The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 50 – Harbinger

"WE'LL NEED TO SET A TRAP," SAID SARGE.

"A trap?" Marlene exclaimed, "Why? For who?"

The blind-eyed penguin turned around to her. He hadn't stopped smiling since they had been reunited, and it made Marlene very uncomfortable. She didn't trust the penguin in the slightest, and knew that he was aware of something they were not.

"For Skipper and Manfredi, of course," he answered. "They will not be as understanding of our situation as you two were. They'll try to kill Gier, Thurgo, and I."

"Manfredi is trapped, though. Skipper on his own won't do anything if he sees us unharmed."

"Manfredi was trapped," Thurgo growled at Marlene. Her heart dropped.

"Ever since I met you, otter, you have been very secret. You should know by now that its wrong to hold secrets from me." He glanced at Gier and the rock hopper silently chuckled. "I witnessed you free Manfredi. I don't know why he didn't charge after me, but you're lucky he didn't. If he did, you three would be dead right now."

Private and Kowalski both shot angry looks at Marlene. They made her feel uncomfortable, but she tried to maintain a look of confidence on her face. Letting Sarge onto how frightened she was wasn't going to help anything. "I couldn't just leave him in there. There's no way we'd find him again to let him out."

"It was a fair decision. However, I strongly suggest you stop interfering before you get on my bad side. I've got nothing against you, otter, but aiding my enemies is a quick way to give me just that."

Marlene was completely unsure why the penguin Sargent didn't view her as an enemy. She had toppled those crates on top of them. Why didn't they want her dead as much as they wanted Manfredi? She was happy to have this momentary truce, though. For now, she turned to Kowalski who still looked upset at her.

"You shouldn't give me that look," she growled. "You know darn well it wasn't right to leave him there to rot."

"That penguin is mentally unstable, Marlene," Kowalski responded calmly. "He needed to be separate from us. I really have no idea why you were working with him in the first place."

"For your information, Manfredi came to the docks to help rescue you."

"Pfft," Thurgo laughed. "That bloke came to cut Sarge up. What phony universe you livin' in, princess?"

"He blew Skipper's entire operation on the dock by charging after me so much. Honestly, if he wouldn't have given away Skipper's troops positions, we may have actually struggled," Sarge laughed. He high-fived Thurgo, who chuckled.

Marlene felt her muscles tense up slightly, but tried to relax. She glanced at Private, who was diligently following Kowalski. He didn't seem particularly angry or disturbed. If anything, he was happy that he was following Kowalski again. Marlene wondered if he realized they may very well be prisoners of war, right now.

"Anyway, as I was saying," began Sarge. "Skipper and Manfredi will attempt to kill me. Therefore, if we arrive to the antechamber before them, we must set a trap."

Kowalski glanced up towards the ceiling. "These arches," he said. "If they are present at our destination, we could made a net trap of some sort. The problem is, we would need a great amount of rope to construct such a trap."

Marlene gritted her teeth. She couldn't believe what the intellectual was saying. Was he really considering trapping Skipper—his own leader and best friend. She glanced at Private again and met his gaze. He almost seemed to be smiling.

"We don't have that kind of rope," said Sarge, "but we do have something else you might be able to use." He stopped for a moment and dug in the backpack that Thurgo was heaving. He produced a few of the same firecrackers Marlene had seen on his boat and tossed one to Kowalski.

"A firework?" he said, bemused. "I don't think this will do anything but entertain them."

"It's not your typically firecracker. These I salvaged directly from my base, before Manfredi blew it up. It's highly compact plastic explosive, triggered when you pull the fuse out of it. It'll make an explosion big enough to cause some real damage."

Kowalski's grin faded to a more serious look. "We can't use these. They could seriously hurt or even kill Skipper."

"It's all you've got. If you want to uphold our deal, I suggest you devise something."

Kowalski looked down at battery-sized death mechanism in his flipper. Marlene couldn't figure out what he was thinking about, but she knew it wasn't good.

"You couldn't use explosives against Skipper and the others," she pleaded to the tall bird. "at least not to capture them. I'm pretty sure explosives are meant to kill, not capture."

"I know, I know," he said, waving his flipper. He tossed the plastic explosive back to the flat-headed penguin and nodded. "I've got an idea, but it's a long shot. I'll wait until we get to the antechamber to tell you."

Marlene felt her anger levels rise at Kowalski's words. He was so hellbent on preserving the agreement he had made with Sarge that he was overlooking Skipper's safety, possibly even his life. The intellectual was only trying to protect them from Sarge's wrath, yes, but this was not the way to go about it!

Not sure what to do, she grabbed Private's flipper and walked a few steps away from the others. He looked surprised, but followed her motion. When they were on the other side of the hallway, she spoke as softly as she could. She knew that Sarge could probably still hear them from the other side of the tunnel, but she needed to get at least someone on her side.

"You've got to help me stop them," she said softly. "We can't let them set a trap for Skipper. If they capture him, we're all goners. He's going to get the Sun then, too."

Private blinked. "Dun worry, Marlene. Kowalski knows what he is doing."

"How naïve can you be?" she exclaimed, throwing her paws up. "Kowalski's been tricked into trusting Sarge. He thinks that this deal is going to be upheld even after Sarge gets the Sun."

Private averted his eyes to the ground momentarily, but returned them to Marlene's gaze. "We can't fight him, though. He's too powerful for us. This agreement is our only hope."

"Even if it results in Skipper and Manfredi's deaths from an explosives trap?"

Private gulped audibly, presumably thinking about his leader. "Kowalski will set a trap that won't hurt them. I know he will."

"With explosives? C'mon, Private, think about it!" Marlene returned, nearly shouting it out.

"Hey Sarge," came Thurgo's voice from the opposite side of the hallway. "If they keep bickering so much maybe we won't have to k–" his voice trailed off as Sarge elbowed him hard in the stomach.

"We can hear you," he shouted towards Marlene. She scowled. "And you're still hiding things from me. I just don't understand why."

Glancing back to Private, she saw that he looked more uneasy than he was before. He held his beak with his flippers as they rejoined the group. Marlene made sure not to make eye contact with Sarge, instead favoring the back of Kowalski's head. After a few moments the tall bird glanced back at her. He winked. It made her feel a little more confident in what was going to happen, but only slightly.

"Its in your best interest to control your... associates, Kowalski," the blind-eyed penguin said.

"I assure you Marlene and Private do not wish to instigate," he returned. Marlene couldn't help but sense a little bit of fear in his voice. She felt as though it was a good idea to not continue pressing Sarge's patience.

"Good, because we are nearly to the antechamber. I presume I will be able to retrieve the Sun without hindrance."

Kowalski merely nodded. Ahead of them the tunnel finally ended, as did the torches and the doors. They emerged into a massive, empty room with a dome shaped roof. At the apex of the dome Marlene recognized one of the spinning, disks of light. All together, the room was much brighter than the hallways they had been walking through.

The walls of the dome were lined with sculptures similar to the walls Marlene had seen on the walls outside the temple. They curved inward, and were lined with small spires of alternating heights. Here, however, they seemed to be engraved with mysterious symbols. Marlene could only make out a few massive pictures of the sun. It was carved into the black tile with massive fire shooting off into the distance.

What really grabbed her attention, however, was the glowing orb in the center of the room. She had never seen anything like it before in her entire life. It bathed the entire room in pure white light, causing long shadows to be cast from the spires. It was nearly too bright for her to look at directly, and she shielded her eyes from it. A soft, strange hissing sound was coming from it, almost like water evaporating.

Even though, she was able to make it out. The orb seemed to be contained in some strange container, almost like a canister. It seemed to be suspended above a pedestal in the middle of the room, which was raised on a platform. Behind that platform were two higher platforms that also had pedestals. She couldn't make out what the pedestals were sculpted to look like, but knew that each one was unique.

The entire sight of it was incredible. Was this it? The sun? Marlene couldn't believe her eyes. Was she really looking at what Skipper had described to be Earth's life energy? It was glorious. She felt herself being drawn to the orb as she stared at it, but shook her head. She needed to stay focused.

"So Skipper actually did return the Sun. What a fool," said Sarge.

"It's... It's amazing, Sarge," babbled Thurgo. He dropped the backpack and began waddling to the raised platform. Sarge held him back though, and he turned around. "It's greater than you ever described."

"I agree. Keep your mind clear, though. It contains enough power to make weaker penguins loose their minds. You're stronger than that, right?"

Thurgo nodded.

"Good. Now, before the fun really gets started, we need to do something about that entrance." He reproduced some of the firecrackers from his backpack and tossed them in Kowalski's direction. "I hope you know what you're doing, for your own sake."

Kowalski nodded, untwisting the explosive packets so that they were separate from each other. He proceeded to the one entrance to the antechamber, the entrance they had emerged from. Marlene followed, wanting to distance herself from the gaping birds. Private waddled close behind her.

"This will be perfect," he said, waddling up to the last arch before the hallway opened into the chamber.

"What trap are you going to set?" Marlene asked.

"This is plastic explosive. Unlike its black powder counterpart, it produces a bright and loud explosion. It is powerful, but if small amount is used, we can stun Skipper and the others without harming them. Hopefully long enough to restrain them."

Marlene was confused, but trusted in his expertise. He was unraveling one of the firecrackers and pulling a strange, putty-like material out of it. When he had collected most of it, he raveled the explosive back up, making sure the fuse was not harmed in his process. Then, he attached the explosive to the arch. He repeated the process with a few more of the firecrackers. When they were all placed, he stood back up. Using some extra fuse, he fed a lead just around the corner that he could pull.

"That should do it," he said proudly.

"You're sure this won't hurt them?" Marlene asked.

"Positive. I wouldn't want the others to get hurt. I just want to help Sarge get his... whatever that is and then get out." Kowalski returned.

"You have no idea what that thing is?" gasped Marlene.

"I know it is called the Sun, but more than that I am not sure of. Sarge told me that he once used it to power an entire military complex, but I find that highly illogical. It is possible that if it emits a high level of light, some electricity could be generated, but not nearly enough to power an entire structure such as he described."

"Do you know why he built and powered that structure?" Marlene asked.

"No, and that's where the problem lies. Skipper never told me anything about Sarge or the complex in Denmark," Kowalski responded.

"K'walski," Private piped in, "Sarge built that military base to take over the world! He wanted to hold the Sun there while the rest of the world suffered!"

Kowalski pinched between his eyes. "I find it very hard to believe that this artifact contains that sort of power, but I will trust you."

"Sarge is merely repeating his plans. You see that now, don't you?" Marlene said.

"Honestly, Marlene, I don't know what to think. All I know is that right now we need to capture Skipper and Manfredi. When that is done, Sarge will leave us alone. Maybe later we can regroup and plan what to do next. As long as all of us leave here with our lives, we've won."

"Is the trap ready to go?" asked Sarge. He was standing up on the raised platform with Thurgo and Gier at his sides. Gier was brandishing his rifle. Marlene knew he was getting ready to point it at them immediately after Sarge got the sun.

"Just a moment," called back Kowalski. He pretended to still be fiddling with the fuses.

"We aren't going to leave here with our lives, though, are we Marlene?" Private whimpered, suddenly. Marlene looked at him to see a terrified look on his face, like he had just come to some sad realization. When she didn't respond, he continued, "I remember Manfredi's story... about what happened to Johnson. Sarge doesn't let his enemies escape with their lives."

"We're not his enemies, though," Kowalski responded quickly. "I don't know who Johnson is, but I know Sarge killed him. Sarge isn't going to waste our time on us."

"After he gets the Sun, Kowalski, you don't know what's going to happen," countered Marlene. "At the very least he's going to go after Skipper. Even if we're not his enemies, he is."
"Our agreement is void if he does attempt to harm Skipper. If he decides to make that decision, it will be the last one he ever makes," said Kowalski darkly. Marlene got a slight confidence boost at his words; she knew he was still on their side. She just wished he wasn't still working so hard to preserve this agreement. Sarge couldn't be trusted!

"It must be ready by now," called Sarge. "I can't wait much longer!"

Kowalski and Private exchanged glances with Marlene. The otter couldn't help but see the fear on their faces. She was already shaking out of fear, herself.

It was about to happen. All of her training during the last two weeks had built up to this. She was about to be able to use the defensive moves, the kicks and punches, the flips. She was terrified, yes, but more confident than she was during the engagement on the dock back in New York. Private and Rico had shown her their tricks, and she knew she would need all of them.

All of the conversations she had with Manfredi had lead up to this point. Her growing hatred for the penguin that now stood across the chamber from her was a direct result of that. Manfredi was insane, yes, but he had been made that way by Sarge. Melded into the shell of a penguin he was by the murderer that stood across from her now. While Marlene would never possess the hatred that Manfredi felt towards him, she knew that she was more than willing to help Manfredi get his revenge.

Suddenly, her thoughts fell on Julien, the self-proclaimed lemur king she had fallen in love with. Their heartfelt exchange on the boat had been one that she will never forget. The lemur had a heart, and she wanted to protect that. He would protect her, as well. She knew he would.

As her confidence grew, she felt herself stand. Her hands balled into fists and the muscles in her arms were so tight that it almost hurt. Her vision began to grow blurry as she felt herself become less and less afraid. The fear that left her body became replaced by twice as much determination and confidence as she felt her heart rate quicken. She was ready for anything.

Suddenly, she was brought back to reality by Private pulling on her paw. Her vision cleared again as he spoke. She didn't catch what he was saying, and rubbed her eyes. Had she almost lost it?

"The trap is ready!" shouted Kowalski.

"Good. Perhaps for once I can take the Sun in peace, then," Sarge called back. He began reaching for the sun, ready to take it.

"Wait!" called Kowalski suddenly, waving his flippers. Sarge froze in place, spinning back around to look at the intellectual.

"What is it?"

"About that rope. We're still going to need some."

~Author's Note: Woo! Day 7, chapter 50. We should celebrate!

More seriously, however, the final showdown is happening soon. Real soon. If you can't tell, its going to begin in the next chapter. I'm so pumped to write it!