The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 51 – Ascendancy
Skipper's Log. 11:00 Hours on September the 30th.
"Our ride is finally leaving, thank goodness. I'm sick of being trapped here, to be honest, and I'm pretty sure Manfredi is as well. Johnson, on the other hand, has spent every waking hour in the library reading about this temple. He said he'd share what he found with us later. I hope he found some helpful information.
"Even though we were stuck here for almost two weeks, the time spent here was not wasted time. Johnson was the most productive, yes. He gained the knowledge we need to know how to fight this thing and what its capable of. Manfredi and I, on the other hand, had something else in mind.
"When we get back to Denmark, we have a hell of a fight ahead of us. Our only choice is to sneak back into the penguin base and take the Sun back directly from under Sarge's beak. Its not going to be easy. At least not as easy as it was last time. Last time Sarge was inviting us in, wanting us to come forward so he could humiliate us. This time he'll want nothing more than to keep us out. He's got his prize, and he won't be happy about us stealing it back.
"For that reason, we don't have many options. Manfredi and I have been analyzing the maps and blueprints again, looking for any secret route in. They show the power chamber—presumably where Sarge will store the sun—smack dab in the middle of the bunker. It's surrounded by penguin sleeping quarters. That means that as soon as we start shooting, we'll have three thousand penguins shooting back.
"Obviously we can't barrel down the front door. We're going to use the secret tunnel we constructed to sneak fish out of the freezer that Manfredi and I built when we first arrived. It'll get us closer to the Sun than if we walked in the front door, but still far from it. Either a miracle is going to happen and we'll get through undetected, or I'm going to have to get used to killing."
"Manfredi seems to have grown darker over the past few days. He was never a particularly cheerful guy, but now he's just... dark. He rarely speaks anymore and always has this look on his face like he's about to strangle the next penguin that looks at him funny.
"However, when I asked him if he was confident about what we were about to do, his facade dropped. He told me how scared he was. He knew it had to be done, but he wished that it wasn't him that was doing it. I tried to reassure him—I know he is strong-willed enough to get us through this. He's got to stop living in the past, though. His fiance and kid are dead, yes, but the rest of the world will be too if we can't stop Caspian.
"Johnson seems to realize that more than ever after doing his research. I don't know what he discovered, but I hope he'll share it with us soon. We've got two weeks of travel ahead of us to prepare for this mission, both mentally and physically.
"I'd say this is our last mission—our swan song—if it wasn't still our first."
"ROPE? ROPE FOR WHAT?" complained Sarge from across the chamber, seeming annoyed.
"These explosives aren't set to kill. However, they will stun Skipper and Manfredi long enough for us to tie them up," Kowalski explained.
Sarge shook his head, signaling Thurgo to dig some nylon rope out of their pack. Marlene noted that it wasn't very much, but it would be enough to bind Skipper and Manfredi. The large penguin heaved it across the chamber and it landed near the intellectual.
Kowalski picked up the rope and draped it over his shoulder. He then grabbed the fuse and tucked himself into an alcove just behind the corner.
"You two need to keep watch," he instructed. "Stand near the opening. They'll get less suspicious if they see you first. Then, when they get close enough, I'll shout, 'Now!" Shield your eyes and ears as best as you can and jump away, because I will then activate the explosion. Then we will need to bind Skipper and Manfredi as soon as possible.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Marlene argued, "You're telling me you're expecting us to tie up our own friend?"
"Precisely," nodded Kowalski solemnly.
"I'm not touching that rope," Marlene returned, making Kowalski Scowl. He looked at Private.
"I can't tie up the Skippah. It just seems so... wrong," he responded, waving his flippers awkwardly.
"Fine," shot the tall bird. "I'll have to do it myself."
"It doesn't have to be this way, Kowalski," urged Marlene. "We can signal Skipper of what Sarge is up to before he even gets in here. Then we can overpower them. It's going to be seven versus three. Think about it."
"They are armed," Kowalski argued.
"So? If we don't do anything, though, Sarge is going to get the Sun! And then he's probably just going to kill Skipper anyway!" The otter returned helplessly.
Kowalski averted his eyes to the explosive trap, then returned them to Marlene. "And if I don't do this, all of us could die. None of our lives are worth risking for this, Marlene."
"Thats weird," Marlene said, crossing her arms. "That's the dead opposite of what Skipper's been telling us for the last two weeks. He said that there's a chance we would get hurt or killed, yes, but he promised that he wouldn't let anything happen to any of us. At least he acknowledges that some things are worth sacrifices."
"Are you saying you'd die to stop Sarge, Marlene?"
In her mind Marlene shot back an immediate, "Yes!". In the real world, she felt the word get caught in her throat. She didn't know if she liked the idea of sacrificing herself because of Skipper and Manfredi's problems. Maybe she was being a fool.
"I didn't think so," continued Kowalski, lowering his brow darkly. "Now, get into position. They could be here any moment." He turned to Sarge and shouted, "You're good to go."
"Finally," smiled Sarge. He turned around and prepared to remove the Sun from its pedestal.
Private grabbed Marlene's paw and lead her into the tunnel opening. She glanced over to Kowalski, who nodded. She felt a slight fear rise inside her again. Sarge was about to take the Sun, and she was about to help trap her friend. Was this really better than dieing? The idea terrified her. She didn't know what to think as she heard quick footsteps coming from up the corridor.
"Issac, wait up!" Alice shouted. She saw the the crazy Salior several hundred feet in front of her, down the hallway. It was a miracle she had spotted him, and she didn't want to loose him again.
The man was moving fast, though. He obviously had not heard the redhead's call. Alice sprinted as fast as she could to try to keep up, Mr. Green bounding after her. The skinny sailor was faster, though, and she was loosing him.
"I'll get ye, ye stinkin' penguins!" He shouted madly.
"Issac, hold on!" Alice called again, to no avail.
As Alice continued, her heart pounding in her ears, she began to see an opening at the end of the passageway. It was a long way away from her yet, but she could see Issac approaching it. She spotted two specks of animals standing in the opening, as well. It was her otter and a penguin!
She tried to increase her speed as much as she could, but felt herself slow down slightly as her muscles argued. She wasn't used to this kind of exertion. She gathered her breath to call to Issac one more time. Right as she opened her mouth, however, a massive shock knocked the wind right out of her.
Marlene watched as Sarge removed the canister from the pedestal. It looked like he had struggled against some unseen force for a while, but with a grunt the container rolled off strange resting place and into the blind-eyed penguin's evil grasp.
What happened next caught her completely off guard. A shock wave rolled through the chamber, seeming to originate from the center of the room immediately after Sarge plucked the Sun from its holster. It was the most powerful thing Marlene had ever felt. Her breath was forced out of her lungs and she was knocked flat on the ground. Her vision was blurry from the sudden force the blow had given her, and she found it difficult to inhale.
Next, a powerful vibration began shaking the ground below her. Her vision briefly flashed to the ground giving out below Rico upon when they first entered, and she tried to dig her claws into the tile below her. She was sure the ground below her was about to give out, and managed to muster a meager scream. The entire place seemed like it was coming apart!
The vibration began to subside after what seemed like an eternity. Marlene shakily pulled herself off of the ground, glancing around her. Private and Kowalski had also been floored by the mysterious force, but Thurgo, Gier, and Sarge seemed unaffected. She glanced over to the leader penguin, grasping the canister in his hands. Inside the glowing orb was now greatly dimmed. It no longer produced the blinding, white light it had previously. Now it emitted a strange, redish-orange glow. It was hardly enough for Marlene to see anything.
Sarge raised the sun above his head in what Marlene could only describe as a sort of victory move. She saw his beak move in a sort of laughter, but her ears were ringing from the earthquake that had just rocked the place. At least she thought it was an earthquake.
As the penguin brought the glowing orb above his head, an icy cold win rushed into the room from the tunnel opening. It was like it was directly from outside, and Marlene immediately began to shiver. As the wind picked up in speed it extinguished the blue torches, row by row. After a moment they were all extinguished, bathing the hallway in darkness.
Finally, the wind subsided along with the vibration and the ringing in the otter's ears. All that was left now was the slightly glowing Sun and the icy cold air that now surrounded the otter. There also seemed to be some sparkly bits raining down from over Sarge. Marlene looked up and noticed that the rotating energy was now missing. Had it exploded, causing the earthquake?
She wrapped herself in her arms as her breath formed puffs of steam in front of her. It was very cold now, and she wished she had brought her clothes with her.
"What the hell was that?" Alice asked nobody in particular, pulling herself off of the ground.
"Seismic activity, it seems," responded Mr. Green, breathing heavily. The zookeeper offered him a hand to get up, and they stood. The businessman shined his flashlight down the hallway. It extended just far enough for them to see Issac take off towards the room again.
"Ye think a 'lil earthquake is gonna scare me?" he shouted.
"He's insane!" Alice shouted quietly, then turned to Andrew. "We've got to stop him. He'll blow everything for us if he charges in there!"
"There's no way we can catch up to him now," offered the stout man, pushing his glasses up his nose. "We should proceed more carefully. I'm surprised enough that the vibration of that earthquake didn't rupture our internal organs."
Alice scowled, but responded, "Fine." With that, they took off again, but this time at a slow jog.
In a short while they had gotten close enough for comfort. Mr. Green's flashlight shown on the two animals standing in the open, the otter's eyes reflecting brightly back at them. Moments later Issac crashed by, not even seeming to notice them. Alice was relieved; either he hadn't noticed them standing in the darkness or knew that those were her animals. She continued forward.
The otter seemed to notice her and began waving its arms. It seemed as though it was trying to gesture Alice to hide! Alice wasn't sure if she should heed the animal's warning or charge in. Her question was answered as Mr. Green yanked her behind one of the arches and flicked off his flashlight.
"What..." she said as the businessman clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Look," he instructed, pointing towards the antechamber.
Issac was charging full speed towards the strange altar in the middle of the room. He was muttering curse words under his breath, swinging his ice-pick threateningly. Alice could barely make the scene out through the strange glow that seemed to be coming from an item that one of the penguins was grasping. From this distance Alice couldn't make out what penguin it was, but she knew it was like nothing she had ever seen before.
She saw the penguin in the center lean over to one of his counterparts, possibly telling him something. Then, when Issac was almost on top of them, he jumped back and onto one of the higher ledges. Issac jumped up onto the first platform, tripping as he did so. He stumbled but continued anyway.
The penguin holding the canister's face was now illuminated by the glow. Alice could make out a blind eye, complete with his scarred face. It was the one that attacked her in the zoo! She gripped the handle of her net launcher tightly, resisting the urge to charge into the room. She twitched forward though, and Andrew tightened his grip around her hand to stop her from charging.
Right when she thought Issac was about to impale the bird on his ice pick, the bird on the platform twisted the canister open. It wasn't open very much, but it was enough. A pure white energy ball seemed to force itself out of the crack that the penguin had made, moving insanely fast towards Issac. The man expressed a look of horror as he was engulfed in the light entirely.
Alice gasped as she was pulled closer to the wall by Andrew. The light ball whipped by her face, continuing down the hallway behind her. She felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't even know what the light was, and yet it terrified her.
It was for good reason, though. The two peaked their heads out around the corner of the pillar. The light had blinded Alice, but she could still make out the scene in front of her. Her otter and the penguin standing in the opening of the tunnel had dodged the light and were now standing behind two more pillars. Her eyes scanned around, looking for Issac.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a a heap of clothes laying in the middle of the lower platform. The ice pick was nearby, resting on the black tile. The clothes had fallen in a neat pile, like Issac had vanished from inside them. Alice noticed small wisps of smoke emerging from the neck and arms of the shirt. It was smoking.
Issac Hull was no more. She exchanged a terrified glance with Andrew before returning her gaze to the antechamber. Thank goodness the businessman had stopped her from charging after the Sailor, otherwise that may very well have been her too.
"What the hell is that thing?" she thought out loud.
"Damn it," shouted Sarge. "I was hoping that I would not need to use the Sun so soon."
Marlene stood behind the pillar she had ducked behind, mouth agape.
The penguin turned to towards the entrance and smiled slightly, tucking the tightly recapped container under his flipper. "Now you see the power that this object possesses. And to think, it was only open for a few inches, and for a few seconds. After witnessing that silly human sacrifice himself in such a way, I hope you won't try to interfere either."
Kowalski, Private, and Marlene remained silent. She didn't even know who that man had been, but Marlene still found it hard to breathe. He had been there one moment, and now he was completely gone—vaporized into a puff of smoke.
Sarge smirked in their direction. "I trust you are still prepared to trap Skipper?"
"A-Affirmative," returned Kowalski shakily.
~Author's Note: Day 8 of 11. So it begins, muhahaha! The next few chapters will span the climax of the story - the final showdown between Sarge and Manfredi. Our heroes and our villains. Who's going to win? Will it end in tragedy? Seriously, I don't know.