As Hydra continues to plummet towards the snow, Leo and Aspen are left gaping up at her. She is falling fast. Quickly, they spring into action and beginning running with their flippers extended. At least one of them is bound to catch her right?

"I gotcha! I gotcha!" Leo is shoving himself to the right.

"No, she's falling this way!" Aspen argues, heading towards where Leo was just standing.

"Are you sure?" He turns back, his gaze still on the falling fox. Then, he changes his trajectory towards Aspen.

"Yeah!" Aspen responds.

She begins to move more swiftly, as Hydra is getting closer. Leo mirrors her speed. Little do they know that they are headed in the same direction. In a thunderous clash, they collide into each other. It seems that their efforts were in vain anyway, as Hydra concludes her journey to the ground several feet in the opposite direction. She lands somewhere deep in the snow, leaving a fox-shaped imprint.

"Oops. Sorry." Leo mutters. He only half-means it. It is pretty funny to see Hydra stooping so low.

Aspen inquires to the buried fox. "Do you think now would be a good time to call in the aerial team?"

Not yet unearthed, Hydra calls out sarcastically. "I don't know. What do you think?"

Aspen chuckles to herself quietly, as she presses down the button on her walkie talkie. Her tone flattens as she sends out an order. "We're going to need a Sea-Dogfight. I repeat a Sea-Dogfight."

From behind them, the side of the cave folds up like a massive garage door. One by one, an entire fleet of propeller, fighter planes go soaring off into the air. As the vintage planes take off, you can hear the seals operating them. Their barks mix with the whirling of the engines. "Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Meanwhile, the Penguins are celebrating their escape. High in the air, they are completely unaware of the fleet that is approaching. In this moment, they are just glad to be together. High ones are given all around.

"Way to go, boys!" Skipper congratulates his team and himself.

"We did it!" Kowalski lifts his flippers in celebration.

"Woo!" Rico joins in, before running off to explore their newly acquired aircraft.

Skipper's excitement is diluted, when he makes brief eye contact with Private. He doesn't seem to be quite as enthusiastic as the others. That's not like him, but it isn't difficult to see why. After what he had just learned, it's no wonder why he isn't his usual self. Instead, Private forces a slight smile before turning away.

The leader's attention is drawn away with the sound of Rico's frantic vocalizations. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" Rico is hopping up and down as he points to the radio.

"I guess it is your turn to choose the music, Rico. You have full jurisdiction." Skipper waddles past Rico. That penguin sure loves his music.

"All right!" Rico cheers, immediately turning the knobs until settling on a heavy metal guitar solo.

"Kowalski, you think you could try interpreting that map?" Skipper turns to the tall penguin.

Kowalski haughtily scoffs. "Child's play." He wagers that he could crack the code within the seconds that Skipper is standing in front of him. His flippers go to work, fiddling with the device. However, it is to no avail. "Heh… this may be harder than I expected. Give me a minute."

Skipper hops on over to the captain's chair. He scoots himself in, until he's comfy and his flippers are on the controls. "I'll take over flying."

"Skippah?" Two big, blue eyes stare up at him.

Skipper doesn't even have to look over to know it's Private. After everything that happened back there in the cave, he doesn't know how to approach him. What should he say? How would he comfort the Private after what he had just heard? "Hey, Private. How's it… uh, how's it going, buddy?" He stammers nervously, looking down at the young soldier.

"Do you really think my parents are gone?" Private whimpers.

Skipper exchanges a quick glance with Kowalski. Private caught him right before heading off to examine the map. He didn't want to be in this conversation any more than Skipper did. However, he hadn't escaped quickly enough. Private had them ensnared with his pleading eyes.

Kowalski scratches the back of his head nervously. He doesn't want to agree with the predators but lying to Private wouldn't be ethical. "Well, Private… it has been a long time since they were captured."

Just as tears begin reforming in Private's eyes and his beak begins to quiver, Skipper steps in. "Uh, course not!"

"Hmm?" Kowalski is taken by surprise. Skipper couldn't actually believe that… could he?

"Really?" Private's starts to brighten back up, gradually. He is not back to his usual, upbeat spirit, but there is a spark of hope.

Skipper thinks for a moment. How is he going to finagle his way out of this one? "Well, yeah. I mean… they're seals, right?" He scoffs.

Private's brow furrows. "My parents?" He takes offense to this accusation.

Skipper facepalms. "No, those two – Leo and Aspen!" Skipper points to the side of his head. "They were just trying to get inside your head. It's a common enemy tactic to keep you off you A-game. Don't let them get to you, soldier." He smiles kindly at Private. Hopefully this would be enough to convince him. The ruse might not last forever, but at least it would buy Private some time to heal and himself time to think of something.

Private is nearly hopping. He has his flippers clasped together as he listens eagerly. "So, you think they might still be alive? Waiting for me?" Skipper wouldn't lead him astray. This is so exciting. It is enough to encourage him to continue – to find them. He has to find them.

Skipper and Kowalski exchange looks once again. This time, it's different. Kowalski is much less amused with Skipper. This isn't right to lead Private on like this. The worst part about it is that Skipper knows better too, at least he should.

"Absolutely! I mean, you said you heard them calling to you that night, right?" Skipper continues.

"Well, yes." Private tilts his head.

Skipper winks and puts his flippers on his hips to strike a confident pose. "Then, you've got nothing to worry about. I'm sure they're just fine."

Private rushes at Skipper with a great big hug. His flippers haphazardly wrap around him, flinging himself at him. Skipper nearly falls over at the sudden onslaught of joy.

"Oh, thank you, Skippah!" Private gushes. This was the best news he had received in a while.

"Any time, Private." He releases Private with a pat on the back. "Now, why don't you search the cabinets and see if you can find us any chow?"

Private straightens up from the floor below, puffing out his little chest. "Yes, Skippah!" He salutes before scurrying off.

Skipper tries to go seamlessly back to steering, but cannot avoid the glaring eyes of Kowalski. The lieutenant stands there with his flippers crossed. Doing everything short of shaking his head, Kowalski shows utter disappointment towards Skipper.

"What? Don't look at me like that." He turns to Kowalski.

"You know just as well as I do that there's a less than a ten percent chance that his parents could still be alive." Kowalski speaks softly, as to not break the illusion for Private. However, he himself questions why he is playing into Skipper's farce.

Skipper shrugs. "I didn't know the statistic but…" He sighs and begins to disclose his motive. "I can't break his little heart, Kowalski. That would destroy him to hear the truth. He would never be the same, if he found out. And I'm … I'm afraid of losing him."

Kowalski sighs. "Oh, Skipper." It is endearing that Skipper cares so much about Private's feelings, even tragic in this situation but it doesn't make lying morally correct. This strategy isn't going to work.

"So, I'm protecting him!" Skipper brightens. His plan is perfect. If Private never finds out that his parents were eaten, then he won't ever be hurt. Just when he thinks he has it all figured out, he turns back to the controls.

Kowalski follows Skipper's attention and moves in his view. Maybe he can reason with him. He wants to protect Private, too. They all do. "By lying? If he finds out, he'll have a difficult time forgiving you. I mean, I'd rather be told the hard truth rather than being lied to."

The guilt lands like a rock in Skipper's gut. Hitting a little too close to home, he looks away to avoid eye contact. "You would?"

Kowalski nods vigorously. It isn't much of a question to him.

Skipper doubles down, recovering his confidence. "I'll make sure he won't find out. That way, there's no chance of him getting hurt." Kowalski doesn't know what he's talking about.

"None?" Kowalski prods further.

"Well, no, not a big chance." His defenses weaken, as he shrinks down.

"I'd say the odds are thirty-seven percent on that one." Kowalski approximates a calculation. If Skipper won't listen to reason, surely he'll listen to a statistic.

Private comes back with both flippers filled with potato chips, soda, pretzels, and other varying forms of junk food. He beams up happily at his brothers.

It is enough to get Rico's attention. He turns his head and calls back. "Ooh! Snacks!"

Private moves closer to Skipper, propping himself onto the seat next to him. "Skippah, what do you think they'll be like?"

"What's that, Private?" Skipper is distracted by the debate with Kowalski and his own cognitive dissonance.

"My parents." Private cheers.

Kowalski works his way around to Private and snatches a snack bag. He turns to Skipper, while walking away. "Make that sixty-three percent."

Kowalski tosses the snacks to Rico, while earning a disapproving stare from Skipper. Rico, however, is grateful for the snack. Immediately, the chips go spilling down his gullet. Not a second more, the bag is crumpled up on the floor and Rico is staring out the back window.

"Uh-oh." Rico states plainly.

"What is it, boy?" Skipper looks back.

"We got company." Rico grunts.

Skipper stands up at the helm of the helicopter and points. "Kowalski, give me a visual."

Kowalski joins Rico, looking out the back window of the machine. "I'm seeing a total of ten approaching planes, sir." He reports.

As the incoming planes get closer, "Are those seals flying those planes?" Private squints.

His question is answered shortly, as the helicopter suddenly shudders beneath them. Lasers begin emanating from the planes behind them. It appears to be a direct hit.

"Sweet salmon!" Skippers screams, recalibrating his balance.

Kowalski leans forward and peers. "No, it looks more like lasers."

Skipper responds authoritatively. "Kowalski, Options."

It doesn't take Kowalski long to scan their options. "I'm thinking we make use of this battle station facing the rear of the helicopter." Sure enough, he points to a defense station facing the rear window.

"Well, that's awful convenient." Private so astutely states.

"We need to get those seals off our tail feathers. I'm going to need somebody to release complete, unrestrained vengeance on those punks." Skipper taps a flipper to his chin. He drops it. "Rico!"

"Huh?" Rico looks up, with his head completely encapsuled by another, empty chip bag.

"This looks like a job for you." This doesn't phase Skipper. Just another day in the life of Rico.

Rico takes the chip bag off of his head and leaps onto the weapon's system. The Penguins take defense, and not a moment too soon. The seals are already gaining ground… well, air and confidence. They send out another direct hit, sending the Penguins stumbling.

Private is all settled in next to Skipper. Still on cloud nine, he sits comfortable with his own snack bag. "I bet they're kind."

Skipper, on the other hand, is laser-focused on the air in front of him. He stares ahead, making swift, jerky movements with the controls. Those seals were not letting up on the attacks. "Huh? Oh yeah, Private." He is too distracted to look over at him. In fact, he's not fully processing what Private is even saying.

Private hums. "And my mom, I bet she's sweet and has the most soothing voice. She probably makes great cookies."

Skipper grunts, as he muscles the control over, narrowly dodging a laser strike to the left. "Uh huh."

Private continues. "She's gentle but can also lay down the law when she needs too."

"That's nice, Private." Skipper would normally be interested in what the Private had to say. Perhaps, not always one hundred percent listening.

"And my dad –" Private perks up again.

Rico yells. "Incoming!"

Even with Rico's warning, the attack comes with a harsh jolt to the Penguins. Skipper and Private are sent flying forward, but Skipper's flipper extends out in time to restrain Private. If he hadn't, the little one might have collided with the helicopter's windshield.

"How are we looking, Kowalski?" Skipper calls back.

Kowalski is sitting on the floor behind Skipper. Almost similar to a child with a Rubix cube, he is engrossed in the map. At Skipper's command, he glances up and gives a report. "Looks like we've got eight enemy planes but they're coming on strong." The sound of an explosion can be heard. "Ooh… make that seven. Nice one, Rico."

Despite the action, Private is still off in his own fantasy world. "I bet he's stern but has a big soft spot for our family. And he'll have the best sense of humor."

"Six!" Kowalski provides an updated headcount.

Rico howls on with excitement, as he keeps firing and swiveling the battle station to meet his foes. More and more seals begin ejecting from their plans and parachuting into the water below.

Private, on the other hand, couldn't be much giddier. "And just think of all the stuff we can do when we're together."

This peaks Skipper's attention. He glances over at Private, trying to maintain his focus on steering but suddenly finding it difficult. He raises a brow as he finally gives Private a greater portion of his attention.

Private continues, imagining a happy life with his parents. "I'll finally be able to go on family fishing trips with them – and – and I can tell them all about our adventures and we'll spend holidays together and we can go for walks and talk about all the important things in life. Oh, Skippah, I'm so excited to meet them!"

There is a sudden pang of uncertainty in Skipper, but he manages to give a reluctant smile. "Sounds like you'll be spending a lot of time with them."

"Yes! I want to spend as much time with time with them as I can, because I've missed out on being with them for… well, my entire life. I just can't believe after all these years. I'll finally get to meet… my family." He himself can't fully believe it.

Skipper tries to shake the feeling; he has no right to be sad about Private wanting to see his parents. To keep him from them, especially after all these years, would be selfish. But Private had always been his pal. Often while Rico would be off to his usual pyrotechnical antics and Kowalski off to his inventions, they would spend a lot of time together. What if Private ends up liking them more than him, if one day Private just shuts him out? The thought of Private not being around really bothers Skipper, even if it is highly unlikely.

Skipper is forced to snap out of his pensive thoughts as another laser comes straight for them. In an instant, he swerves the copter, a feather off from being hit directly. A warning would have been nice, but Skipper shakes it off.

"Sorry!" Rico calls from the back.

Private squeals. "I can't wait to meet them! I just hope I live up to their expectations of me."

But he couldn't hold on to Private forever. That would be selfish. The kid has to grow up eventually, as difficult as it would be for him. "I'm proud of you, Young Private." He nudges Private.

"That's exactly what I hope they say!" Private cheers. It seems Skipper understands. However, Skipper's smile dissipates. His compliment was lost on Private in the moment.

Interrupting their conversation once more is the sound of yet another explosion. As the final seal parachutes out of his plane, Rico breaks out into a touchdown dance. He shuffles to the left and to the right. "Woo! Who dey." He grunts in his excitement.

Skipper is quick to congratulate him. "Great job, Rico!" He rushes from his seat and joins Rico in the back.

Rico meets him with a chest pump, partially catching the leader by surprise. Private comes running over, as Rico delves out a chest pump to him as well. However, Private isn't quite as quick on his feet and the blow sends him toppling over.

Kowalski is too distracted to join his brothers in their celebration. As if in another time zone, Kowalski joins the conversation completely behind. He looks up from his map in confusion. "Did we win?"

Private puts his flippers on his hips and scolds. "Kowalski!"

Kowalski is quick to defend himself. "What? I was busy."

"Any progress on that map?" Skipper asks, now that they've got the seals off their tailfeathers it would be even better news to hear that they had the map at least somewhat tackled.

"No. I can't seem to crack the code. It's a jigsaw puzzle to the extent I've never seen." Kowalski reports, a bit mystified.

Skipper retorts flatly. "Really? A puzzle. You're stumped over a puzzle."

Kowalski crosses his flippers over his chest. "Well, it's a very complicated one!"

Private takes a moment to look at his brothers who have gather in the middle of the vessel. Something was not quite right about this picture. "Skippah?"

Skipper shakes off Kowalski's sass and responds to Private. "Yes, Private?"

"Who's driving the helicopter?" Private inquires.

"Hmm?" Skipper lifts his brow, reflecting on Private's question. Right… the helicopter… hadn't thought of that.

With that, the helicopter seems to come to a halt. For a second, it floats in the air before beginning to plummet towards the earth below. The Penguins are sent flying through the helicopter's cabin much to their dismay. Despite this, none of them seem overly concerned from the free fall.

"Well, we never were good at these sorts of things anyways." Skipper states with flippers on his flippers. Crashing aircraft vehicles was certainly not new for them.

"Uh-huh." Rico nods.

"Kowalski, what's our trajectory?" Skipper continues.

Kowalski tumbles his way towards the window and looks out. He analyzes the surrounding ocean. "Looks like we'll be landing somewhere in the South Pacific."

"Bloody Mary! Hold on tight, boys!" Skipper exclaims.

From the ocean below them, seals resurface their heads with rather large splashes. They are not quite graceful to put it kindly. With drenched fur, their spots gleam in the sunlight. This tropical weather was not their favorite climate and dropping hundreds of miles was not quite within their habitual routine. However, all of the seals had made it to the water and regrouped, including Leo and Aspen.

Leo, gasps for air, as water sloshes up all around him. His flippers beat the water, sending it flying into the face of his partner. "Ugh! We really should have had someone securing that helicopter."

"No kidding." Aspen doesn't really need Leo to be stating the obvious right now. She rolls her eyes and turns away from him. Perhaps, scanning their surroundings would distract her from snipping at him. The air was warm and sticky but that gave her barely any clues as to where they had landed. Just as she looks to the sky, a trail of black smoke catches her eye.

"Hey, look!" She slaps Leo's blubbery shoulder, partially to get his attention and admittedly to get some of her frustrations out.

If it isn't the helicopter with the very penguins they were hunting. The sight of the helicopter falling from the sky attracts the attention of all of the seals. All, except Leo and Aspen, daze up with their eyes aglow. As if watching a shooting star, they all seem in awe. I mean, it's not every day you see penguins crashing a helicopter. To be fair, it's not every day you see penguins flying one in the first place.

"Well, I hope you like your penguin extra crispy." Leo leers mischievously. His stomach starts to growl.

"They better not be. Shawl wants them brought back alive." Aspen asserts.

Leo shrugs. "Right. A little over dramatic for my taste, but…" He trails off, thinking he better be careful about what he says regarding the boss. Like it or not, Shawl did have a flair for the dramatics.

"Listen, it'll be worth it when we secure the penguins for him before the foxes can." Aspen reminds him of their objective. She could not stand Hydra, with her arrogance and snooty, coordinated team.

"Yeah," Leo laughs, "I can't wait to just rub Hydra's nose in it!"

A sharp voice breaks out from below. "I heard that!"

Both seals jump, before realizing that the sound of Hydra's voice is coming from their walkie talkie.

She continues. "Did you catch up to the birds or not?"

The two look at each other and engage in a quick game of hot potato with the walkie talkie. Finally, Aspen throws it with enough force at Leo to coerce him into speaking up.

"No." He says sheepishly.

"But we're on their trail." Aspen adds. They could follow the trail of smoke to the crash site, but it was going to take a while. That is a fact that Hydra should remain oblivious to.

"I knew I should have had some of my squad in the fleet." Hydra groans. It's as if they can hear her facepalm.

"They may have gotten the upper flipper in Siberia, but they're not getting away this time." Aspen tries to add a positive spin on things.

"Yeah! I mean… no. No, they're not." Leo responds with eager optimism, unsure what the right answer is.

"C'mon." Aspen sighs, diving back into the water.

The Penguins make their way out of the copter and begin to freefall. Still unbothered by their predicament, Skipper looks to Kowalski. "Welp, Kowalski, looks like I could use some options.

"We need some sort of flotation device. Then, perhaps we can float to shore." Kowalski suggests.

"All right." Skipper likes the idea. He nods. "Rico?"

Kowalski's wish is Rico's command, as he hacks up an entire inflatable raft, completely filled with air.

Private is somewhat shocked and horrified. "I didn't know you had all that in there."

"Impressive!" Skipper touts.

The Penguins latch onto the large, orange float and make their way towards the water. As they get closer and closer, they begin to pick up speed.

"Don't let go!" Kowalski instructs.

"Yee-Who!" Skipper seems to be having fun.

Rico, following the beat of his own drum, stands up and stretches out his flippers. "King of the world!" He cheers.

Seconds later, they land roughly in the water. The impact creates several waves, disrupting the once steady flow of the salty depths beneath them. While this is occurring, the helicopter begins to trudge down behind them.

"Well, glad to see we're all present and accounted for." Skipper recovers quickly. Now, that that excitement was over, it was time for them to regroup.

As Skipper and Kowalski look out towards the sinking helicopter, Private and Rico are at the back of the raft. Rico, deciding to have some fun with his little brother, begins to scoot him towards the edge of the raft. He giggles, as he uses his much larger body to weigh down Private.

Private does not find this as funny. "There is enough room on this raft for both of us, and you know it!" He pushes back against him.

The other two are not focused on the playful banter behind them. Instead, they watching the shark fins slicing through the water. In an instinctual flow, the sharp fins circle the helicopter.

"Looks like those cold-blooded fish sure are going to be disappointed, when they find that copter empty." Skipper smirks.

Kowalski responds with a laugh. It looks like it is too late to go back and retrieve anything from the helicopter. If someone had happened to forget to grab anything, it would be long gone now. "Yes, those ectothermic predators won't be too happy."

"Now, all we need to do is keep our eyes open for land as you figure out that map." Skipper gestures to Kowalski, before settling with his flippers across his chest.

"The map." A moment of realization washes over Kowalski. He tenses up and stares off into the water.

There is a long pause. Too long of a pause to insinuate anything good.

Breaking the silence, Skipper sighs. "It's back on the copter, isn't it?"

Kowalski nods sheepishly.

"Ugh!" Skipper groans, before diving into the water with little hesitation.

The splash alerts the other two penguins. "Skippah!" Private cries, looking over the side.

"He just dove into shark infested water!" Kowalski exclaims.

"Woah." Rico looks on.

The three gather at the raft's edge, awaiting their leader's return. Rushing into danger is certainly not uncommon behavior for Skipper. Somehow his quest for adventure might be interpreted as recklessness. They know better though. Skipper knows what he's doing.

Private laughs off his concern. "That's our Skipper. None of us would dare do that."

"True…" Kowalski sighs. Private wasn't wrong. He wouldn't do that. As much as it bothered him, a slight feeling of inadequacy reappeared within Kowalski.

Skipper swims until he reaches the sharks. It does not take them long to notice him, especially as their search throughout the vessel proves futile. Their dark eyes fix on him, as they torpedo his way. The sharks open their mouths to reveal rows of jagged teeth. Just when it seems their lunch has arrived, Skipper cracks his knuckles and prepares to evade the predators.

The sharks lunge and dive at him, in some sort of frenzy. However, with his much smaller size, he dodges most of the foes without resorting combat. In record time, he dives into the fully submerged helicopter and finds the map. Glowing like a beacon, it draws his eye to its hiding spot. It lays in between the captain's chair and the wall. Knowing that he does not have much time before the sharks catch up with him, he hurries down.

Once he has reached the spherical device, he goes in to nab it. However, it proves not to be so easy. It appears to be jammed in its position. Skipper takes a flipper and tries to whack the device from behind in attempts to loosen the snag. His eyes open wide, as a hungry shark has found its way in. Skipper smacks the device harder. It is no good. The shark is approaching ravenously getting closer by the second. Getting frustrated, Skipper abandons the strategy of knocking the map loose. He pulls with both flippers, as the shark opens its mouth. He can see directly down the shark's throat at this point, but rather than heading in that direction, he reaches up and punches it in the nose. As he does so, the map is secured in his other flipper.

Skipper makes his way out of the sunken aircraft and fights his way past the remaining sharks. This one rushes at him, but Skipper kicks it out of the way with a swift, roundhouse. One final shark comes after him, but he swims underneath. The perplexed shark soon finds itself belly-up, as Skipper rotates it from its underbelly. The shark is rendered defenseless and dizzy, as Skipper hops onto its belly and springs back up onto the raft.

"Here's the map." Skipper hands it to Kowalski, as he waddles coolly towards the rest of his team. They shouldn't know the effort it took to retrieve it.

"Oh, okay…" Kowalski is stunned by Skipper's nonchalance.

Rico and Private surround Skipper with much kinder motives than the sharks. They are revealed to see that he is back and safe.

"Yay, Skippah!" Private cheers.

"Woo Hoo!" Rico joins.

Kowalski watches from afar, as Private gives Skipper a tight squeeze and Rico eagerly awaits his turn to hug him as well. Skipper reassures the two that it was no big deal, while Kowalski holds tighter onto his map. He thinks to himself, if only he could do something that would impress them that much.

Rico cannot contain his excitement much more. He pushes Private out of the way, and hugs Skipper. The force of this, sends Private stumbling back. His landing is rough, and he finds his beak stuck in the raft. He quickly manages to pull it out, but there is quite a large puncture within the raft. The air is audibly wheezing out of the now gaping hole.

"Um…" Private doesn't know what to say.

"Skipper, the vessel seems to be compromised." Kowalski states the obvious.

Skipper sighs. Granted this was not great, but they always had a backup plan. "All right, looks like we're swimming to shore."

As the Penguins make their way into the deep, blue water, Skipper issues a warning. "Just keep an eye out for those seals, boys. I got a bad feeling that they'll try to use the cover of the dark, salty depths to get the upper flipper on us."