a glob of blue icing to the face. He takes a moment to admire it; he was so grateful that his brothers did all of this for him. "Oh boy! It looks…" Just then, one of the fish flops its way off the top of the cake and onto the ground. Private finishes his thought, as Rico picks up the fish and slides it down his gullet, "delicious."

Rico hands off the cake to Skipper and hacks up a cake-cutter. Skipper takes the cake back to the makeshift table and begins divvying out slices.

Kowalski chimes in. "And full of omega-3 fatty acids!" He is, after all, always ready for a scientific fact when needed.

"Yeah…" Skipper turns back to add his input, "science!" He shrugs then proceeds to keep portioning out the cake.

Private nervously taps his flippers together. "Actually, Skippah. There is something I've been wanting to ask you."

"Oh, okay," Skipper agrees. It is his birthday after all. Fair enough. "But I'm not spoiling any of your presents." He adds on an addendum.

Private starts chuckling. Skipper can be funny sometimes. "It's not that, Skippah." However, he trails off, beginning to lose his nerve. He had planned to ask Skipper this for a long time. This isn't an easy question to ask either. If he gets an answer, will he even want to hear it? "It's just um… you know, I'm older now and I think I'm ready now… at least I think I am… if you think…"

"Woah, slow down there, soldier! I'm not telling you about the penguins and the bees!" Skipper turns towards Private and lifts his flippers.

Inquisitively Kowalski whispers to Private. "I thought we already went over that, Private."

Skipper places his flippers on his hips and looks at Kowalski accusingly. He hadn't sanctioned that sort of debriefing for the Private just yet.

"No?" Private is still uncertain what exactly his brothers are talking about. He shakes it off. "Skippah. I - … I was wanting to know a little about where I come from."

This takes the entire unit by surprise. Rico pauses and spits out the water he has been drinking. Skipper stops cutting the cake. The cutter slowly sinks into the cake, mid-slice. It leaves an uneven split in the layers of the cake. Skipper and Kowalski exchange glances once more.

"Oh, ho, ho…" Kowalski chuckles nervously. He needs an excuse, anything to get out of this conversation. He looks at the presents on the table and grabs a wooden mallet. "Would you look at that? One of those presents is about ready to flop off the table. I better go… to… um – catch it! Over there." He sidesteps away to whack the fish.

Skipper goes back to cutting the cake. He doesn't want to spend too much time on this subject either. "You already know where you come from. You're one of us. We're a team – we're brothers."

"True, but um… see I was talking to some other people." Private acknowledges.

This gets Skipper's attention. "What people?" He turns around.

"Just people." Private shrugs. "And they said that their families all look alike, and they know their parents…" He finally begins to hint at what he is really trying to ask.

Skipper lets go of the utensil. He puts a flipper around the young soldier and walks with him over to a mirror. "Private, look at us." The two are now looking at their reflections. Skipper gestures to Private and then himself. "We're brothers. Brothers in black and white. Can't you see the similarities? There's nothing array here." He does his best to reassure Private. He is, after all, one of them.

Private is appreciative of Skipper's kind words, but he still has a gnawing feeling in his gut. He waddles back towards the table. "But I sound different. You have to admit that it's a little odd that you all have an accent and I don't…"

"Uh…" Rico looks around. After all, accents are a matter of perspective.

Private slumps slightly. "And I really don't know anything about my parents."

Skipper smiles and sighs. He shakes his head and the young soldier. It made sense that Private would want answers about his origins. However, there is very little that he can tell Private. Telling him the real answer – that he doesn't know his parents – would crush him. At least, it might. Skipper doesn't want to run that risk, especially not on Private's birthday. "Private, what have I told you?"

Private thinks long on this one. Skipper had told him many things over the years. It is difficult for him to think of them all on command. "That songbirds are actually cameras put in place by the rich?"

"No! But… don't forget that." Skipper instructs. He places a flipper on Private's shoulder. "We come from a line of strong penguins. Our dad was a secret agent who saved penguins all over the world. You really doubt that?"

Private wouldn't doubt dare Skipper. As far as he knows, Skipper has always been honest with him. Private knows Skipper would never lead him astray. "No, but I can't help but feel like I'm different somehow…" He sighs. If what Skipper is saying was true, then why does he feel this way? Will he ever get rid of this incomplete feeling?

"Well, don't." Skipper suggests. He misunderstands how difficult that would be. Of course, his invalidation is unintentional. "We're brothers, Private. You can be rest assured that you're most certainly one of us."

"You're right, Skippah. I'm just… getting myself in a bit of a tizzy again." Private laughs it off.

"There you go, soldier!" He slaps a party hat on the unsuspecting Private. "Now how about a slice of cake?"

After an hour or so, the party starts winding down. The presents have been unwrapped, with half a fish already gone. There is wrapping paper all across the floor. It is evident that the Penguins have partied themselves out to say the least. Between the four of them, they had eaten most of the cake. Kowalski has fallen asleep at the table, with his beak nearly on top of his remaining slice. Private is slowly munching on the remnants of his cake. While his fork scrapes the colorful paper plate, he stares on pensively.

Getting up from the table, Rico yawns. "Happy birthday, Private!"

Skipper follows. "All right, party's over. I'm hitting the hay." He leaps up from his seat and onto his makeshift bed: a literal bale of hay. "Good night!"

"I concur." Kowalski nods and starts to get up.

As Kowalski is turning to leave, Private stops him. As much as he trusts Skipper, it couldn't hurt to get a second opinion. Kowalski always knows what he's talking about. At least, that's how Private perceives things. "Kowalski," he whispers as not to wake his other brothers.

"Hmm?" Kowalski's eyelids flutter open.

"Is it really true what Skipper was saying?"

"Of course. Our mom always told us stories about our dad and his adventures. He once wrestled a crocodile and sailed it across the Nile just to bring the artifacts back to their rightful owners." Kowalski informs Private.

"Really?" Private's eyes widen.

Kowalski yawns. "Oh yeah."

"I can see where Skipper gets it from then…" Private says, settling into bed.

Kowalski shrinks a bit. It's not that he disagrees. Skipper is incredibly courageous and adventurous, like their dad. However, he himself never seems to measure up. At least, that's how he perceives it. This intentionally stings Kowalski. "Oh… definitely… Skipper…"

"Thanks, Kowalski! Good night!" Private smiles at Kowalski, before lying down and turning over to sleep on his opposite side.

"Happy birthday, Private." Kowalski sighs and pats the little penguin on the back before waddling off to his own bed.

Private lies awake for a while after. He stares at the tent top, utterly lost in his own thoughts. Why does it feel like a piece of him was missing? None of his brothers ever expressed this feeling. Is there just something wrong with him? All of these thoughts and more spiral through this head. Staying up late would do him no good. He begins to sink deeper into his blanket scooting down. Just when he closes his eyes, he hears an unfamiliar voice calling his name.

"Private…" A male voice calls.

Private sits up. Is he hearing things? First, this lonely feeling and now he's hearing things. He shakes his head. Maybe he just needs more sleep. That must be it, he decides.

Now, a female voice calls out longingly. "Private, honey, it's us."

"It's your mom and dad. We're here to take you home." The male voice calls out again.

This perks Private's attention. What are the odds? He ponders the idea that be might be dreaming this. All of his life he had felt their absence, now they were right outside the tent. Is this possible? He hops out of bed. Either way, he has to know for sure. Stepping down from his hay, he scans the dimly lit tent.

"Mum? Dad?" He calls out. This is his chance. His huge heart was pounding in his little chest.

She calls from behind the curtain in a cheery, distant voice. "Yes, it's us, sweetheart!"

Private begins to waddle around. "Where are you guys? Where have you been?" He looks behind the hay bales and around a stack of unused performance supplies.

"It's a long story… champ, but we'll explain it all to you." The masculine voice says in a soft, comforting tone.

"You just have to come outside." The female voice instructs in an endearing tone.

"O-outside the tent?" Private stammers. Why wouldn't they just come in? Perhaps, they are shy.

He doesn't have much time to think, as they both reply with urgency. "Yes."

This is exactly what Private was wishing for on his birthday. However, something about this didn't seem right. Skipper. That's right! Skipper or Kowalski would know what to do. Plus, he's sure they would be elated to meet his parents. He turns to wake up his brothers. While he is preoccupied on doing so, another sound sparks his attention.

A hauntingly, beautiful melody crescendos. The sound is definitely coming from outside of tent now. Private is startled at first. This isn't at all like how he pictured their first meeting. His visceral response is to cower, but the music plays on. It is the sweetest vocal arrangement he has very heard. It sounds like an elegiac choir. It is solemn, floating, beautiful. All of a sudden, Private cannot help but lose his thoughts and worries. Everything disappears and he gives in to the sweet melody. All that's left is the song.

With a glossy look in his eyes, he begins to waddle slowly towards the curtain.

"Come on out to us, Private." She pleads.

Private continues his steady stride unblinkingly. "Yes, mum." His voice is monotone and vacant of emotion.

"Just outside" The mysterious male voice adds.

"Just outside." Private repeats in his consistent tone.

"You're almost there." She calls.

Private repeats once more. "Almost – "

With that, the lights come up. The sudden change in lighting is enough to snap Private out of this trance. He halts, nearly falling back. Skipper leaps down from his hay bale, startled himself. Private is left floundering, trying to understand what just happened. Where is he? He looks around and blinks multiple times. Wait, his parents. The music. It was all coming back to him! Where are they? Lost in his own disorientation, he keeps looking around frantically. This worries Skipper even more.

"Private!" Skipper exclaims, finally grabbing Private by the shoulders.

"Wha?" Private shakes himself out it.

The commotion is enough to wake Rico and Kowalski up. Kowalski is much faster to get to his feet than Rico. In fact, Kowalski makes it to the floor, before Rico lifts his head and gives a delayed response.

"What's happening?" He looks up groggily.

"Private, where were you going?" Skipper interrogates.

"I – I … I don't know." Private stammers. He would sound ridiculous if he were to be honest.

"You were nearly out of the tent! What were you thinking, soldier?" Skipper shouts.

Private stops and realizes that he was just a few steps from the outside. "I thought I heard my mum and dad… They – they were calling me from outside the tent."

On the other side of the tent, a leopard seal and arctic fox stand outside. The leopard seal is Leo from all of those years ago. He is joined by Hydra the fox. They listen carefully with their ear and earhole to the tent. They were so close to separating Private from the rookery. A couple seconds sooner and he would have walked right into their trap. Skipper, of course, had to go and ruin it. In Hydra's paw, is a cube-like gadget. She grasps it with her claws, meticulously tapping the metal surface of the device.

"Here, play the recording again. We'll get 'em all in one swoop." Hydra instructs, tossing the device into Leo's unsuspecting flippers.

He fumbles with it for a second. "Are you crazy? We can't take all of them at once!"

Hydra rolls her eyes. These seals are ridiculous. "They're four penguins. I've caught more than that today. Plus, we've got the Siren." She snatches the device back out of Leo's grasp. Her paw goes to hit the button, when Leo stops her.

"Not a good idea." He earnestly shakes his head.

"Fine. We'll just send the message and get out of here. You're lucky the boss hired me on. Without my inventions, you wouldn't stand a chance. I better get my cut." Hydra settles flippantly.

"Yeah, yeah…" Leo rolls his eyes. He had heard this all before. Sheesh, this fox was already starting to get on his nerves.

Back in the tent, the Penguins are still trying to put the pieces together and determine what just happened.

"Kowalski, analysis." Skipper points to his lieutenant.

Kowalski puts up a flipper between his beak and Private. "Perhaps, a little too much sugar on the brain, Skipper." He taps Private's cranium.

They didn't believe him. He hadn't imagined this. It felt so real. He cries, "But I heard them, Skippah! I really did!" Tears start to form in his eyes.

"Okay, Private. I – uh… Listen, soldier, maybe we ought to talk more about where you come from." Skipper wraps his flipper around Private's shoulder again. He looks to Kowalski and Rico for assurance.

Upon their nods, Skipper walks Private over to their hay bales to sit down. "There's actually more to the story that we should tell you."

Once they all sit down, Skipper reaches underneath one of the hay bundles and pulls out a photograph. It is the same photograph from Antarctica that his mom had given him. He hands Private the photograph, who takes a long look at it eagerly.

"Private, this is our mom and dad." Skipper gestures to himself, Kowalski, and Rico.

"But I'm not in that photo." Private tilts his head, not getting it.

"Turns out you were adopted." Kowalski says sheepishly, finally getting the truth out there.

"Really?" Private's eyes widen. He was right! But what does this mean for his parents?

"Yup." Rico grunts.

"…Oh, well… I somewhat suspected that." Private admits.

"See, Private, we're not really sure who your parents are. The day we found you we actually had to rescue you." Skipper continues his story.

"Oh…" Private responds. He doesn't know what to say. Where is Skipper going with this?

"From three leopard seals." Kowalski adds.

Rico stands up and provides side effects. "ROAAR!"

"But my parents. Where were my parents?" Private queries. This is all very nice, but it isn't answering his questions.

"Probably eaten." Kowalski, thinking logically, speaks without factoring in emotions.

"Kowalski!" Skipper is quick to shush him, jabbing an elbow his way.

"Oh, um… probably just somewhere else?" Kowalski recovers.

"Eh…" Rico shrugs. He mostly agrees with Kowalski.

Skipper's tone softens. He gazes at the photo with long, forgotten nostalgia and repressed grief. "It was also the day we lost Ma…" He sighs and turns to Private directly. "Do you understand what we're trying to say, soldier?"

Private nods. "I think so…"

Rico pats Private on the back before he hops down. "Aww!"

From the ground, Private looks up at his brothers. "Thank you for telling me."

Skipper reassures him. "That's all right, soldier. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course!" Private smiles.

Kowalski wants to confirm. After all, Private is the sensitive one. It is out of character for him to react in such a casual way. "Do you want sit and extrapolate your feelings?"

"No, I'm okay." Private says, before walking away.

"All right, that wasn't so bad." Skipper leans back, resting his flippers on the hay behind him.

"It does seem that way." Kowalski responds. They collectively breathe a sigh of relief.

That went much better than Skipper thought. Now that he is clearing the air, maybe it is a good time for him to tell the boys the truth about their father as well. Considering how things went with Private, this might be easier than he thought. They'd understand, right? They'd have to… probably. This is his chance.

Skipper clears his throat, feeling the weight of a hundred-pound halibut hit his stomach. "Well, now that we're clearing the air. There's something else that I should probably tell you, boys… –" Just as he begins, he spots something that chases his eye. Something else that needs immediate attention. To be honest, he is a little relieved. "Woah, wait, where are you going, soldier?" He stands up.

Private now stands in front of them, having drug up a suitcase. He goes about packing his things, which so far consists of a camera, a scarf, a coloring book, crayons, and several packs of sardines.

Private isn't sure why his brothers are so shocked. "I'm going to go find my parents."

Rico shakes his head. "Not good." Apparently, Private read the room quite differently than they had. Either that or they read Private's reaction incorrectly.

Kowalski waddles over to Private, completely exasperated. "Private, you can't – you can't honestly think going out there all by yourself is a good idea."

Skipper supports Kowalski. "Yeah, remember the penguin credo!"

Kowalski goes on to explain. "And the statistical possibilities of finding your parents, after all these years…"

Skipper exclaims. "It's dangerous!"

"Preposterous!" Kowalski adds.

"Cuckoo!" Rico says.

"Completely out of the question, mister!" Skipper puts his foot down. Perhaps, Private actually didn't take the news well. No matter what, Skipper isn't going to let one of his men wander off alone into the dangerous world. That isn't going to happen, especially not for the youngest member of the team.

Private's eyes widen once more. "But they're my family! I have to – "

He is interrupted when a small, spherical device rolls its way into the tent. The Penguins watch on, as it gradually yet precisely makes its way across the floor. It takes its rest right at Skipper's feet. It's as if it had been strategically rolled to attract all of their attention. Needless to say, it works as they all stop and stare.

Skipper is the first to reaction. He steps back, "Kowalski…?"

"Woah!" Rico sees his distorted reflection in the shiny mechanism and starts moving forward to inspect it.

Skipper has other plans, as he extends his flipper, blocking his team from the unfamiliar object. "Stay back, boys."

The machine beeps. In the silence that followed, one could hear the animals tromp about from the tent next to them. The Penguins look at each other, not one of them daring to move an inch. Suddenly, a blue light arises out of the top of the object. The funnel of light startles the team, readying them into a battle stance.

"Hello, Skipper," an automated voice emanates from the sphere.

The blue light blinks and configures into the shape of Skipper. It's him, nearly copying each detail. "Cute and cuddly, boys. Cute and cuddly." The hologram sounds just like him.

"Huh?" Skipper vocalizes his confusion. That is him… but he is he… or rather, he is him. Now he is just confused.

"Kowalski," the automated voice continues.

And just like that, the hologram morphs into a detailed clone of Kowalski. "Aye, aye, Skipper" the hologram salutes. The real Kowalski's face sours.

"Rico." It goes on.

The hologram has Rico with a stick of lit dynamite under his wing. "Kaboom!" it says.

Rico starts catches on. "Wait a minute… that's me."

"And Private." It concludes.

The hologram shows Private from their last visit to Antarctica. He has a glum expression and turns, saying "well, this sucks," rather unimpressed.

They all look at Private. Skipper was surprised by the Private's language.

"What?!" Private shrugs and does his best to look innocent.

Skipper takes a step towards the device, as the blue light goes back to its former shape. "Who are you?" He demands.

Kowalski whispers to save Skipper some embarrassment. "Skipper, I don't think the device can actually hear you."

"Oh, right." Skipper acknowledges and clears his throat. He shouts louder this time. "WHO ARE YOU?" Then, he turns back to Kowalski at his normal volume. "Was that better?"

Kowalski nods happily. "Affirmative."

Not actually listening or responding to the Penguins, the recorded message plays. "You may be wondering who sent you this message. At this time, that is to remain classified."

Private frowns. "Well, that's not very friendly."

The message continues. "But we know all about you." A silence follows this statement, leaving an uncomfortable feeling linger amongst the Penguins. "That's why we know you will agree to meet with us at 71.2 degrees north and 156 degrees west."

Skipper reflects on the wording. Oh, they know they'll agree. What if they don't? "I don't think so. I don't take orders; I give them, mysterious audio recording!" He points accusatorily.

The recording goes on. "Need more motivation? We have something that you want… or rather someone."

Kowalski lifts his brow skeptically. "Someone?"

Rico ponders. "Who could that be?"

"We'll be waiting with that special person at the previously stated coordinates."

Skipper calls out, still stuck on that last tidbit. "But who?" This information is all rushing by.

As if anticipating their response, the device continues. "Sorry for the ambiguity but we knew the sons of a world-class secret agent would understand."

Skipper immediately tenses at the mention of a secret agent. What did the device just say? That couldn't be right. His paranoia must be playing tricks on him.

"See you then." The light condenses to a thin, straight line before flashing off.

Kowalski is left stunned. "Well… that was baffling."

While they are all dazed by the sudden challenge, Private perks up. "It's my parents!"

"What?" Rico asks.

Private declares. "It's my parents! It just has to be. That's why I heard them. They were calling to me." He points outside the tent.

Skipper, trying to secretly settle himself as well, tries to steady his team. "Now, let's not get all worked up. We need to go at this with some sort of plan. This is a ransom." He states firmly, he forms a fist and sends it down onto his opposite, open flipper. "And I do not negotiate with unknown rolling objects."

"It sounds like they want something from us. But what?" Private thinks.

Kowalski notes. "That is typically how ransoms work."

"Kowalski, look up those coordinates!" Skipper orders.

"On it, Skipper!" He salutes and walks over to Rico. He steps on Rico's foot, with which Rico responds by cocking back his head and opening his mouth. A rolled map comes out. Kowalski grabs it and walks off. Once he steps of Rico's foot, Rico goes back to normal position with a smile.

"We have to go, Skippah." Private pleads, grabbing onto Skipper's folded flippers. "We save others that's what we do."

Skipper, still feeling uneasy by the secret agent comment, responds. "You're right, Private. But we just don't… - we don't know what we're walking into." Once he assures himself, he regains his normal swagger. "It could be death a thousand times over waiting for us."

"Skipper, it looks like these coordinates are referring to the Arctic tundra." Kowalski calls from across the room, the map spread out like a Sunday morning newspaper.

"Arctic tundra?" Skipper is taken aback.

"It would appear so." Kowalski responds straightforward. He had double and triple checked by this point.

"Ooh! Maybe we'll see some cuddly polar bears!" Private gives himself a hug, thinking about the adorability.

"Oy vey." Rico sighs. They certainly shouldn't cuddle any polar bears they find.

"Ugh!" Skipper facepalms. "Just when we escaped one tundra."

Kowalski furrows his face, and he pauses to think. "The more I ruminate over the message, the more I can't help but infer that the special person could be referring to our dad."

Rico stops what he's doing. His eyes widen with hope. "Dad?"

Kowalski goes on to support his explanation, getting more excited as he goes on. "You know, the recording said, 'a world-class agent'. They could have our dad. That's why he's been gone all these years. Whoever left that message must be holding him hostage!" His whole demeanor lights up. This is quite the finding. If it turns out to be true, this might even be his greatest discovery. He makes his way closer to Skipper.

"Yeah!" Rico rushes up to their leader as well. The excitement proves to be contagious.

"…Or my parents!" Private places his flippers on his hips sassily.

Skipper suddenly feels crowded. He takes a few steps back, his flippers out in front of him. Guess it was too late to tell them the truth now, huh? "Now, boys, you know I'm always down for an international adventure, but how can we be so sure that it is our dad that they're talking about."

Private steps in front of Kowalski, inching closer to Skipper. "But we save people! Please, let me save my parents." Private begs. How could he say no to that request?

Kowalski works his way back in, pushing back against Private. "He would never abandon us, Skipper."

"Yeah!" Rico peaks in around the opposite side of Private.

"We can do it, Skippah. You're always leading us on different missions." Private encourages his Skipper. This is odd for him. Skipper's usually the one rallying them. This thought does cross his mind but briefly.

"Remember that time dad dove into a lagoon filled with sharks to retrieve pearls for our mom?" Kowalski unknowingly reminds Skipper of a tale that he himself had fabricated.

"That's true." Skipper nods. It wasn't.

"Or that time he braved the amazon rainforest and saved a sloth from a giant anaconda!" Private joins in.

From behind, Rico beats his chest and imitates Tarzan with an "Ahhh Ahhh!"

"C'mon, Skipper, you live for this stuff." Kowalski pleads sincerely. If their father somehow was held hostage by these goons and they missed the chance to save him, Kowalski would never forgive himself. This is his chance to finally meet their father after all those years and possibly make him proud.

Skipper finds himself in quite the conundrum. He was never one to run away from a fight. That goes against just about everything he stands for. But the mentioning of their father is what shook him. No one knows those stories about him, except for them. And that's all they were – stories. The boys still didn't know this. What if this was all some sort of trap, then? It isn't worth risking the safety of his brothers to a possible trap. Then again, he couldn't tell them the truth at this point either. It seems that opportunity has passed. And what were the chances that the foe was actually referring to one or both of Private's parents? … Not likely, but even low odds would be worth pursuing. It would break Private's heart to not even try to theoretically save them… it would break his heart if it isn't them. This is a dilemma. Just when it seems that there is no clear answer, Skipper's sense of adventure gets the best of him.

Skipper sighs. "Who am I to deny you boys an adventure?" The team responds with cheers of excitement, while Skipper looks on with a smile.

[To Be Continued]