New York City, 100 years ago

(Golden Squirrel's POV)

I ran through central Park the key to my treasure in my hands. I stopped for a second to catch my bearings when the villainous rodents caught up to me. "There he is! Get him!" the rat's leader said, "Get him!" I quickly bounded up a tree and jumped from tree to tree as the rats chased me from below. I jumped down and entered the newly opened Central Park Zoo. "Welcome to the Gala Debut of our Central Park Zoological Menagerie." I ran underfoot as the crowd listened intently, "We celebrate the splendiferous occasion of today and look forward to the grand possibilities of tomorrow with the burial of this centennial time capsule!"

Excellent the perfect place to hide the key. I quickly climbed up to the top of the entrance but the rats already had a plan for that. "One Hundred years from this day the children of our children…" I walked forward only to get blocked by the rats, "Sorry, Squirrel. End of the line," the leader said. I rats quickly mobbed me holding me in place. "Now, Where's the key?" He asked. "Right here…see for yourself" I replied holding the key out in front of the rat the held me.

The rat let go as they got visions of their greatest desires. "No! Don't look into the eyes!" The leader shouted, "The Key! Get the key!" but it was to no avail. "Not today!" I shouted as I jumped away, "and not for a hundred years!" I jumped and grabbed onto the banner in front of the entrance and swung away. as I swung past the time capsule I dropped the key right as it closed. The time capsule was then lifted into the hole and was buried. "Ah-ha!" I shouted from my perch on a tree, "You won't crack that lock you villainous rodents! Tallyho!" The rats angrily watched me as I left vowing revenge.

The Penguins of Madagascar

THE LOST TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN SQUIRREL

Today

Central Park Zoo

(Kowalski's POV)

"And now, 100 years after it was buried with pomp and pageantry, all eyes are on the unearthing of the zoo's centennial time capsule. What wonder will we find within? This is chuck Charles, live on the scene…" I focused my binoculars on the zoo time capsule as it opened. I rats left their hiding spot in the bushes and went to the capsule. "We got company, Skipper," I said into my walkie, "the rats are removing something from the zoo time capsule… Appears to be some sort of key…and they're getting away!" "Oh, no, they're not," Skipper said.

(Skipper's POV)

Private, Elsa, and I were speeding thru the zoo in the car. "Private, Elsa and I are on the way over. Over." I told Kowalski over the walkie. Alice thru a shovel into the zoo cart and hopped in. She wearing headphones and was too busy rocking out to some music to notice the rats hop in the back. The Rat King jumped to the top of the cart canopy while his minions stayed in the boot. "The Stories were true!" one rat said. "And now the lost treasure of the golden squirrel will finally belong to the rats!" "Totally!" the Rat King said, "and this key is the key to us finding it. Which makes it a key, like, both in the literal and the metaphorical sense. How deep is that?"

I don't think so mutant rat monarch. "Whatever that key is…" I said as the car landed on top of the zoo cart, "You don't get it, literally or metaphorically!" Private grabbed the key and I reversed the car off the roof of the zoo cart. I turned the car around as it landed and sped off. "Nice one Skipper!" Elsa shouted. "that's what years of getaway experience gets you," I replied. "No way! he took the key!" Rat King shouted, "Get him!" "Literally?" a rat asked. "just get the key."

The Rats jumped onto the car causing us to spin out of control. Private flew out of the car and landed into the back of the zoo cart. Private tried to hang onto the edge of the cart as one rat attacked him with a garden spade. Kowalski jumped on and blocked the rat's "weapon" with a full-sized shovel. We rest of us quickly boarded the cart and the battle of the garden equipment began. Alice was too distracted by her music to even hear the sounds of metal on metal as shovels, racks, and spades were being mashed together. Our battle raged on top of the zoo cart as Alice drove past the lemur habitat.

The Lemur Habitat

(Julian's POV)

"Maurice, read to me the latest balance from the vault of the royal treasury," I told my right-hand lemur. "A buck 40 in change," Maurice said, "two subway tokens, one bottle cap…" "Ahh!" I said knocking the balance aside, "The King must have enough wealth and treasure to keep him 100 percent out of to touch to the needs of his common subjects!" "Like me!" Mort said.

(Skipper's POV)

I drove up to the cart as Rico and Kowalski disarmed the king rats' minions and jumped in. Private tried to hop in the car with the key only to get grabbed by the rats. "Skipper!" Private shouted as Rico, Kowalski, and Elsa grabbed onto him and got engaged in a game of tug-o-war with the rats. "Hold tight Private!" I shouted. I managed to break us free of the rats but at the cost of the key. "Yes! Awesome!" the Rat King shouted as he caught the key, "Check me out. The key to the squirrel's swag is totally…" The zoo cart drove under a lamp post with hit the rat king on the head and sent the key flying into the…LEMUR HABITAT!

Julian and Maurice were in some kind of conversation. "Looks like we're all out of wealth and treasure," Maurice said looking into an empty can, "Unless some just happens to drop out of the sky and…" The Key landed into the bucket and the lemurs looked inside. Julian picked up the key and said, "Now what could this possibly…" "Get him!" I shouted as we tackled him.

Outside the Zoo

(Kowalski's POV)

The Five of us walked out of the bushes with the key. "But Skipper, shouldn't we return this key to the zoo time capsule?" Private asked. "of course we should," Skipper said, "But do you have any idea what this key could mean? Tell him, Kowalski." "The promise of mystery, adventure, hidden clues, action set pieces, red herring, diabolical double-crosses, and a thrilling climax that ultimately bashes us all over the head with a lesson about the importance of non-material possessions," I said. "Exactly," skipper replied, "Who could say no to a good old-fashioned treasure hunt?"

"Excuse me a little bit," Julian said as he jumped down from a tree, "But I think I heard treasure in and amongst those words. And since I touched that key for a full 26 seconds, I am entitled to half of it!" "Kowalski, accounting analysis!" Skipper asked. What do I look like an accountant? "Twenty-six seconds of nine-tenths of the law," I said, "equals 50 percent share? I question his motives but his math is impeccable." "if only Julian was that smart in other aspects of his life," Elsa muttered. "I heard that!" Julian shouted. "fine ring-tail," I said, "but if you get in my way on this road to high adventure, I'm running you over."

We quickly found ourselves in front of…Fred's tree. "Bushy-tail!" Skipper shouted as he knocked on the tree, "Are you home? We need squirrel Intel." "Ordinarily, when I think Intelligence I would not think fred." "Guys," Fred said, "Guys! Shhh…My granny's up in the tree trying to take a nap." Fred than switched to a whisper-y tone, "so let's all talk like this." "sorry Fred," Private whispered, "this should just take a second." "we need you to take a look at this squirrel artifact," Skipper said.

Fred took a look and then said, "OK. Then. Later, guys." "Fred!" skipper said. "The Key…What about…" "shhh!" Skipper said. Julian then switched to a whispering tone, "…the key?" "hmm," Fred said, "What about it." I want to go bang my head on something now. "Well," I said, "we were hoping you could tell us something about it?" maybe we should have went to a different squirrel. "Oh, tell you something about it. You said just look at it. Tell you something about it…Yeah that's harder." "Wait," Julian said, "What was it you said you heard the rats say? The Hidden…something…of the glorious something. With the treasure on top?" "No. no, no. It was the…The missing…No. that's not it," Skipper said, "The Enchanted." A flash of lighting cut both of them off.

A old gray squirrel appeared on the tree above us, "The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel!" In another flash of lighting she appeared between Skipper and Julian who both gasped. The squirrel then hugged Fred so I'm guessing their related. "Yes!" Julian said, "Lost treasure! Ah-ha! Eh…this is real treasure, right? Not one of those Friendship is the greatest treasure of all deals? Because you can't trade friendship for, you know, the goods and the services." The old squirrel took the key from Skipper, "Hidden clues will guide you. Now that the key has been exposed, you must find the treasure and destroy it."

Julian took the key back, "there. You see? We must use the key to find the treasure and…Wait, did you say DESTROY the treasure? Not spend it all as fast as possible?" Elsa face-palmed as the old squirrel took the key back. "You must follow me. There isn't much time!" She then walked slowly away.

Central Park Obelisk

(Skipper's POV)

There was another flash of lighting and before we knew it we were approaching the Queen's needle. "Hold on," Maurice said, "Why would we go thought all the trouble of finding that treasure if we're just going to destroy it?" "That does seem illogical," Kowalski said, "if the treasure is so dangerous why not just leave it hidden?" "Because," The old squirrel said, "there are those with greed in their souls that will stop at nothing until they have the treasure."

She then etched something into the obelisk which is probably vandalism. The dust cleared revealing… "The RATS!" Private said. "Of course. Imagine what the rats would do if they ever got control of that much wealth and power," Kowalski said. "I'm trying but I can't," Julian said, "I'm too busy imagining what I would do!" "why is he even here with us again!" Elsa said. "right," I said, "it's your basic race for the hidden treasure scenario." "But how, Skipper?" Private asked, "how do we even know where to begin looking?" "behold…the key!" "huh?" She disappeared in a flash. A flash of lighting hit the top of the tower and she appeared there.

She then climbed down to a key-hole that none of us noticed before. A bolt of lighting hit and blasted around the obelisk and hit the key. A pair of laser beams than shot out of the key and rushed across the ground. "Fred, your granny is brilliant," Private said. "She sure is," Fred said. "How is it that she knows so much about the treasure?" Kowalski said. "Oh, wait. You mean her? Because that's not my granny." "What?" Elsa said. "What do you mean that's not your granny?" Skipper asked. "I told you. My granny's back at the tree, taking a nap," Fred replied. "Fred," Elsa said, "She hugged you." "Well, yeah. I mean, that did strike me as a bit odd," Fred said, "But hey, what am I gonna do, say no to a hug? I love hugs!"

Suddenly the old squirrel said, "Here! Here it is!" The laser from the key was pointing to a map of the central park zoo. "In the zoo!" But not just anywhere in the zoo, "Marlene's place," I said. We quickly headed off towards the zoo while Rico had the good idea to retrieve the key. But little did Rico or any of us knew the rats had actually seen the entire thing. "Boss, did you hear that?" a rat said, "they're going after the first clue to the treasure." "Awesome! Less work for us," The Rat King said, "because you have to work to get treasure…that's just like a job you know."

Marlene's Habitat

(Marlene's POV)

"OK. Careful!" I said as the penguins and lemurs ransacked my home, "Watch out, that's delicate. Hey! Who didn't wipe their feet?" I went up to Skipper and said, "I'm sorry. What was it exactly that you were looking for…you know, here…here in my house?" Kowalski and Julian were hammering at the floor…looking for hollow spaces I guess. Of course Kowalski was the only one with an actually hammer Julian was using Mort. "My head makes thunks!" Mort said.

"Could be anything, Marlene," Skipper said, "Trap door. Recess antechamber. Rico, solve this mystery." Rico hacked up a chainsaw and lifted it above his head. "Rico put down that chainsaw!" Elsa said. "Aw," Rico said lowering his chainsaw. Okay that's it. "Ok, enough," I told skipper, "This is my home. I know every inch of this place." As Kowalski continued to hammer behind me I said, "And there are no trap doors. There are no recessed antechamber. No…" Kowalski triggered something revealing a hidden staircase which Kowalski unfortunately went tumbling down. "…Hidden staircases?" "Ok!" Kowalski shouted from below, "I'm A-ok..Ow!" "I calculate that I'm about halfway down…Ow…eh…ow…ow!"

Secret Chamber

(Skipper's POV)

We rushed down the stairs flashlight in hand after Kowalski. "Wow." Marlene said, "This actually adds a lot of square footage to my place." Blah-de-blah-blah. We finally reached the bottom of the staircase where a bunch of squirrel carvings awaited us. "Fred, can you take a look at these mysterious squirrel carvings?" "Not a problem," Fred said as he took the flashlight from me. I then realized that I should probably clarify with the dumb squirrel. "When I say Look at them Fred," I said, "I mean can you read them?" "Oh read them, "Fred said, "Well, sure I can, but, you know, that's harder."

I rushed off to join the rest of the team. "Skipper, It looks like this section of the tunnel was part of the city's original sewer system," Kowalski said. You don't say. "I could convert this into a killer game room!" Marlene said, "You know, get some light in here. Foosball, Maybe air hockey…" 'Hey guys," Fred said, "It says: Ahead lies the path to the Treasure of the Golden Squirrel and certain riches." Thank you fred. Marlene took a step too far and accidentally triggered a trap. "Marlene!" I shouted. I quickly tackled her the instant before a blast of fire flew out of a hole in the wall.

"Oh and guys!" Fred said, "This part says something about traps? Yeah…deadly traps. Maybe I should have read that part first, huh?" "Yeah that would have been good to know fred," Elsa said. We glared at Fred until another flame blasted out of the wall. We then ran down the passageway. We followed it until we made it to a large chamber. "Skipper there it is!" Private said, "That must be the clue!" At the other end of the chamber was a stone map. "Oh!" I said, "a mysterious ancient map! It is a classic."

"Well what is that we are waiting for?" Julian asked as he started to walk forward. I stopped him before he could get any farther. "Not so fast ring-tail," I said, "This whole place is no doubtingly booby trapped!" "Of course," Julian replied, "do you really think I would be so careless to just fling myself after the map? Mort! Deal with the booby traps!" "but's he's careless enough to let Mort do it," Elsa whispered. "Booby sounds fun!" Mort said as he rushed towards the map. "Mort no!" Marlene said. Mort rushed towards the map without a care as strangely all the traps completely missed him. Mort grabbed the map off it's stand and returned to us unharmed.

"Can it do it again?" Mort said returning with the map. "There," Julian said, "was that so hard?" But then the podium the map was on lowered into the floor as the room shakes. Support columns for the room smashed to the floor as the chamber started to collapse. "Follow me!" I shouted as we rushed out of the chamber. We made it past the fire-spitting tube and made it to the base of the stairs only to find the rats blocking our way. "We'll take that map!" The Rat King said, "And the Key!"

two rats manhandled the map out of Mort's hands. The King then tried to take the key from Julian but the lemurs grip was too strong. In the struggle with Julian the Rat King Accidentally hit Marlene with the lemur. Marlene was sent flying to the awaiting hands of the rats. Julian managed to keep his grip on the key. A pile of debris cut us off from Marlene, the map, and the rats. The rats quickly ran back up the stairs. "Move it!" Rat King shouted. "Marlene!" I shouted. I belly-slid forward only to get blocked by more debris as the rat's escaped.

"we better get out of here!" Julian said. We ran one way only to get blocked by ever more debris. "we're trapped!" Private said. "You think Private," Elsa replied. "this whole place is going to collapse!" Maurice shouted. "Kowalski!" I said, "how long!" "I would estimate total structural failure in approximately…" A ton of debris landed on the ground causing a cloud of dust to fill the chamber. "…right now."

(end of part one)