Disclaimer: PoM and VV do not belong to me.
I reread the last chapter and thought, 'Did I really write this?' I didn't really put my full effort into it, so this time, no mercy!
"...wake...hey...wake up...Are you hearing me, buddy? I said wake up!"
Skipper groaned, squinted his eyes open, and immediately wished he hadn't. The light from wherever they were was far too blinding. Even so, the lights were dim, so it didn't take long for him to recover. Slowly the leader's eyes peeled open, then widened in pure shock of the thing above him, coaxing him into waking. The thing was ten inches tall, made of burlap, and very, very familiar.
The voodoo doll.
With a start, Skipper jumped away from the doll, giving a shout of surprise. In response, the doll placed it's cloth hand over the leader penguin's beak, gazing at him with a combination of anger and worry and fear, "Do you WANT the monsters outside to know we're here?"
"Monsters?" It took Skipper a moment to absorb this, "Wait, what-?" It all came back to them. The argument. The robbery. His teammates disappearance. The weight of these tragic events crashed suddenly onto the penguin, who collapsed to the ground in shock, "Rico... Kowalski... Private... they-they're gone..."
The doll stared at him oddly, "Um, shouldn't you be more worried about the MONSTERS JUST OUTSIDE THE DOOR?" It gestured frantically to the outside. Before Skipper could come up with a response, though, a creepy, echoing voice passed through their ears. Well, Skipper's ear holes, anyway.
"Vince... Vince..." It called. Vince, as the doll's name seemed to be, tensed. He must have known the voice and, truthfully, it sounded familiar to Skipper as well, "I am Madame Charmaine, your creator. Find me, before it's too late!" Now Skipper recognized the voice. She was the woman kidnapped by the same fiends that took Private! "I am in the clutches of Kosmo the Inscrutable. Remember, you are a voodoo doll, so many things will not hurt you. Just beware of evil magic. Kosmo and his monsters can cause you great harm!"
Skipper interrupted, "Hold up, lady. What about my team?"
"Three penguins were exposed to the effects of the zombie dust. Two were teleported to different locations in the city. Find them, for they will help you wherever they can. The final penguin exposed was yourself. You, it seems, were able to absorb the magical energy. You will find it to be a great aid on your quest. The final penguin is with me. I will keep him safe," Skipper relaxed as Charmaine continued, "I will try to aid you both through the connection I share with Vince... but all depends on you two..." She went silent.
Vince stared blankly at the ceiling, "Um... okay," He then turned to Skipper, "This means we're going to have to go outside, doesn't it?"
Just outside the small shop was a patio. According to Vince, this was the safest way to exit Charmaine's Voodoo Shop. Even so, neither had any idea about the monsters roaming the back streets. Both stared at the wooden staircase in the back of the alleyway behind the shop, the only way out of the patio. They turned to each other.
Vince smirked, "See you at the top!" and before Skipper's eyes, jumped three stairs at a time minimum. Next to the stairwell was a railing, and Skipper's mind started working. He jumped, attempting to slide up most of the pole before shimmying the rest of the way up. What he didn't expect, though, was his flippers to start glowing as soon as they made contact with the rail. Nor did he expect the railing itself to fling him upward, flying past Vince just as he made it to the top. The doll stared, "What the heck?"
Skipper, meanwhile, hit a concrete wall headfirst. Behind him, Vince laughed, "Shut your pie-hole, dollface, or I'll shut it for you!" Skipper growled, pulling his head out of the wall. Vince stopped laughing suddenly and stared at him, "Now that's more like it!"
"No, it's just..." Vince struggled to find the words to convey his meaning, "You feel hurt, or anything?"
Skipper felt the top of his head, wondering for any obvious wounds Vince might have been pointing out, "Not really. Why?"
"After crashing into a wall like that, shouldn't you be... you know, hurt?" Vince cringed, "I thought that's how it works for living creatures."
"Normally," the penguin agreed, "Hmm... maybe it has something to do with that zombie dust stuff Charmaine was yapping about?"
Vince looked annoyed at the blunt disrespect for his creator, but managed to mutter, "C'mon, let's get moving," Without losing his cool. Skipper shrugged at the sudden change of attitude, but decided it had nothing to do with him. Doll emotions must work differently from human emotions, right?
Just ahead were some frog-like creatures, with... fly wings on their backs. Skipper and Vince both shuttered at the sight.
"Just what kind of freak are we dealing with?" Vince wondered. Skipper also started to ponder about this 'Kosmo' guy Charmaine had mentioned. Before they could move, though, the monsters spotted them. It didn't take too long to defeat them -Skipper was trained in the martial arts and Vince was an indestructible doll. Vince wrinkled his face where his nose should have been, "Ew. Dead monster smell," Skipper rolled his eyes.
Beyond the next set of doors was a strange purple statuette. Charmaine's voice rang within their heads, "Skipper, pick it up," The penguin complied and, once he did, it vanished, absorbed into his body... and causing very random spazz attacks , "Look for more of these."
"Why?" Skipper asked, "So I can seizure to death?"
The comment actually amused the mysterious woman, "No. This is a voodoo icon. When in conjunction with Vince, each voodoo icon will give you a special power which allows you to defeat a multitude of enemies. Try it out up ahead."
The two shrugged and continued through the passageway to the toad-fly things on the other side. Skipper turned to Vince and concentrated energy upon the doll. The three pins in Vince's head flew out... and flew right back in, impaling him. Skipper gasped as the doll -and all the other enemies around them- fell to the ground. Then he got back up.
"Wow that was cool!" Vince grinned, and Skipper rolled his eyes, "Let's keep going."
Through the next gate was a plaza kind of an area, with a fountain in the middle and potted plants circling the area. The floor beneath their feet was checkered, with diaganol white and various blue squares. A blinding light from just in front of the fountain stoppe the duo in their tracks. Skipper covered his eyes. Vince didn't need to, considering one was glass and the other was a button.
A giant head materialized in the center of the plaza, the light dying down as it came into existance. A laugh, one normally heard from villans, echoed from his thin throat. The only distinguishable features he had were a strange beard and a pez hat. Vince grabbed Skipper by the arms, making sure to cover his beak, and subtly sidled to the side of the area, behind a potted plant.
"Tremble! Kneel!" The head roared, with a deep voice befitting an evil wizard, "It is I, Kosmo the Inscrutable!" Upon hearing this, Skipper desperately attempted to struggle out of Vince's hold and give that guy a piece of his mind. How Vince held on to him is still, to this day, an unknown mystery, "Behold the future master of the world! Who are these so-called champions, who dare oppose ME? Show yourself and face your mortal enemy!"
Vince, having enough of Skipper's struggling, sidestepped into the open, still holding onto Skipper.
Kosmo stared at them blankly for a moment before laughing, "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA..." Vince and Skipper exchanged two annoyed and unamused glance with each other, "Madame Charmaine must be a fool..." Vince growled, and only Skipper was close enough to hear it. The sound was enough to frighten even the rats of his hometown! "To think a mere pile of cloth and his little birdy can defeat the likes of ME!"
"Hey boss," Another head materialized next to Kosmo's. Skipper recognized it as one of the thieves, "Where's the pickles?"
"H-how..." Kosmo was speechless, his voice losing that scary, supreme being-like touch. He sounded like a regular guy, "What are you doing in my evil vision?"
The minion replied stupidly, "I'm just makin' a samwich..."
"For cryin' out loud," A hand materialized next to Kosmo's head, "Be gone, minion!" The hand batted the man's head into a nearby wall, causing it to disappear. Kosmo turned back to the now extremely annoyed Vince and now free Skipper, "Where was I? Oh yeah... FOOLS!" The supreme tone came back, "How can you hope to save Madame Charmaine and her little penguin, when you face awesome power like... Hey! Wh-why are you looking at me like that?"
Vince, already annoyed, had finally had it with the mention of Charmaine. He pulled out from his own head a pin, and smirked evilly at Kosmo. Skipper, knowing what was going to happen, also smirked, taking a step back to get the whole view.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Vince's response was to prop the needle near his head. Kosmo's illusion shook, cowaring in fear. Skipper munched on a cookie from the cookie factory just behind them. With a final smirk, the needle went through Vince's head. A shockwave of voodoo energy went out, causing the illusion to explode. Skipper cheered like he just made a touchdown.
"Never mess with a voodoo doll, poindexter!" Vince scowled, then walked passed Skipper to get to the platforms behind him. As he climbed, he mumbled, "Freakin' idiot... dragging me out on a night like this. Might as well get this show on the road though... can't believe they want a ten inch voodoo doll to go be a hero..." From what Skipper could see, Vince was climbing into the cookie factory where he got the cookie he munched on. Sighing, the penguin followed behind.
When Skipper got inside, Vince was staring at a locked cargo hold door. He motioned for the penguin to join him, "I think this is the best way out. Only problem is, that scale over there opens it... and I'm a lightweight..." To demonstrate, Vince jumped upon the scale. The door moved up a crack... barely enough for Skipper to get through. Even so, how would Vince follow?
The penguin pondered the situation, then noticed the empty flour sacks on the floor, "Hey, wouldn't a full sack work?" He held up the empty cloth. Vince scratched his head.
"But where would we get one of those? I haven't seen any. Well, actually, I have, but it's stuck," Vince lead Skipper back up the metal ramp, to a shoot with a flour bag stuck in it. Skipper surveyed his surroundings. Not far was a poorly placed mixer, poorly placed because anyone could simply fall in... good thing it was off, or someone could get hurt...
...lightbulb.
"Vince, how do you think we turn this on?" In reply, the doll pointed out a lever on the far side of the room. The penguin wasted no time in scrambling over and Vince, though confused, followed after him. It took the both of them to push down the firmly-stuck lever, but once they did, the mixer turned on at high speed.
Now overlooking it, Vince asked, "So, what's your plan?"
"This," Skipper pushed Vince into the mixer... and winced as he was chopped to pieces, screaming the entire time. The penguin's theory worked, though. Once the wave of magical energy went out, the firmly stuck bag of flour plopped to the metal overhang, causing a thump. Skipper grinned, picking up, and hauling it down the ramp.
Just below the mixer, Vince, fully reformed, popped out and called, "I'm okay!" He then noticed the open hanger door and the penguin waiting atop the pipe, "Gee, thanks for that. You're a wonderful pal, ya know?"
"Yeah, yeah," Skipper waved him off, "At least I got us through. Besides, I picked up a new voodoo power... um, I think Charmaine called it 'Anvil Hat'. Most likely will drop an anvil on your head."
"Lovely," Vince remarked dryly, passing him to get through the pipes into the next area. Skipper chuckled before following after.
I KNOW I did a better job on this one. Though, maybe that's because there's more action to work with. Kosmo is hilarious, though. Too stupid and full of himself to be a dedicated bad guy. He'd make a good minion, though... anyhow, I kind of personified Vince as overprotective of Charmaine... he's not really like that... I just inferred it.
Next Chapter: Giant Piggy Bank of Doom!...doom...