The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 47 – Treason

Skipper's log. 13:00 Hours on September the 18th.

"What can I say? We failed. It's hard for me to confess, even now, but its the truth.

"We left the Penguin City as fast as we could and found our way straight to this mysterious temple. This ancient building apparently at one point housed the Sun, but Sarge has successfully taken it back to Denmark. Manfredi apparently didn't know this structure existed, even though he lived only a few miles from it for most of his life. He was just as surprised when we first got here as Johnson and I were.

"We thought there would be great resistance when we first arrived. We didn't know about the temple, but we thought for sure no matter what the Sun actually was or where it was being held, we would have to fight our way through the Penguin Army. I had thought our best scenario would be to move through during the night and attempt to sneak by with as little fighting as possible. Even then I thought there would be bloodshed, but there was none.

"The Penguin Army wasn't here when we got here. In fact, the snow outside of the temple didn't look like it had been disturbed by thousands of penguins, either. If anything, Manfredi and I could only find evidence of two penguins entering and exiting the temple, but we were sure there would be many more than that.

"It makes me think of whether or not the Sargent actually brought his army with him to the temple, or if he sent them straight back to his boat immediately after destroying the Penguin City. I haven't told Manfredi about it yet, though. He probably doesn't need to know that Sarge may only have brought his army along to destroy the city, and not to retrieve the sun.

"Either way, we were too late. Far too late, by the looks of it. It didn't seem like Caspian had been present for several hours when we arrived. There was snow tracked into the temple, and footprints leading away. I was confident we were going to catch up to him in time, but I guess we lost more time that we had thought on that stupid research vessel.

"Which, by the way, isn't leaving anytime soon. Those scientists found the decimated Penguin City, so they set up a base camp and are doing some research or something now Johnson says it'll probably be a week or two before they leave, so we have a lot of time to burn before we get off this island.

"Johnson doesn't seem to mind that fact, though. He located some sort of library inside of the temple, and he's been studying the books there. He says they are written in some weird code or something, but he can translate it fairly easily. The kid's a freaking genius, that's for sure. Maybe he can shed some light onto what the Sun is and why its giving Sarge the power to take over the world.

"There's only one thing I know for sure right now. That's that we need to find our way back to Denmark and steal the Sun back. Strange things happened around here in the last few days. I'm not sure if they are related to the Sun, but I have a hunch. Johnson may be able to shed some light onto whats going on, but it seems like the Sun hasn't moved at all since we got to the Temple. It just stays in the same point on the sky the entire time, low on the horizon. It's kind of freaky, really. Add that to the earthquake that rocked this place about twenty four hours ago and I'm not sure what to think.

"The Sun must be connected to what is going on, though. That's the only conclusion I can make. We need to get it back ASAP. Manfredi doesn't seem to like that notion, though. The last time I saw him he was sitting in the corner of the library, sulking. I'm sure he hasn't moved yet. I'll have to try to convince him that there is still worth fighting for, still a chance for us to stop Fishslader.

"I've already told him that once, though. I'm not sure how he'll react to hearing it again."

"I'd recognize that voice anywhere," Private said excitedly. "That's K'walski for sure!"

"I know, I know," Marlene responded, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "but where the heck is he?"

"Let's listen," Private said as they fell silent once more. Marlene cupped her hands behind her ears to and strained to hear Kowalski's voice again.

"The power required to operate a base of that size doesn't seem..." The tall bird's voice came and went with the echo of the tunnels around them. It made it impossible for Marlene to determine a direction of origin, but she knew that he was close. He was either behind them, near the sloped wall, or in front of them. Through process of elimination the Asian otter was pretty sure she knew which way to go.

"K'walski!" called Private, cupping his flippers to amplify his voice. He turned back around to Marlene, looking excitedly. "C'mon, let's go!"

Marlene nodded. She too was excited to hear Kowalski's voice. It was good to know he was safe. The only question she had now was, who was he talking to? It didn't matter, though. What was important was that they found him as quickly as possible.

The otter briefly turned to look at Manfredi, who was clutching the dagger tightly. He didn't speak as he stared back at her and merely had a grim look on his face. She wondered if he knew something she didn't, but was afraid to ask.

Private, at this point had begun calling out Kowalski's name ever few seconds and waddling very fast. Marlene had to jog to keep up with the small bird's speed, but was glad they would see Kowalski soon.

"Private?" Kowalski's voice finally responded. Marlene's heart jumped when she realized he could hear them and he was very close. It sounded like it was coming from just down the hallway, just passed the range of vision the dim blue light was giving her.

"Kowalski, where are you?" Private called back, looking all around him. The echo made it hard to determine where anything was based on merely the origin of sound waves, but Marlene thought they would eventually be able to find him if they kept talking long enough.

"I am here. Where are you?" responded Kowalski. He was no longer shouting but was still very audible, and Marlene knew he was right under there noses. She couldn't see him anywhere, however. Suddenly her eyes fell on a open door. It looked like one of the doors that lead to the small, mysterious rooms. Had Kowalski opened it?

"Over here guys," she gestured, running to the door. Private jumped in front of her as they peered into the room. It was mostly empty but considerably larger than the other room she had opened. It was made of the black tile and had more blue torches, though four tall pillars in the room cast long shadows on the walls. It was eerie, but Marlene was more concerned with the tall penguin standing on the opposite side of it.

"K'walski!" exclaimed Private elatedly as he raced up to the intellectual, wrapping his flippers around him in a big hug. Kowalski looked surprised by this, but gently hugged the smaller bird back. Marlene raced up to the two penguins and pulled them both into her own hug, nearly knocking the three of them over. She laughed for a moment, but then regained her composure.

"It's great to see you're okay," Marlene said, smiling. It was true, Kowalski looked like he was in great shape. His feathers weren't ruffled and he didn't look like he had been starving. In fact, Marlene was sure he looked better than Private, herself, or any of the others for that matter.

"It's great to see you, too," the bird responded, smiling. His eyes drifted behind Marlene and he suddenly looked a little frightened. Marlene turned around and saw Manfredi in the doorway to the room, holding his knife.

"Uh, isn't that..." Kowalski began.

"The penguin that attacked Skippah, yes," Private explained. "He's working with us now. Dun worry, I'll fill in all of the details later. We got separated from Skippah and the others so now we're trying to find them."

Kowalski continued to look uneasily at Manfredi for a moment. Marlene thought he was deep in thought about something for a moment, but then he redirected his attention towards her. "I'm not sure what you're doing here, Marlene," he said, "but as with Manfredi I'm sure these things will be revealed in due time. Let's get going."

"Wait, how do you know Manfredi's name?" Marlene asked suddenly. Kowalski paused for a moment and some uneasiness flashed over his eyes.

"I was held captive by his primary enemies for the past two weeks. I overheard much of their conversations."

"Yeah, Marlene," affirmed Private, beaming. "Let's go. I'll tell you as much as I can about what's been happening as we walk."

Kowalski nodded and they moved to exit the room. Manfredi stepped out of the way and they emerged back into the large hallway. Manfredi still held the same, grim expression on his face as he glanced at Manfredi. Kowalski met his glance awkwardly, but then offered his flipper for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you Manfredi," Kowalski greeted. "I'm Kowalski."

Manfredi was hesitant. Marlene wondered if all their talk about Kowalski's possible betrayal had had too great of an affect on the robot-penguin. Did he really think Kowalski betrayed them, or was going to? Marlene wished she could say something to help the bird be more trusting, but she couldn't find the words to express it. Eventually the bird grabbed Kowalski's flipper. Marlene was not expecting what happened next.

In a flash, Kowalski wrenched Manfredi's flipper, pulling it closer towards him. Then, with a grunt, he ripped Manfredi's crooked dagger out of his other flipper. Manfredi gasped with the surprise of being caught off guard as Kowalski threw his flipper away again, spinning it around. The tall bird the launched the dagger into the room they had just emerged from.

"Kowalski, what?" was all Marlene could manage. Manfredi looked enraged as he looked up at Kowalski. His flippers were balled into fists as he approached the tall penguin. Kowalski suddenly looked afraid, regretting what he had just done. Marlene couldn't understand why he had disarmed Manfredi like that.

"Stop it!" Private cried, stepping between the two birds before they really hurt each other. "I don't know why you did that Kowalski, but we can't fight each other here. We need to work together!"

"Right," Kowalski said, though slightly shakily. "It was just that knife... and I noticed your new scar."

"Manfredi didn't do this to me," Private said, rubbing a flipper along the symbol of his near-death experience. "It's not important right now, though. We really have to find Skipper.

Manfredi merely grunted, but he still looked angry at Kowalski. Kowalski was intimidated by this, but stood his ground with Private in between the two birds.

"It's okay, Manfredi," insisted Marlene. "Kowalski doesn't know what's going on."

Manfredi nodded slowly, then turned away from the intellectual. He proceeded back into the room to retrieve his dagger. Moments later, three shadows moved from behind a nearby arch. Marlene gasped with shock as they ran passed her, slamming the door shut. Before she could make out who they were they had already locked the door, sliding some sort of metal tubing between it and the door frame to prevent it from being opened from the inside.

"That should hold him," said a dark, familiar penguin."

Marlene couldn't help but scream as she finally got a good look at the three birds in front of her. There was a rock-hopper holding a rifle, a flat-headed, blind-eyed leader, and a large penguin. Gier, Sarge, and Thurgo. Not sure of what else to do, she got into the fighting stance that she had learned from Private and Rico and prepared to defend herself. She was surprised when the penguins across from her merely laughed.

"Relax, princess," Thurgo said, his flippers crossed. "We're not here to hurt you."

Marlene exchanged a glance with Private, who was also in a fighting position. He seemed to be shaking slightly. She redirected her attention to Kowalski, who, surprisingly, was smiling. Even though, she didn't lower her fighting stance and her heart rate remained accelerated.

"Great work, Kowalski," came Sarge's dark voice.

"He fell for the bait like a fish," chuckled Kowalski. There was suddenly a loud pounding on the other side of the door. Manfredi had realized he was trapped.

"What? Kowalski? Why are you helping them?" Marlene stuttered. A million possibilities were going through her mind as she spoke. Was he brainwashed? Was he hypnotized? Was he just crazy?

"Its simple, really. Caspian and I made a compromise shortly into our journey here. I agreed to help them reach the Sun if they agreed to not harm any of you."

At Kowalski's explanation, Marlene managed to lower her paws and relax a little bit. Even though, she remained tense and each time she glanced in Gier's direction, she felt a slight ping of pain across her throat, reminding her that he was the one who had almost ended her life.

"So, here we are. Nobody is fighting, so it our agreement is still in effect, right Caspian?" Kowalski continued.

"Of course," smiled the flat-headed penguin, "and Manfredi is locked in a room. That's a huge bonus already."

Kowalski smiled at his deranged friend, but then turned back to Marlene and Private. "So now that the formalities are out of the way and you know the reason behind my rash actions, you will join us, right?"

Marlene's eyes darted between the three enemy penguins in front of her. She couldn't stand the sight of them; they had attacked her twice already. They had very nearly ended Private's life, attacked Alice, and kidnapped her friends. Even though Kowalski was her friend and she wanted to trust him, she couldn't find the reason in just trusting these penguins based on his word only.

"Alright, sounds good," Private said suddenly, stepping forward. His looked just as relaxed as Kowalski now as he stood next to him.

Marlene was blown away. "What?" she said. "Private, you do remember what these guys did to you right?"

"Yeah," said Private, glancing towards the three penguins who were smiling. "I'm not helping them, though. I'm going with Kowalski. That was our whole goal of coming here anyway, right?"

"I guess," the otter returned, blinking, "but what about Manfredi? Are you just going to leave him in that room?" she said, gesturing to the door that was now locked with the metal pipe running through the latch. Manfredi had since ceased his pounding.

"From what I've heard Manfredi is a monster," Kowalski responded quickly.

"I agreed with Kowalski to not kill him, but he will make an attempt on my life. He needs to be restrained until we leave this place." said Sarge. He hadn't stopped smiling. That fact was making Marlene suspicious, but she didn't want to start a huge fight right now.

They needed Skipper and the others before they could try to take on Sarge. The fact that he was working so willingly with Kowalski was actually a blessing. Now was the perfect time for the maniacal penguin to strike the four of them down, but he wasn't even acting like he wanted to. Marlene briefly wondered if he wasn't as bad as Skipper and Manfredi had made him out to be. As soon as she thought that, however, she remembered the knife that had been held against her windpipe. Not sure what to think or what else to do, she relaxed a bit more.

"Alright," she said, finally. "There's nothing much that fighting will solve anyway." She turned to Sarge. She couldn't help the chills that ran down her spine as they made eye contact. "All you want is the Sun?"
"Exactly," he returned. "Nothing more."
Marlene nodded. "Alright. I'll come with."

As she spoke she heard a loud bang come from behind Manfredi's locked door. She wondered if the robotic penguin had been listening to their conversation, and was upset at her decision. She didn't want to leave him locked up like that, though. The chances of Skipper finding him were tiny, and she was unsure if they could find him again on the way out.

Besides, Manfredi had only been helpful to her. Their conversations had been friendly. A tiny part inside of her was telling her that she should help Manfredi get his revenge, and it made her look at the leader with some hatred. He arched his brow, and she averted her eyes. She needed to talk to Manfredi once more before they went towards the Sun. The question was, how?

"We got split up on the way in," Private said. "Skippah, Rico, and Julien are probably on their way to the Sun right now, too. We should try to find them on the way and let them know whats going on."

"Ah, Skipper," whispered Sarge. Marlene didn't think anyone but herself heard it, and the penguin's beak twisted into a sinister grin. Her heart rate began accelerating again, but she tried her best to relax.

"That sounds logical," said Kowalski. "We should get moving."

Sarge nodded, and then they began moving down the hallway. Marlene pretended to be following them, but distanced herself from the back of the group a bit. This would be her only chance to help Manfredi. She needed to be careful, though. If Sarge caught her, he might just kill her on the spot. She gulped as she thought about Gier's rifle.

She slipped behind one of the arches when she thought she had a chance. Then, moving quickly, she slipped back to the door that housed Manfredi. She gently slid the pipe out of the latch, and then cracked the door open. Inside, Manfredi was leaning up against one of the pillars, twisting the dagger in his flippers. He jumped up at the sound of the door cracking open, but Marlene waved her paw to stop.

"Don't follow us," she said. "Find Skipper. Tell him what's going on. We'll find you later."

Manfredi didn't look particularly happy about Marlene's idea. He nodded slowly, however. The otter knew there was a chance he would charge out after Sarge the moment she turned around, but she trusted him to do what she said. As gingerly as she had opened it, Marlene closed the door again. She set the pipe down next to it rather than reinserting it into the latch, and then shot down the corridor.

"Wait up," she called, pretending to be out of breath. The penguins turned to look at her as she approached them again.

"I thought I saw something, but it was just my imagination," she lied, trying to play off her few moments of absence. Sarge merely turned back around instead of growing suspicious, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. Private looked at her.

"Looks like there will be no fighting today after all," he whispered to her.

She wasn't so sure.

~Author's Note: Day 4. Going strong, though I will admit this chapter is out really late in the day. Sorry about that!