Missing Moments in PoM Special
Ch 3: Lion in the Middle
Skipper was pulled from his worried, frantic thoughts by a now-familiar golden glow. Turning around, the penguin watched as a giant, golden feline appeared before him with an exaggerated 'It's SHOWTIME!'
'I really don't have time for this,' the penguin huffed, torn between watching the larger animal and worrying about his new lover.
'Come on, Skipper. You don't remember me?' the feline gave the penguin a disappointed look.
'Look, fluffy. One minute, I'm snuggling with my lover and the next there's an explosion and he's racing off into a possibly dangerous situation. I'm not in the mood to play 20 questions right now,' Skipper huffed, crossing his flippers over his chest.
'I didn't know you had a girlfriend... Oh wait! You said, "He" Not that I have an issues with that, it's just, you know, unexpected. Anyway, I'll make this easy for you. I'm Alex the Lion. We used to be neighbors,' the feline explained, posing dramatically.
'I was going to guess Mittens or Peaches, but I guess Alex is a good enough name,' Skipper shrugged, eyeing the large mammal.
'Right, Peaches...' Alex rolled his eyes and sighed.
Another explosion rocked the ship and the lion watched the penguin leader wobble, then fall to the ground.
'What am I going to do? Hans said to stay here where it's safe. But I can't just sit by and let him get hurt,' Skipper moaned, getting to his feet.
'Well, if it helps, the Skipper I knew was a leader and never took orders from anyone,' Alex commented, watching the penguin think his statement over.
'Right then. Come on, cat. We have a puffin to save!' Skipper led the way out the door.
'LION!' Alex huffed, following his smaller charge.
The pair ducked into the shadows, avoiding the lobsters scurrying through the hallways. The last thing Skipper wanted to do was get caught by the over-bearing doctor and get sent back to his room. If they could just find the puffin and make sure he was alright, then Skipper would be able to rest easily.
A strangely familiar laugh drew the pair toward a lit room at the end of the hallway. Peeking through the doorway, Skipper held back a gasp. There, on a platform in the center of the room, was Hans standing next to a dolphin riding a scooter (wow, yeah that was pretty weird). Surrounded by lobsters, three penguins were backed against the far wall, clearly outnumbered.
'Where's Skipper, you fiend?' the tallest penguin shouted, stepping sideways to avoid being nipped by lobster claws.
'Oh, I wouldn't worry about your leader, Kowalski. You'll be joining him soon enough, thanks to my... MINDJACKER!' the dolphin gave a cackling laugh as a strange clown-head rose from his scooter.
'Skipper, you need to do something. Your team is in trouble!' Alex gasped, looking down at the little penguin below him.
'My team... But what can I do?' Skipper whispered. Everything was just so messed up. The Doctor's voice was coming from the dolphin and it seemed that Hans was in cahoots with him. The three penguins were huddled close to one another, fear shining in their eyes as the lobsters scuttled closer.
'Come on, Skipper. This sort of thing happens to you all the time. Get in there and show them what you're made of!' the lion insisted.
'But, I'm just a penguin,' Skipper commented, giving his cute and cuddly body a half-glare.
'I keep trying to tell you, Skipper. You're not an ordinary penguin. The dolphin's mindjacker, your amnesia... They have to be linked,' Alex pointed at the clown-head.
'But, Hans said I just hit my head and that this was a hospital,' Skipper threw his lover a glance, but the puffin had his back to them.
'I'm sorry to say this, Skipper, but I don't think the puffin is your friend. He seems to be working with the dolphin and if you don't do something fast, your entire team might have their memories stolen too,' Alex reached down and took the penguin's flipper.
'What are you doing?' Skipper asked, letting himself get pulled into the room.
'Helping you be you again. Follow my lead!'
Private shuttered and huddled closer to Kowalski. The penguin scientist was trying his best to stand tall, glaring at the evil dolphin on the platform.
'Plie squat what?'
The voice was accompanied by a commotion from the lobsters around them.
The penguins watched in shock and awe as their leader danced his way to their rescue. It was a strange combination of martial arts kicks and dance steps that soon had Skipper landing in front of them, leaving injured lobsters groaning in his wake.
'YOU! Hans, you said he was safely locked in the observation room,' the dolphin turned to glare at the puffin next to him.
'I didn't say he was LOCKED in there,' Hans shrugged, internally conflicted by this turn of events.
'Why do I get the feeling that you're not a REAL doctor and this isn't a REAL hospital?' Skipper glared up at the clearly evil dolphin towering over him.
'You're right about that. But I am an evil genius, so I made sure to have a fall-back plan just in case you got in my way. Thanks to my... DIABOLIGIZER, I have an enemy that should keep you on your webbed little toes,' the dolphin announced, pushing a button.
A metal cage dropped from the ceiling and released a giant mutated rabbit into the room. From the safety of his platform, Dr. Blowhole ordered the mutant to attack the penguins.
Hans gasped as he watched the creature leap toward the penguins, forcing them to scatter in all directions. {Is Skipper back to his old self? Can he defeat the beast?}
'Skipper! You have to do something,' Alex yanked the penguin leader sideways, causing the mutant rabbit to narrowly miss them.
'Like what?' Skipper glanced over his shoulder at the buck-toothed creature on their tails.
'Um... Coffee grinder!' the lion pulled the bird down into the dance move as the rabbit leapt over their heads.
'Skipper!' the youngest penguin shouted.
'Private!' the penguin leader threw himself into a belly slide, knocking the young penguin to the side as the rabbit punched the wall where he'd been standing.
'Your name is Private, right?' Skipper helped the shorter penguin to his feet and dragged him behind one of the smaller computer consoles.
'Oh no. Blowhole did erase your memory,' Private gasped, eyes watering with tears.
'Yes, it seems that he did. But it's slowly coming back to me. Duck!' Skipper threw himself over the little penguin as the rabbit soared over their heads, crashing into the floor behind them.
'Skipper, what do we do?' Kowalski and Rico raced up to the pair.
'You, tall guy. Is your last name Analysis? I want to say Kowalski Analysis,' Skipper frowned up at the taller penguin.
'Well, you saw it, Skipper. Dr. Blowhole created a mutant rabbit with a device called a Diaboligizer. Perhaps if we could find the device, we could reverse the effects,' Kowalski suggested.
'Good. Well then, Kowalski and Private, you two go find the device while.. er, is it Rino?' Skipper glanced at the scarred penguin next to him.
'Actually, it's Rico,' Private offered.
'Alright, then Rico and I will keep the rabbit busy while you two find the device,' Skipper ordered.
'Yes sir! Good to have you back, Skipper!' Kowalski grabbed Private by the flipper and dragged him out of the room.
'Come on, Rico. We have a rabbit to take care of.'
The dolphin continued to cackle as he watched his foes run. In the midst of his laughter, he failed to notice two of the penguins slipping out the door.
'Skipper,' Hans whispered, peeking out from his hiding place behind the Doctor's main console. His lover seemed to be keeping the rabbit busy along with the insane penguin. He was still unharmed... for now.
'Look Skipper! Your friends are back!' Alex shouted, pointing at the doorway. The penguin leader paused, glancing over his shoulder.
'We have the Diaboligizer!' Kowalski yelled, dragging it into the room.
'SKIPPER!'
The penguin felt two feathery wings hit his back, sending him flying into a belly slide. Stumbling to his feet, the leader turned and stared at the giant rabbit that was now flat on its stomach in the same spot he'd been standing in moments before. A familiar black wing was sticking out from under the mutant's bulky white body.
'HANS!'
Kowalski rushed to get the dolphin's evil device pointed at the mutant. Pushing the purple button, he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, hoping for the best.
Private watched in awe as a violet light shot out of the device and hit the enormous rabbit, shrinking it into an adorable white bunny.
'You're going to pay for this, BLOWHOLE!' Skipper shouted from the other end of the room.
'Not if I can help it,' the dolphin growled, pushing a button on the console.
'SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED!'
Private felt a shiver race up his spine at the evil, robotic voice.
'So long, pen-gu-ins!' the mammal rolled quickly out of the room as the ship vibrated around them.
'Should we go after him, Skipper?' Kowalski left the Diaboligizer on the ground and raced with Private to their leader's side.
'No time, men. We need to get out of here and we're taking Hans with us,' Skipper ordered, sending his team racing around the room to find something they could use for the stretcher.
'Hans,' Skipper knelt next to his unconscious and extremely battered frenemy.
'I don't know, Skipper. He's in pretty bad shape. What if he doesn't make it?' Alex watched the penguin lay a flipper on the puffin's chest.
'He'll make it,' the leader promised, eyeing the injured body. There wasn't much blood, but his wings seemed to have taken the most damage. They were likely broken. If Hans was lucky, he might escape from this with only minor injuries...
'We can use this as a stretcher. Hurry. We have to leave now or this ship will take us all to a watery grave,' Kowalski announced.
'Go, Go, Go!'
The four penguins rushed from the room, balancing their delicate cargo on their shoulders. Behind them, an invisible lion brought up the rear.
{We're getting out of here alive. All of us! Or my name isn't SKIPPER!}
...tbc...
Note: Looks like Skipper's finally gotten his memory back. But what about Hans? Guess you'll have to wait until the next chapter :)