With the most recent hiccups fixed, that being Skipper's lack of remorse, Kowalski managed to get some sleep in the penguin HQ. Although sleep was blissful and much needed, he couldn't help but worry through most of his waking hours. Was Francis ok? Was Doris ok? Francis hadn't tried to eat her had he?
Morning couldn't have come fast enough, as Kowalski gathered supplies, notes and anything he thought could be useful. He also grabbed a set of old security cameras the HQ once had installed. They upgraded the HQ cameras but there was nothing wrong with these ones other than the picture quality was a little bit grainy and there was only 10 of them. Skipper didn't have to know how many rooms Blowhole's lair had though. He could put a few in the lab, a few in the pool room and a few in hallways and whatnot, rooms he used most often, to give the illusion that Kowalski had covered everything.
He set off with a full to bursting bag and headed to the subway where he managed to catch a train fairly quickly. The journey was long but he didn't necessarily mind. No one had tried to contact him the previous night or that morning so everything must have been in order in the lair. He was glad about that, he didn't need anymore snags in his plans.
He soon reached the lair and made his way inside through the main entrance, which luckily for him was unlocked. From there he made his way to the lab and set down his stuff, unpacking the more fragile things like the cameras.
The morning had not long begun and he doubted many lobsters would be at work yet. It was 8:15am by the time he had finished dumping his stuff down and heading down to the lowest floor to check on the monster.
He opened the door, not finding it appropriate to announce his arrival and found Doris in there, cheerful as always as she stood on her segway at the pool's edge.
"Oh, Kowalski, you're back. Good morning. Watch this!"
Doris grabbed a fish from a bucket she had in her flippers and tossed it as high in the air as she could.
The great beast below lunged out of the water several meters into the air and caught it with ease. Dropping back down into the water, creating waves big enough to knock Kowalski off his feet if he got too close. It was a spectacular show and Kowalski was relieved that Francis wasn't attacking for food but he couldn't help but feel this was a little wrong. It was like Doris was training Francis to do tricks. Just like SeaVille. If he somehow remembered bits and pieces from his time there, then the anger along with it could come back too.
"Doris, that's great," Kowalski smiled, stepping closer. "But maybe just feed him and not play around. I don't want him remembering bad times from SeaVille."
Doris let her head dip and her flippers sink.
"Oh, I didn't even think of that. He likes playing though."
Kowalski stepped forward again, watching the dark shadow at the bottom of the pool.
"Yes, play all you like. You can play, just... don't act like a trainer."
Doris nodded and put the bucket down. She was about to say something else before Francis launched out of the water like a great crashing wave, diving straight towards Kowalski and snatching the penguin in his jaw. Kowalski's whole world froze as he was dragged below the water by the beast. Was it his mention of SeaVille that triggered this?
Kowalski held his breath and let adrenaline fuel his mind. He needed to get out of the water. He needed to get away from the monster. What a horrible turn this had taken.
Francis let Kowalski go and he instantly shot up to the surface and launched himself out of the water again. His heart kept pounding in his chest as he coughed up some water and dragged himself to the wall but he had no luck, as Francis scrambled out of the pool too and ran straight for Kowalski. Kowalski felt sheer terror. His life flashed before his eyes and he was about to call out for his mother before Doris whistled sharply and Francis stopped in his tracks.
The room was silent for a moment, only droplets of water could be heard falling from Francis' body. And then laughter. Doris was laughing. Kowalski cocked a brow and flipped himself around so he sat upright.
"I should have warned you," Doris giggled. "He loves playing."
Kowalski was dumbfounded for a moment before he looked down to himself and felt around. No cuts, no scratches, no bruises, just ache in his body from the coursing adrenaline.
"Tha-that was playing? Scared the life out of me!"
Doris laughed again and this time Francis made a beeline for her, knocking her off her segway and onto the floor where he bounced around in excitement.
"Ok, ok, careful Francis."
Kowalski let his head flop down to the floor and focused on steadying his breathing. His little penguin heart nearly gave out and he nearly died on the spot. Francis was more like an overexcited puppy than a monster. Which gave Kowalski a myriad of questions he wanted answers to.
After another giggling fit from Doris, Francis slipped back into the water and Kowalski could think for a second. He sat up, smiled and sighed.
"Your night was good, I presume?" Kowalski asked.
"Yes. Francis is still a sweetheart."
Doris took a minute to finish feeding Francis and joined Kowalski in the lab where he started to lay the foundations for his working day. Doris could see all the prep he had done and cocked a brow at several things he had pulled out of his bag. Several she had no idea what their purpose could have been and purposely avoided asking about them because she couldn't be bothered to listen to a long winded explanation.
"So, how did Skipper take everything? You don't have any broken bones, so can I guess it went well?" Doris asked as she set herself down in Blowhole's swivel chair.
Kowalski paused for a moment and tried not to recall the pain he had endured physically.
"Well, I wouldn't say it went well. I can still feel that punch to my gut."
"Oh..." Doris said awkwardly.
Kowalski sighed and sat himself down on the desk, facing Doris to talk to her properly.
"He wants me to install cameras so he can watch every little thing we do here. He doesn't trust me anymore."
Doris nodded and clicked her tongue.
"That's the same old Skipper for you."
"He also wants us to put Francis in chains when I figure out how to get him back mentally."
"What?! No, I'll put him in chains."
Kowalski chuckled but Doris didn't find it amusing. She meant what she said and if anyone tried to hurt her brother then she would definitely have something to say about it. So Kowalski awkwardly let his smile drop back to seriousness.
"Doris, please. We want operations to run as smooth as possible. We'll meet his demands and get your brother back with very little hiccups."
"But what will happen to him after we fix his head? He'll have to stay chained and locked up until you find a way to turn him back into a dolphin? What if you can't? Will Skipper have him locked up for the rest of his life? You'd be better off waiting until you've figured out how to turn him back physically before you fix his mind."
Doris was right. Sometimes, she could be pretty smart and resourceful. It would make sense to turn Francis back all at once rather than have him suffer for who knows how long until he could find a way to change his body back.
"Doris, I just need to time to think. I'm so worn out."
Doris frowned at Kowalski and lifted a flipper to smooth his back. She rubbed in circles and let Kowalski lean back, enjoying the back rub. He had never been so stressed out in his whole life and only when he started to yawn did he stop himself relying on Doris for keeping his body upright and climbed to his feet.
"I know you are," Doris started. "But Kowalski, I owe you so much. I won't ever be able to thank you enough for all of this. You saved him from SeaVille before and you're saving him again. I'm sure Francis would think the same too."
"Thank you, Doris."
"But I'm still not letting Skipper chain him up."
Kowalski chuckled this time as he waddled back to his supplies.
"We'll just have to work extra hard and turn him back completely then. Easy done."
Doris laughed after him, picking up on the sarcasm. The dynamic of the lair had changed so dramatically. Blowhole was now out of office and Kowalski and Doris were at the hilt of operations. Kowalski felt something weird for having Doris be interested in nerdy science stuff and he kinda liked it, even if the sole reason was because she wanted her brother back. Kowalski did too. So desperately.
But things were looking up. All Kowalski had to do was dedicate a few days to researching Blowhole's condition as he stood, maybe take a few scans, a few samples. He could figure out what was going on in his big body a lot easier than a tiny bacterium. Everything would be fine. Everything would work out. Kowalski just had to hope.