Disclaimer: Penguins of Madagascar and all related characters are the property of Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, and any or all related affiliates. This fiction was created for the purpose of having fun and being creative, no money is being made in any from it's creation and posting.
Paternity Pursuit
Chapter 6
By
Wildgoose
(The scene opens inside of a drainage pipe, a small stream of water runs through it as a brief but heavy rainstorm came through during the night after lights out. Marlene and Syron are seen walking through it with chemical light sticks in hand, occasionally the pipe is lit by the light of the days fading sun as they pass beneath a storm drain on their way to the otter habitat.)
Marlene: (As she trudges through the pipe with disgust.) So why is it you guys only walk around in these pipes? It's after hours, the zoo is closed, right?
Syron: Correct, but the zookeepers are still out there and there are cameras all over the place. We temporarily neutralized the cameras when we detected your approach but we can only do that once in a while as the humans will check the camera emplacements to try and figure out what happened. Why, how do you guys get around?
Marlene: We just….walk around.
Syron: Even in daylight?
Marlene: Only after hours when the night time zookeeper is present and everybody else is gone.
Syron: What about the cameras, what about the ZOOKEEPER? Doesn't anybody ever see you and do something about it? The zoo is basically a prison for animals you know.
Marlene: The night time zookeeper see's us all the time, but as long as we don't make trouble and we're back in our habitats by morning so nobody else finds out then he's cool with it. I'm not sure what he does with the cameras but nobody else ever knows what we do.
Syron: Geez, …I'm moving to New York with you guys. Living in this place sucks, the humans will do anything to save a buck which includes screwing with our dietary rations. How about you?
Marlene: The day time people will do that, especially Alice. But the night time guy, he's pretty sweet. We all love him, he puts flowers in my cave and brings everybody fresh food to supplement what we're given during the day. Like I said before, he looks the other way as long as we don't make trouble.
Syron: (shakes her head) You guys are spoiled out the butt.
Marlene: I doubt it will last much longer though.
Syron: What makes you say that, it sounds like things are almost too good to be true back home.
Marlene: You know how they say that all good things must come to an end. (Syron nods) Well I think we helped the process along a bit when we left the zoo.
Syron: Don't keep me in suspense, by all means continue with story hour.
Marlene: We were in the vet's office gathering information on my pregnancy when the computer malfunctioned and burst into flames. Don't ask me what Kowalski did to it, I have no idea but the whole office went up and when the zookeeper saw it he went ballistic so to shift any blame away from him for letting it happen and to cover our escape, ….well the penguins kind of beat him up and made it look like some crazy animals rights group was responsible for that as well as our alleged abduction.
Syron: Wow, …I would not have thought of that one. Your guys ARE good, ..I but I have to agree. I think you burned your bridges behind you.
Marlene: And the security office too, all evidence was destroyed.
Syron: (smiles slyly) I knew I liked Skipper the moment I saw him. ( Marlene briefly turns to Syron with a scowl and then turns her head forward to avoid being seen.) The two of them continued for another thirty feet or so until they came to another storm drain right inside the otter habitat.) Okay, ..here's our stop. Stay on your guard, like we told you before. He's a charmer. (Marlene takes a deep breath and then presses on her abdomen.) Are you going to be okay?
Marlene: It'll pass, the little guys are squirming about is all.
Syron: And you're due when?
Marlene: Soon. (Marlene looks worried for a moment)
Syron: Those guys must have either been off of their noodle or motivated by love to put you through all of this.
Marlene: You're kidding right? I'm an otter, Skipper's a penguin.
Syron: Who said anything about Skipper?
Marlene: Um,…apparently nobody. Nobody at all. (looks away for a moment trying to play it off. Syron just smirks at her with curiosity)
Syron: All right then, here we go. (She climbs up the metal ladder and lifts the grate out of it's footing so that they both can climb into the habitat. A Spanish guitar can faintly be heard from somewhere in the habitat.) Hey Antonio, ….you've got a guest! You owe child support too. (Marlene is stunned at Syron's comment.)
Marlene: How, …how could you say something like that? I'm trying to meet the guy not scare him off.
Syron: Not to worry, he used to try to run away every time I came to speak to him but not anymore. He figured out pretty quick that I cover all of my bases first. I've got Pepper and Erin guarding the other storm drain at the other side of the habitat. (takes a deep breath in pride.) I don't play around. (Long pause.) Put the guitar down Antonio, we need to talk to you. ( An otter pops his head out of the nearby pond and swims over to climb out. Once he does she shakes the water of himself to dry off.)
Antonio: (Heavy Hispanic accent. Think Ricardo Montoban) Yes, yes Senorita Syron . I could hear you all the way from the bulrushes on the far side and might I say that your witty comments have as much bite as ever.
Syron: (gestures a hand to Marlene) See what I mean? (Marlene nods) By any chance did you have a weird visit to the vet a couple of months ago?
Antonio: Si, ..I thought it was going to be a checkup but they drugged me and I woke up in my cave later. Why do you ask me this?
Marlene: Because the reason they drugged you was to take something out of you, the humans chose you for breeding.
Antonio: This is to make the babies, yes? (Marlene nods her head) Dios mio, these humans they are a strange bunch to do such a thing. My heart bleeds for ever else they have done this to.
Marlene: They did it to me. (Antonio stares at her as Marlene gives her rounded belly a few pats.) These guys are yours, I was going to find a better way to break it to you but after Syron had already given the surprise away with her wits of steel I figured the only thing left was to be blunt.
Syron: And on that note I think I'll leave you guys alone for a while. If you need anything I won't be far away.
Antonio: (slowly sits down on his rear) I think I am going to need a cold pitcher of mojitos.
Syron: I was talking to Marlene.
Antonio: Of coarse you were, how else would you show your feelings for me after all of this time?
Syron: (points at him in warning) Don't make me send Kitsune over here.
Antonio: (sighs heavily) Si, there will be no more words from me. (Syron nods and turns to waddle away.)
Marlene: I've seen that she's good but is there really a need for people to be THAT afraid of her?
Antonio: Si, Kitsune she is a bit of an ice cube. I believe the humans call the state of mind frigid. She can be your best friend but if you try to show her the passion in your heart she won't hesitate to kill you.
Marlene: So she's…..
Antonio: Killed males before? Si, five to be exact. All of them penguins and all of them lost their heads to the sword, literally. Her hatred of passion is the reason she hates me, because my heart is filled with passion.
Marlene: What could possibly have made her like that?
Antonio: As I have heard the story told, ..Kitsune was hatched and raised as a pet by the descendant of a great samurai in Japan. The human treated her with great compassion and care, so much so that she would mimic his actions when he would train just to honor him. So much so, …that I believe that she loved him. But his heart belonged to his mate whom he showed an even greater love. And he would demonstrate it by presenting his mate with a special and very rare Japanese flower on the anniversary of every year they were together. That is until his mate's untimely death, and after that he was so devastated he could not function. He had loved his mate more than life itself. Soon after Kitsune was neglected and almost starved to death until one day the human summoned enough strength to take Kitsune to the ocean where he set her free assuming that her instincts would guide her back to her native home. However Kitsune never made it to the frozen lands, she caught her neck in the plastic rings of tin can wrappings and almost drowned, the more she struggled the more the rings cut into her neck and caused damage to her. If not for a green peace boat that discovered her and rushed her to medical care she would not be here today.
Marlene: So, ..that's why she doesn't speak?
Antonio: She cannot, there was too much damage to her throat. And because of her fate handed to her by the human she associates love, intimacy, and passion with betrayal and despair. Something that she has no desire to ever go through again.
Marlene: (stunned) Wow, ….I can't even imagine.
Antonio: (pompous) You should not have to, I have just laid out this great tale for you like a book. It was a tragic love story.
Marlene: (Annoyed) And you told it well, thanks for ruining my appreciation for it. (awkward pause) So um, wow great story and all. Thanks for the information by the way, it explains a lot but what I really came here for was to learn more about you. What kind of person you are and so forth…. (The two of them continue to converse for a lengthy period of time as the scene fades and moves to the female penguins H.Q. Five of the females are topside putting themselves on display for the human zookeepers as they always do and Skipper has taken the place of Kitsune as she stated that she had something personal to do. Needless to say that the zookeepers are none the wiser. Kowalski and private are somewhere down the drainage pipes underneath the zoo keeping tabs on Marlene while Syron is topside with her team. Inside the Penguin H.Q. Kitsune can be seen sitting on the floor sitting in front of a short table with a trio of thick candles of varying height and color burning before her. She has her eyes closed with her flippers held out to her sides and crooked inward slightly. Her breathing is slow and steady indicating meditation. Rico comes walking into the room holding a coffee cup filled with sardines, having been given no assignment at this time, and stops to notice Kitsune's position on the floor. He stares at her for a moment trying to understand her activity and decides to approach her. )
Rico: (grunts his words as he waddles over) Um, ..howya doin? (Kitsune doesn't acknowledge him so he extends his mug of fish toward her.) Fish? (At first Kitsune does nothing so Rico shrugs and starts to waddle away when he is beaned in the back of the head by a pebble. Rico turns about in confusion to see Kitsune looking at him. She takes a deep breath and raises an eyebrow in communication. Rico doesn't get it so finally after a long moment she gestures him to come over. Rico waddles over and sits down next to her and after a moment she takes a fish out of the mug, swallows it, and offers her thanks. After an awkward quiet moment Kitsune taps Rico's throat with one of her flippers asking what was wrong with his voice. Rico spends several moments in thought before shrugging his shoulders after which he makes the same gesture to Kitsune who responds by putting her flippers about her neck and makes a face as if she were being strangled. A moment later Rico attempts conversation again.) Whatcha doin…?
Kitsune: (thinks for a moment knowing that with him she needed translation. She gets up to get a piece of paper and a pencil that Erin usually kept near her workstation and then returns to the table, sits and starts to write.) I am meditating, thank you for the fish.
Rico: (grunts) No problem, what's it do?
Kitsune: (writing) It calms the soul, subdues hostility and anger, and restores peace.
Rico: (grunts) I could use that. (Rico proceeds to demonstrate his occasional psychotic rage by acting out and regurgitating a flamethrower casting bursts of flame about choreographed with psychotic laughter. When he is done he calms down and plops down on his butt panting.)
Kitsune: (smiles briefly and begins to write again.) A kindred spirit. Be silent and do as I do. (She resumes her meditation and after a long moment of study, Rico attempts to follow suit.)
(The scene snaps to much later in the evening, the penguins are all in the H.Q keeping themselves busy. Kowalski is assisting Erin over by the shortwave communications array that is set up towards the very rear of the room. Meg and Elisa are busy applying antiseptic to a small wound on Rico's back he sustained after being kicked across a room by Kitsune into a wooden cabinet. Pepper is busy briefing Syron and Skipper on what happened between Rico and Kitsune.)
Skipper: It sounds to me like one of your people is a loose cannon, Syron.
Pepper: Not a loose cannon, ….just emotionally traumatized. It's really complicated and a long story, but the jist of it all is that Kitsune has disconnected herself when it comes to intimacy of any kind and as such becomes extremely stressed under such conditions and flies off the handle so to speak.
Skipper: And then so to speak kills any guy that happens to like her. How can you work with this girl, to say nothing about trusting her?
Syron: We all trust her with our lives, Skipper. Kitsune conducts herself with honor in the line of duty and in all other occasions. I admit, she has major obstacles to overcome and we've had to sweep things under the rug that we're all ashamed of, but if you knew Kitsune you'd understand.
Skipper: It doesn't sound like I'd survive knowing her. The girl is a psychopath and should be reported to Antarctic command for disciplinary action if for nothing else, assaulting one of my men.
Syron: (clenches her flippers in frustration.) You could do that, you're right but we'd lose one of our best operatives and you'd have to answer for your own unauthorized operations. Are you prepared to sacrifice what you've accomplished so far to achieve that?
Skipper: (Looks at both of them in thought.) Alright then, I need options Pepper.
Syron: Hey, she's my officer!
Skipper: I need to borrow her for a moment, certainly girls can share right? How about it, Pepper?
Pepper: Something's different this time.
Skipper: Details woman, why do girls always think a guy can read their mind?
Pepper: She kicked him across the room but compared to what she's capable of then that's little more than a love tap.
Skipper: So what then, she's coming to her senses?
Pepper: (shrugs her shoulders) I'm saying he may have gotten through to her if at least for an instant before she slammed the door shut again. I don't know what he did or said but Rico somehow reached out to her and she let him live. The last five guys can't say that.
Skipper: Of course they can't they're….(Skipper stops as he notices Marlene stroll in humming to herself and cheerily greet everyone before head into the next room to get something to eat. A moment later Private enters the room with a disgusted expression on his face. A soon as he sees Skipper he waddles over.)
Private: (salutes) Private reporting back from recon duty, sir.
Skipper: What did you find out soldier?
Private: They talked for a very long time sir, and then….
Skipper: And then what? Out with it man, what's wrong with you?
Private: I don't ever want to see that again, sir. Please don't make me spy on them again.
Skipper: (Turns to Pepper) What's he babbling about?
Pepper: Oh please, I know you're a guy and all but you can't possibly be that oblivious. You could see it all over Marlene's face. (flutters both eyebrows in suggestion.) She got some and Private ended up with front row seats.
Private: It was terrible to watch, Skipper. (both Syron and Pepper are taken aback for a moment and then Syron looks over at Skipper raises an eyebrow in question while gesturing at Private. Skipper shrugs his shoulders causing smiles to form on both the girls faces. Syron looks at Pepper who nods her head in agreement.)
Syron: Pepper, I just realized that we haven't taken this months ordinance inventory and I'm sure Private could use some distraction after what he's just witnessed. (Turns to Skipper) If you don't mind Skipper, I'd like to have Private assist.
Skipper: (oblivious) Very well, report back when you've finished. (Private salutes and then leaves with Pepper.) What was that about?
Syron: Nothing, I just thought they'd work well together. (Smirks) That reminds me, I'd like to work with you sometime.
Skipper: No thanks, I've got my own team for that.
Syron: Really? I didn't think you were into that.
Skipper: What?
Syron: (looks at Skipper oddly) You're in the same boat as Private aren't you? You just cover it better with the macho attitude.
Skipper: Lady, you're not making any sense at all.
Syron: (laughs and puts her flipper on Skippers shoulder.) Come with me, what the otter doesn't know won't hurt her. (walks with Skipper out of the room.)
Kowalski: (looks over to see Private and Pepper already gone and Skipper leaving with Syron.) Where the devil is everybody going?
Erin: Nature break.
Kowalski: I don't follow you.
Erin: It's simple math Kowalski, you take six lonely girls and four lonely guys and then do the arithmatic. Chances are it will result in multiplication or if things go south between Rico and Kitsune then it'll be subtraction. (smiles at Kowalski) Do you get me now?
Kowalski: I think so, …if you take the multiplier and then… (Erin sighs)
Erin: Are ALL of you innocent?
Kowalski: Of coarse not, …I often spend time flirting with Doris the dolphin. I really think she likes me.
(Erin stares at him for a long moment and then shuts down the radio.)
Erin: Doris the dolphin…?
Kowalski: She's quite the catch I think.
Erin: Yea, albacore. (Grabs him by the arm and drags him away) That's it, you're mine before Elisa gets her flippers on you.
Kowaksi: Where are we going? (As they disappear into an adjacent room.) Sweet Newton's law….!
Chapter 7 coming soon.
Comments and