Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.
"A cursed weapon that pulses with evil energy."
When all things went wrong, when science failed them -again- and when everything went down to the last card of the game, everyone knew they could depend on Rico. He was the go-to guy; the maverick; the last resort with a plan, and that plan usually involved blowing something up. An artist, a fighter, and a penguin with the 'right stuff', he was often told he had a way with words, a contradiction to his silent, tough guy persona. He was loved and cherished by every member of the team.
Or so he had thought until now.
Private was avoiding him. It had not been obvious, but Rico noticed. The subtle movements away from him; the slight fear shimmering in his eyes. Had he realized how dangerous and crazy the larger penguin was? No, that wasn't it. He knew as well as everyone else how psychotic Rico is. So what had triggered this strange behavior?
Now was his chance to find out. Skipper had paired the two of them together, and Private had been looking to the right, not meeting Rico's eyes at any time. This annoyed the older penguin immensely. Didn't he have a right to know what he was doing wrong? Whatever he was doing wrong, that is.
Rico noticed how distracted Private was and nudged him gently. Unfortunately, he overestimated how much Private was paying attention. The younger penguin gasped and jumped three feet into the air, tripping over a branch and falling on his stomach. Rico blinked. Well... that could have turned out a lot worse.
"Oh... sorry, Rico. I seem to be a bit distracted lately," Private chuckled nervously at the end, looking down and twiddling his flippers together. Rico rolled his eyes and grunted, as if to say, 'That's putting it mildly'.
He simply smiled in that nervous way and apologized again. This made Rico frown. He wasn't completely pushing Rico out anymore -a good thing- but now Rico had been upgraded to the despondent way he'd been dealing with everything lately. Now Rico should be happy Private wasn't made at him, like he originally thought.
He wasn't.
Instead, he was curious, and slightly agitated. He didn't have the right to treat everyone like this! They were his friends... weren't they?
"Hey Rico! Take a look at this!" Ah well, Rico could continue his internal monologue later. Now, he had a mission to accomplish.
Private had shoved some leaves aside to reveal a hidden entrance to the sewer. Normally, Rico would write something like this off. But the lid had been moved recently. It was out of alignment, and if any of them had used it, they would have put it back properly.
"I smell a rat. Or maybe a few rats," The boy told him. Rico nodded. This was a pretty good find. Now all they needed was to get the others here, and-
"Hey, are you coming or not?" Rico turned. Private had lifted the lid up, and was already in the sewer hole. The smell coming from there was, to a normal person, bad, but all the penguins were used to it. They used the sewers for quick convenience around the city. You'd be surprised how far you can get underground, even while avoiding the sewer rats.
At first, Rico was tempted to call out for the others. Facing the rats was a difficult enough challenge as a team, and with Private the way he is now, it would be even tougher. But the concept of finding the last Devil's Arm without the others was too great to pass up.
So, in the end, he climbed in after Private. Landing on the ground, Rico would have wrinkled his nose if he were able to. The stench told him they were closer to the rats; it wasn't this smelly unless they were closed to another living creature, or a certain pipe. After regurgitating a flashlight to help them see, Rico and Private walked in the direction they'd normally walk away from; towards the smell of the rats.
Finding them didn't take long. The rats were just as keen on parties as the lemurs were. It was a simple matter of follow the noise. Of course, they never just faced the rats head on. The two penguins hid behind a corner and poked their heads out. There they were. The rats were dancing and drinking some unintelligible sludge (which made Private woozy and Rico lick his beak) to some heavy metal band. The two exchanged a brief glance, before nodding, and jumping out.
They were noticed almost immediately. Everything stopped. All the rats looked at them. Even the batteries in the radio conveniently died, just so they could be the center of attention. If this wasn't suicide, Rico would have felt flattered.
"Hey!" A rat cried out, "What are you punks doing here?"
Rico growled at it in response. The cowardly little thing jumped and scurried behind a nearby companion, who was, too, shaking in fear. The sight made Rico roll his eyes.
"Enough!" Another deeper, much more familiar voice cried out. Rico grinned. This was what he had been waiting for! The penguins turned to face the Rat King. What they both saw made their eyes go wide.
The king of the rats had a new toy; a scepter of some sort. The top of it seemed like the head of a creature, with piercing red eyes and teeth. On the back of the 'head' of the scepter was a pair of horns -or at least, they looked like horns. Inside it's mouth was a glowing red spear, seemingly pulsating with some unknown power. Much stronger than any dynamite.
Rico gaped at the weapon that could only be a Devil's Arm. Private stared at it and shivered for a moment, though Rico failed to notice. He was too busy wondering how they were going to get it from this nutcase.
The king smirked when he saw them eying his new power rod, "Beautiful, isn't it? I had it hand carved by the finest in India, then-"
"Your followers found that in Central Park, probably not too far from here, and brought it back because it was a weapon worthy of their 'king'," Rico snickered at the response Private gave. But who wouldn't? It was funny!
"How dare you insult me like that! I demand that you-" Rico didn't bother listening to the rest. Flapping his wing, he imitated the king's jibber-jabber, 'Blah blah,' then proceeded to regurgitate a stick of dynamite. The rodents around them screamed and fled, ignoring the calls of their leader. Finally, the king fled too, dropping the scepter behind him. Rico picked it up and swallowed it.
Private was dazed, in some sort of trance. Rico waved his paw in front of the youngest penguin, trying to get his attention. Finally, growing tired of waiting, he hoisted Private over his shoulder and ran for cover. They tumbled out of the sewer entrance and onto the grass of the park just as it exploded.
The others flocked to them at the sound of the explosion. Skipper sternly shouted, "Rico, what did I tell you about unauthorized explosions?"
"Sorry," The penguin grunted, and smiled apologetically. He then regurgitated the last of the Devil's Arms for everyone to see.
"Sweet McArthur's mustard!" Kowalski shouted at the sight of it, "The last one..."
"Well done, boys!" Skipper congratulated. He picked it up, smiling at the relief that this quest was almost over. Behind him, Rico saw something that shocked him. That expression... Private was giving Skipper the same fearful expression he had given to Rico several times over the past few days. He then followed Private's gaze.
No, not Skipper... the weapon Skipper was holding. Rico was startled to see that Private had been afraid of the Devil's Arms the whole time, and not him. A part of him, a huge part, was relieved. A bigger part was worried. When they would join the baboon lady later that day, how would Private be able to hold out? A panic flooded through Rico.
He tried desperately to get Skipper's attention. The leader turned to him, "What is it, boy? Some kid is stuck in a well? Someone's on fire? The government's planning to blow us all up?" Rico shook his head. Skipper suddenly gasped, "It's the Danes, isn't it?" Again, Rico shook his head, this time making an exaggerated sigh, "Well, if it's anything else, it can wait until we get our ultimate power!"
Rico sighed. No use getting through to the others. He just hoped Private would be okay...
Well, now that you mention it... nah, I'm not telling you! Wait two weeks and I'll post the final chapter!
Ironic that Rico, whom Private had been avoiding like the plague, is the first one to figure out what's wrong... not why, though.
Now, what am I gonna write after this? I have a few ideas... not sure which I'll post first, though...
And please, please review!