The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 53 – Struggle

THE RIFLE CLATTERED TO THE GROUND.

Moments ago, Skipper had though he was a goner. Now, however, the rifle that had been pointed directly at him and the penguin that had been holding it were laying on the floor. Nearby, Private gracefully landed, breathing heavy. Skipper had never seen such a powerful kick from the small Penguin. Gier had been backed back a few dozen feet and seemed to be completely unconscious.

Skipper was glad, the small bird had acted, though. He knew Kowalski wouldn't have stopped the hammer from falling, sending the lead spiraling into his head. Private smiled slightly at his accomplishment before he was bludgeoned over the back of his own head by an enraged Thurgo. The small bird spun a bit before falling off of the raised platform. He hopped up immediately, but still looked dazed.

Meanwhile, Julien, Marlene, and Rico had hopped onto the platform and were now lined up across from Thurgo and Sarge. They all had angry looks on their faces. Skipper pulled against the ropes, knowing he should be up on that platform with them. It was no use, however; the ropes were far too tight. Suddenly, Manfredi elbowed him from behind.

Skipper craned his head to look at the robot-bird behind him. He saw Manfredi gesture to his knife, which was laying a short way away from the pair. Then, he put all his momentum into rocking them in that direction. Skipper got the cue and began throwing his own weight towards the knife. They scooted forward, if only a few inches.

"This place is about to turn into a battlefield!" exclaimed Andrew under his breath. He was peaking out from behind the pillar, wide-eyed with suspense.

Alice felt her own heart rate rise a bit as her birds, otter, and lemur lined up across from the evil penguins. They were about to fight—and she wasn't sure all of them would survive it.

"They need our help," she concluded. As she tried to move out from behind the pillar, Andrew forced her back. She hit the wall behind her as the businessman gave her a concerned look.

"You can't go charging in there!" he complained, "You'll get slaughtered just like Issac!"

"Then what's stopping my animals from meeting the same end?" she questioned him, lowering her brow angrily.

The man paused for a moment. "You're right," he said, "we need to do something. But what?"

Alice thought about the statement as Andrew released her and peaked back around the archway. She followed his gaze and noticed the two bound penguins sitting in the entrance of the antechamber, inching closer to a knife that lay not far from them. She gripped the handle of her net gun tighter as she prepared to help them.

Marlene looked at the two birds lined up across from her. She had never been so scared in her life. Sarge looked angry and Thurgo glared at her with what could only be blood lust. There was no other way, though. She knew it had to come to this. She prepared to defend herself as Thurgo took a step closer to her.

Surprisingly, Kowalski appeared, holding the large penguin back. "Stop, stop!" he shouted. Thurgo froze, looking at the intellectual. "Touching them means that I'll have no choice but to help defend them. They're still my old..."

Kowalski was interrupted by a powerful fist contacting with his face. Thurgo grunted as the intellectual released his grip. "I don't know Sarge. He whines a lot," he said, turning to his leader.

"They all do," he agreed, still clutching the Sun in his flippers. "Kill them all."

Marlene's heart skipped a beat at the statement. Kowalski grimaced from the floor.

"Aw, I quite liked Kowalski," laughed Thurgo.

Sarge turned to Gier, who was slowly picking himself off the black tile, and asked, "Are you alright?"
The small rock-hopper nodded. He hopped up immediately after, standing in formation next to Sarge. He didn't seem to bother with his rifle, but Marlene knew that he was more than capable without it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the glint of a pocket knife in his flipper—the same one that he had used to almost kill her.

Meanwhile, Private had recovered from Thurgo's powerful blow. He hopped up onto the platform behind Sarge, Thurgo, and Gier. They seemed to have forgotten about him entirely, and he quietly took advantage of the situation. Undetected, he landed a powerful kick to Sarge's backside, sending the Sun spiraling out of his flippers. It clinked on the ground, rolling a few feet away from him as he stumbled. Marlene took it as an opportunity to strike. The other animals agreed and they went forward to engage the enemies in front of them.

Splitting up, They took on different targets. Thurgo had spun around to engage Private, but was caught off guard when Rico landed a blow on the back of his head. Julien charged directly for Sarge, who though he had been kicked off balance, was prepared for the lemur. Marlene found herself across from the deranged rock-hopper, wondering where Kowalski was.

The penguin pushed forward quickly. Marlene hardly had time to think before he thrust the blade of the knife forward. Marlene jumped back quickly, distancing herself from the bird. She hadn't been prepared to fight against an armed opponent, and knew it would end badly.

"Almost got you," the redhead said, picking up the crooked dagger not far from Manfredi's grasp.

The robotic penguin looked up to her as she knelt down and began working on the ropes that bound the two penguins together. Manfredi didn't recognize the human, but from Skipper's thankful look, he knew that she was here to help them. He briefly wondered how she had followed them there.

The woman struggled to cut the ropes. They were thick and coated in plastic, so she could barely get them to break with such a flimsy dagger. Gradually they snapped though, one by one. She smiled as each one snapped. Eventually, Manfredi was able to get a flipper free. He used it to slide the rest of the ropes off of his body, and he was free.

He glanced up at the woman who was still holding his knife. She noticed him, and set it down near him. Then she took up her net gun and got ready to charge into the fray. Manfredi directed his attention towards the fight that was going on in the middle of the room. Skipper was already racing towards the scene, his flippers balled into tight fists.

Marlene was struggling. She thought it was incredible that she had avoided the rock-hopper's blade so far, but she had found no opportunity to disarm him or counterattack. She continued dodging his quick stabs and slashes, though she was getting pushed further and further back. Occasionally she glanced at how the others were doing, and she was not happy with what she saw.

Thurgo had somehow managed to overpower Private, and he was laying on the cold tile. He slowly began to pick himself up, but he seemed dazed. He must have been hit with another powerful blow and Marlene didn't know how much more the small bird could take. Now Thurgo was focusing all of energy on Rico. Rico was blocking all of the blows with ease, but like Marlene, was not able to counter at all. As Marlene glanced in his direction one more time, she witnessed him take a powerful chop to the stomach, followed with a bone crushing uppercut. The move forced him to cough up a few tools, and he fell to his knees in pain.

Julien, meanwhile, had not been a match for Sarge. The evil leader did not even attempt to pick up the sun, and instead it illuminated his twisted face from where it rested on the ground. Julien seemed like he had the upper hand in the beginning, but was now rolling on the ground in agony. Sarge had managed to hit him with a roundhouse, and sent him flying a few feet away. Julien coughed for air as he clutched his gut.

The question she had was, where was Kowalski through all of this? She couldn't see him anywhere, and they were getting destroyed. Her question was answered as the tall penguin launched himself from behind her, tackling Gier to the ground. The knife bounced out of his flipper. Gier managed to grab Kowalski and bounce the penguin off of himself and was back on his feet in a matter of seconds.

Marlene didn't waste any time, though, and charged forward to attack Sarge before he had a chance to finish off Julien. She tried to remember all of the training the penguins had given her as she swung her fists furiously. In her mind, she heard Private's voice telling her to duck, jump, and dodge when she saw the signs of certain attacks coming. Eventually she managed to stick the leader penguin directly in his face. She had put all of her might behind the punch, and she felt sharp pains travel up her arm as her paw contacted with the penguin's beak. Sarge spun around by the force as Marlene grabbed her arm, grunting from the pain. Julien had gotten back on his feet in the meantime and was now standing beside her, breathing heavily.

Thurgo had been busy fighting off Private again. The small bird was determined, and with a shrill cry, hopped from the higher platform onto the larger penguin's back. Then, using his flippers to block the penguin's eyes, he held on for dear life as Thurgo tried to yank him off. Rico, though he was still struggling to regain his breath, had found time to pick up the hammer he had regurgitated. Using Private's distraction he cracked Thurgo across the side of his face with it. Private let go of the bird at that time, and rolled safely when he hit the ground. The large bird didn't fall, but clutched his beak, grunting in agony. Rico smiled, grasping the handle of the hammer harder.

Sarge was quickly approaching Marlene and Julien again. Marlene thought for sure that her paw was broken from the force she had applied to the punch, but Sarge did not seem phased. He smiled slightly before charging quickly at the otter. Julien stepped in front of her just in time to accept the business end of his webbed foot. Marlene heard a sickening sound of what she thought was crunching bone as Julien was sent spinning several feet to the left. He didn't move after he crashed into the ground—didn't even twitch.

"No!" cried Marlene, hoping that he was alright. When he didn't move, she tried to race to him.

Gier had other plans for her, though. He he had landed a chop on Kowalski hard enough to get him to gasp for breath as he retook his pocket knife. Marlene gasped as she felt his flippers slide under her arms and around her neck. The next thing she felt was the icy cold kiss of the knife against her windpipe.

This was it, she thought. This time, Gier didn't have to wait for a signal. As soon as he found the strength, he was going to slide the cold steel right across her soft flesh. Then, her life-giving blood would spill onto the tile and she would be no more. Her eyes briefly flashed to Julien, unconscious on the floor. Or maybe he was even dead. Dead defending her. She felt adrenaline pour into her veins suddenly, and her breathing became very choppy.

It wasn't going to end here. Not now. Julien wasn't going to sacrifice himself for her. Crying out in fear and rage suddenly, she forced her head back with all of her might. It crashed into Gier's skull, and she felt his grip lighten, the knife no longer in a threatening position. Then, using her new position as leverage, she forced her elbow up into the rock-hopper's diaphragm. Just like Rico had showed her.

The penguin stumbled back, coughing. Marlene felt a new feeling race though her arms and legs as she felt empowered by forcing the death-bringing bird off of herself. It was a familiar feeling, one that she would normally be terrified of. Now, however, she let her confidence take over her body as her vision faded into nothingness.

She ran her tongue over her teeth before she charged at Sarge.

Skipper had finally reached the group with Manfredi. Alice was nearby, he knew, but she was staying out of sight. He knew she was probably afraid of the Sun, but was glad to have her along. He jumped onto the platform, scanning around.

His eyes fell onto Marlene, who was pummeling Sarge. The penguin moved as fast as he could to block all of her blows, claws, and bites. She was blisteringly fast, though, and from what Skipper could tell, extremely powerful. By her savage cries and grunts as she swung, Skipper knew she had lost it. Her eyes were glazed over in fury and her muscles seemed to have increased in size. Skipper didn't know what had set her off now, of all times, but he was happy she was forcing Sarge back.

He redirected his attention at Thurgo, who now had a massive split down the center of his beak. He used his flipper to realign the bottom half with a sickening crunch. Looking madder than ever, he charged at Rico. Rico was unprepared for the sudden action, and raised his flippers above his head in defense. Skipper was already there, though, and managed to kick the large penguin off balance before his blow could reach the weapons specialist.

Thurgo stumbled back and then tripped over his backpack. Skipper grimaced as he smiled slightly, digging through it as fast as he could. He produced the small, black device Skipper had seen on the dock. The tazor! It clicked as he pressed the trigger, electricity jumping between the two diodes.

Rico didn't notice his new weapon, though, and tried to swing the hammer again. He swung high, though and Thurgo ducked. He spun out from underneath the large bird's attack. Using the moment, he jabbed the tazor directly up into Rico's gut. Rico froze, looking terrified. As soon as he did that, though, he fell into a great seizure as electricity surged through his flippers and feet. After a few seconds he collapsed. His eyes rolled up into his head as he fell completely still.

"No!" shouted Skipper, charging for Thurgo.

The penguin was already prepared for him, though, and had readied the tazor for another jab. Skipper saw the move coming and kicked himself forward off of his front foot, front flipping over the sparking electricity. Thurgo looked surprised as Skipper's foot plowed directly into his chest, knocking him back a few feet. The flat-headed penguin landed on the ground, rolling several feet away.

Manfredi had raced towards Sarge, grasping the the handle of his dagger tightly in his robotic flipper. He was so close to his target now, only a few feet away. Marlene was obliterating the bird, though, and he expressed slight fear as the enraged otter slammed her paw across his face. He stumbled backwards and looked up again just in time to receive a roundhouse kick from the otter, toppling him entirely.

Manfredi knew this was his chance. Sarge was laying on the ground, dazed. He was weakened by Marlene, and Manfredi could see several small gashes bleeding on his flippers and face from Marlene's claws and teeth. He was dazed, but was already trying to push himself onto his feet again. Manfredi wasted no time and jumped on top of the penguin, using his body mass to force him to the ground again.

Sarge was surprised for a moment as he Manfredi glared down at him. His face was in the shadow of the light from the Sun, and only the glow from Manfredi's red eye illuminated it. The robotic-penguin raised his dagger high into the air above the penguin. He was ready to crash it down into the maniacal penguin's heart. He had been ready for the last two years. It was finally happening, though. Manfredi was about to end all of his pain.

Suddenly, Sarge let out a hoarse chuckle that turned into a deep laugh. Manfredi found himself unable to force the dagger down, and merely left it hanging in the air over the penguin's chest. Why was the bird laughing? Sarge's beak turned into a wide smile.

"You're really determined, you know that, Manfredi?" He said, before chuckling again. "You've dedicated your entirely life for the last two years to hunt me down and kill me. And here you are, about to do it."

Manfredi furrowed his brow. For the last two years he had dreamed every night about crashing the dagger through the bird's chest, but now his words enveloped the cyborg.

"There's something tragic about all of this, though. Killing me won't accomplish a single thing. It's not going to bring back Sarah or your kid. They'll still be dead. So will Johnson."

Manfredi found it hard to breathe suddenly. His breaths came short and choppily. The evil bird's words rang true. Manfredi had merely hoped that killing Caspian, gaining revenge on the one that took everything from him, one make up for the choices he had made in the past. Manfredi felt himself unsure for a short while, but it was all Sarge needed.

Using Manfredi's confusion, he flipped the robotic-penguin off of himself. Through the move, and fluently, he wrenched the dagger out of the penguin's flipper. Manfredi fell face first into the tile, unsure of what had just happened. He was dazed as Marlene charged Sarge again. However, this time Sarge was armed.

Skipper disengaged from Thurgo after what had been an intense exchange of blows. Skipper felt knots form where he had received the bird's powerful punches, but knew he had done an equal amount of damage.

The important thing now was that the tazor laid on the ground some distance from the fight. Skipper had managed to slap it out of the larger penguin's flipper, but in the act Thurgo had managed to wrench Skipper's flipper, and it was now intensely painful to move. He'd have to do without it, he though, as Thurgo charged towards him again.

Suddenly, the large penguin was knocked to the ground as Private caught him off guard. Taking advantage of the higher platform, he had hit the large penguin with a powerful flying kick, and Thurgo toppled. Private was on top of him in a heartbeat, pummeling his face with chops and punches.

Skipper heard a click from behind him suddenly, and turned around just in time to see Gier pull the trigger. He had completely forgotten about the rock-hopper, and was just able to duck underneath the lead slug that whizzed by his head. He grunted in pain as he landed on his disabled flipper. The bullet ricocheted off the tile behind Skipper, thankfully missing Private.

Gier wasn't done, though. He pushed another bullet into the chamber and got ready to fire again. Behind him, Skipper saw Kowalski get ready to pounce. The tall bird landed on the rock-hopper moments before he could line up his shot again, and the next bullet bounced off the tile right in front of Skipper's face. Kowalski wasted no time and began landing hits on Gier's face and body while he was down, in much the same fashion Private was.

Skipper thought they had the upper hand for a moment until he heard a shrill cry from his right. He whipped around and saw Marlene on her knees, grasping her arm. Scarlet liquid forced its way out from underneath her paw as Skipper saw Manfredi's crooked dagger Sarge's flipper. Marlene's eyes were no longer glazed over, and Skipper knew she was no longer in her crazed state.

He lurched forward as he saw Sarge prepare to strike her again with the knife. The leader penguin knew that he was lucky to knick Marlene with the switchblade and this time the blow was meant to kill. He lunged forward with all of his might, but knew he wouldn't get there in time. That was until a heavy net landed on top of Sarge. In the distance Skipper saw Alice shoot her fist into the air, cheering.

Manfredi was left in a daze, face down on the tile. It wasn't until Private landed near him, thrown off of Thurgo, that he looked up. Private's face was bloodied and his feathers were ruffled. He looked back at the robotic penguin, expressing anger.

"What are you doing? We need you, Manfredi!" he shouted, pushing himself up and charging back towards Thurgo who was forcing Kowalski off of Gier.

Manfredi pushed himself up onto his feet again and glanced around him. Maybe killing Sarge wasn't going to bring back Sarah. Maybe it wasn't going to bring back Johnson. Maybe it wouldn't fix any of Manfredi's sins. He knew however, stopping Sarch and his henchmen would prevent them from hurting any more of the animals around him. He charged after Private, ready to help defend Kowalski from Thurgo and Gier.

Marlene blinked a few times. She brought her paw closer to her eyes and gasped as she saw the blood that was soaking into her fur. The pain had not quite hit her yet, and she wasn't sure where she had been cut. All she knew was that Sarge was now trapped under a net and was furiously trying to cut his way out of it. She was thankful for it, as she was sure Sarge would have ended her if he had any opportunity.

She felt something begin dragging her away from the trapped Sarge.

"Skipper?" she asked as she looked up.

"I've got you, Marlene," said Julien, though his voice sounded distorted. Marlene was surprised to see his face when she looked up. His snout was crooked now, obviously broken from Sarge's kick.

"You're alive!" she said, relieved.

"Yes," Julien mumbled. Marlene grimaced as blood dripped out of his mouth and down his chest as he spoke. "We are to be getting out of here. C'mon!"

He tried to force Marlene to her feet. Marlene struggled with her arm now slashed open, but she managed to stand. She suddenly felt all of the burning welts that lined her body from where Sarge had struck her. She turned to the lemur. His looked pale with fear as blood slowly dripped out of his nose.

"I'm not going anywhere," Marlene argued, suddenly.

"We are going to be killed!" shouted Julien, trying to pull her away.

"And if we don't keep fighting, Private, Skipper, Rico, and Manfredi will too!" Marlene shouted, throwing the lemur's arms off.

"Marlene, please," begged Julien, trying to find a way to get her to run away with him.

"No!" Marlene shouted.

Julien expressed a terrified look as he pushed Marlene's shoulders, forcing her to the ground. Marlene gasped in horror as the hammer clobbered him across his already broken snout. He fell in much the same way as he had before, not moving. Marlene was horrified—there was little chance he could have survived two massive cranial blows like that.

Marlene turned to see Thurgo laughing. His dislocated beak clicked oddly as he did so. Gier was also smiling, crossing his flippers. Near him, Kowalski and Skipper were laying on the ground. They were moving, but only sightly. She heard Kowalski emit a low groan. Marlene could only assume that Thurgo managed to land a few hits on them with the hammer.

Manfredi charged full force at Thurgo, landing on top of him. He found all of the strength in his flippers and smashed the bird's head into the hard tile. He smiled slightly as Thurgo's eyes rolled up into his head. He was either unconscious or dead. Manfredi had to make sure he was dead, though. He couldn't risk the bird taking up a weapon striking the others again.

Thurgo's cracked beak whistled slightly as he emitted a low gurgling noise. Manfredi wasn't done, though. He quickly smashed the bird's head into the tiles again. They shattered underneath the birds head, and he witnessed as blood began to pour out of the bird's broken beak.

Manfredi had killed Thurgo. Manfredi felt a slight ping of regret as he realized Thurgo was only following Sarge's orders. He had been brainwashed by the psychotic penguin. He had been like any one of those three thousand that made up the Penguin Army. He had been like Johnson—like himself.

Manfredi had no time to sulk, however, as he was knocked sideways by Private. The small bird had engaged the rock-hopper, and had been tossed sideways into Manfredi. Manfredi lifted himself up, pulling Private up with him. He glanced down at the small penguin, his face was screwed up with determination. He was breathing heavily and Manfredi could tell he was exhausted.

Gier went for his rifle, but Skipper found the strength to kick it away. Manfredi bolted towards the small rock-hopper, causing him to retreat back to his leader. The two stood across the platform from Manfredi and Private. Oddly enough, neither of them raised their flippers to continue fighting.

Skipper's head was pounding and his vision was blurry as he tried to wipe the water-filled eyes. The hammer had knocked him fully unconscious for a few moments, but now he was back. From what he could tell he had been struck somewhere across the back of his head, but he wasn't sure. His head was spinning.

He tried to lift himself up off of the tiles, but his weakened flipper gave out and he fell back down. Instead, he rolled on his back. Next to him was Kowalski. His chest rose and fell heavily with his breath, but other than that he seemed to be entirely unconscious. Over him Skipper saw Manfredi and Private side-by-side. Across from them, Sarge and Gier were lined up. Sarge tossed the bloodied knife gently back and forth between his flippers. Between them was the Sun, casting its strange orange glow. It gave the four penguins in the middle of the room elongated shadows, making them look like four giants that were squaring off.

Skipper glanced around the room. Julien was laying on the tile, unmoving. Blood poured out of his mouth and onto the floor. Marlene was over him, clutching her arm. Her left eye had swollen up, and looked like it was almost completely closed. Rico was still laying where the tazor had dropped him. He hadn't moved an inch, and Skipper feared that he hadn't survived the massive shock. He saw Alice move closer, crouched behind the edge of the raised platform.

His eyes fell on Thurgo. It was a gruesome sight. The Penguin's beak was mangled, and his head was embedded a few inches into the tile below him. A pool of scarlet blood had begun to form underneath him, and Skipper knew that he was dead. Manfredi had killed him.

All that was left were the four penguins standing across from each other now. Private and Manfredi's eyes darted between Sarge and Gier. Sarge and Geir's eyes darted between the other two penguins and the Sun. Skipper struggled to pull himself up again, but found himself too weak.

Suddenly, Sarge began clapping. It was a very slow, very insulting gesture. "Very good," he began.

~Author's Note: Day 10. Only one day left 'till my marathon is over, can you believe it?

Hope you're enjoying all of the action. I know I am. And don't worry, the fighting will be mostly over by tomorrow. I'll be uploading the entire resolution over the course of March, though.