Welcome to chapter 3! As usual *'s means there are notes at the bottom and (P) means perspective change from one character to another. Let's get reading shall we?

CHAPTER 3 – An Old Friend

(P to Marlene)

"Skipper!" I cried as I passed through the portal. As I heard him start to shout my name, the portal closed behind me! I was passing through a tunnel of some kind, which means Blowhole must've done something that Kowalski didn't do last time. Also, Blowhole stinks! He ruined what I thought was going to be the perfect day! I thought Skipper and the guys had finally defeated him, but I guess not. Suddenly, a portal appeared a little bit in front of me.

Not knowing where I was going to wind up scared me, and without the Penguins I was doubly scared. No one protected me as good as the Penguins. I didn't know if I would wind up as a pelt or be eaten! I was more scared than when I temporarily had lost my feral side and was scared of literally everything! *

I braced for going through the portal. Suddenly I did and I hit some very tall grass. Luckily, this time, I didn't land on my head, so I didn't black out. But I still was scared. I felt slightly relieved when Blowhole was nowhere in sight, but was still scared due to the lack of any Penguins! Without them, I couldn't go home or have anything to defend myself with other than my claws. "Calm down, Marlene. You will get through this," I said to myself. I slowed my breathing down and got calmer.

I looked around again to see if there was anything that could help me. I could tell I was in a human suburb, in front of a house with a porch and a driveway a few feet away next to the grass I was on. It looked familiar, but I couldn't quite put my paw on it. I suddenly heard what sounded like a car engine and panicked again for my safety, diving quickly for underneath one of the chairs on the porch. I nearly tore a hole in my dress, but luckily did not.

(P to Myself)

"It's been a few months since my adventure with the Penguins and Marlene," I thought to myself while driving. "That picture of Skipper and Marlene really perked the Skilene community back up. Many people had asked how I created such a photo. Of course, outside the realm of the Skilene fans, no one else knew of the photo. No one but me even knew of my adventure, not even the community," I continued thinking.

"I mean, what am I supposed to say to people, that I hung out with 5 animals from a TV show? They'd think I was crazy and that I'd need mental treatment," I continued thinking. ** I do wonder how Marlene and Skipper are doing, though. When they left, it seemed everything was excellent. I'd ask them how, but as of having no means to go to their universe or contact them, I'm left to just speculate."

As I was slowly driving down the street leading to mine, the same path Marlene and I had taken months earlier to the supermarket, I thought I saw a faint pink glow, which quickly faded. I couldn't see anything other than the glow, but my interest was already up. I didn't know if Kowalski sent them all here again or if they were here for another reason. I continued obeying the speed limit as I continued on my short drive, even with my interest piqued.

Driving down my street, I swore I saw a brown and white figure in a dress, but after I blinked rapidly, it was gone. I parked my car and decided to see if it was really Marlene or just my imagination. I walked onto the grass and just said aloud "Marlene? Are you here or am I imagining you guys again?" (P to Marlene)

I was still in my hiding spot when the car had parked in the driveway. It, too looked familiar, at least from my vantage point. But I wasn't too sure, so I stayed beneath the chair. Suddenly, a human walked over to the grass from where the car was parked. He also looked familiar. I still was unsure until I heard him say Marlene? Are you here or am I imagining you guys again? If he knew of us, then it was definitely Matthew from last time. I poked my head out and said "Matthew?" nervously.

I guess he had heard myself and he turned around. "Marlene? Hey, it really is you!" he said. I ran out from underneath the chair and sprinted towards him. I guess I underestimated my own strength because I accidentally tackled him, but he didn't seem to care. "Well, hello, Marlene," he said after he lifted his head up. "That's a beautiful dress you have," he continued. "Thanks. It's really nice to see you as well," I replied and hugged him. (P back to me)

"So what's the occasion?" I asked, after Marlene let go. "Skipper and I are about to be married," Marlene replied. "That's great! I was just wondering how you two were doing. How'd he propose?" I asked. "Oh it was beautiful. He set up candles in my cave and under the moonlight serenaded me with his Spanish guitar and gave me a bouquet of oysters on half shells spelling my name," Marlene answered. ***

"Aww, that's sweet. So where is he?" I asked. Suddenly, Marlene's cheerful expression fell fast. "That's the problem. I don't know. We were all at the wedding when I was walking down the aisle and Blowhole tried to capture me! Luckily I escaped, but I have no clue where the Penguins or Blowhole are," she answered.

I felt very guilty and sorry. "I'm so sorry, Marlene. It's my fault you were nearly kidnapped. If I hadn't helped you two out, none of this would have happened," I apologized. Suddenly Marlene also looked apologetic.

"It's alright, Matthew. It's not your fault Blowhole is evil. I'm sure even if we had never come here, we'd eventually have had the same problem either way. And even if we somehow wound up in this same position, I don't know what I'd do. At least I have a friend who can try and help me," Marlene said.

"I'm still sorry, Marlene, but you're right. I'm sure that Blowhole would have eventually detected the connection between you two and would have gone for it. Plus, if you had wound up here in the same way, I don't know what we'd do or if you would trust me. I'm glad you're my friend too," I said.

Suddenly my phone started buzzing a lot in my pocket. I took it out and I could see I was getting many notifications from social media and news apps. "What's going on?" Marlene asked, noticing I was staring at my phone. "I'm not sure. All these apps say something's going on in San Francisco. Want to come inside? You look like you could use a breather," I said. "Sure. Where's your family?" Marlene asked.

"Well, my parents are out of town for the week, my dog is at our friend's house, and my brother is also there. So I've got the house to myself for a number of days, which seems like it'll be really useful, since I don't exactly know how to explain to them that I know you," I said. **** Marlene chuckled. "That would be difficult. So what's going on in San Francisco?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I've just got to find the remote to the TV. Ah, here it is!" I said as I turned it on. Marlene and I both sat down on the couch facing the TV. I guess when I'd turned the TV off last, I had left it on Nick, and so the Penguins' show was on. "So that's the extent of how people know about us?" Marlene asked, speaking of herself and the Penguins. "Yes, Marlene. Now what channel's the news channel?" I asked myself. "Oh, right, it's that channel," I said. I flipped to that channel, wondering what was going on.

"That's right guys. This is a live feed from the ground here in San Francisco," the cameraman was saying. "There's some weird creature in a floating bubble up in the sky. We have no clue how it came here, yet it came from a portal or something just a few moments ago," the newscaster continued.

"Blowhole," Marlene and I both said. We muted the TV. "What could he be doing there?" Marlene asked. "I'm not sure. He doesn't yet look like he knows he's from TV, so I assume he's looking for you and the Penguins," I answered. "Why can't he just leave Skipper and I alone?" Marlene asked, while sobbing a bit.

"Please don't cry Marlene. I'm sure we can fix this. We just need to figure out how," I said, trying to comfort her. "How? We don't have the Penguins, we don't have a Stopwatch, and we don't even have that lab anymore," she continued. ***** "Well, I'm sure with your knowledge of the Penguins and Blowhole and my being human will allow us to accomplish something," I said, continuing to try and comfort Marlene. I think that worked, because she stopped crying.

"You're right. We can do this. Could you help me store my dress in a safe place? I don't want to take any chances with it," she said. "Sure Marlene," I replied. She carefully took off her dress and we carefully put it in a clean drawer with nothing else inside. "So what's your plan?" Marlene asked, very determined.

Poor Marlene with having to go through all of this. Curse that dolphin. At least she has an ally to help her now. Plus, we've both come to terms with the situation and I helped her worry less and stop crying. See you in chapter 4. Please rate and review this one in the interim. Time for notes.

* Reference to Littlefoot when Marlene's feral side was split from her and Marlene became afraid of everything.

** Seriously, would you be able to explain to people that you met The Penguins Of Madagascar and Marlene without them thinking you're crazy?

*** I'm repeating the story here, but that's so the character of myself knows what happened.

**** Easiest way for Marlene and I to interact without anyone raising any questions or interfering.

***** Poor Marlene. All she wants to do is marry Skipper and live their lives together. How dare Blowhole interfere!