Welcome to chapter 15. Like usual, *'s means notes, (P) means a perspective change, and italicized words means I'm quoting a character or reading. Let's read.

CHAPTER 15 – Game Night

For the next two days, we continued doing various missions around the zoo, such as cleaning drainage in habitats, feeding animals Alice forgot to feed, and making absolutely sure no one would be transferred into Marlene's habitat while she and Skipper were gone.

"It doesn't look like Alice is planning to transfer anyone into Marlene's habitat," Kowalski said. We were once again checking the computer in the office at night to make sure no transfers would happen. "That's a relief. I really don't want to affect them in any way," I replied.

"I do hope they're having fun, wherever they are," Private said, back at the HQ. "We could find out," Kowalski said. "What do you mean?" I asked him, curiously. "Since Skipper had disappeared after Blowhole Mind Jacked him, he put GPS chips into all of us, in case any of us would be Mind Jacked as well," Kowalski explained. "He didn't do that to me, right?" I asked, wondering of Skipper's intentions and how he could possibly do that.

"I don't think so. I could run a few tests to see if he did," Kowalski explained. "Ok. Please just be careful," I said. Kowalski tested many instruments on me, and, miraculously none of them affected me in any way. "So what are the results, Kowalski?" I asked, curiously. "I see no trace of any GPS chips anywhere, except for the one built into your phone," Kowalski replied. "That's a relief. But did he put one in Marlene as well as you guys?" I asked.

"I can't say for certain. If he didn't yet, he'll probably do it when he gets back, in order to protect her from anyone, in case she's threatened with a transfer or is abducted," Kowalski explained. "As long as he only uses it for that purpose, then that's good," I replied.

"So what do you normally do on Saturday nights?" I asked. "It's game night!" Private said gleefully. "As long as the game isn't Hot Potato, then I'd love to play," I said. * "Skipper's not here, which means we don't have to play that game," Kowalski explained. "I still don't understand how that's a game when it seems more like a training exercise," I said. "Neither do we, but at least it's a good training exercise," Private said.

"Since you're here, why don't we let you pick the game?" Kowalski suggested. "Really? Sweet. I'd say we should play video games, but we lack thumbs, so…" I said. "It certainly is disappointing Mother Nature did not gift penguins with opposable thumbs," Kowalski said.

"There's good and bad merits to both Penguins and humans, I guess. But that's one thing I'll like having again back home. What are some popular board games here?" I asked. "I know Marlene managed to get many when she organized the zoo's first game night, so we could look at some of those," Kowalski suggested. "That sounds like a good idea. Where did she put all those games?" I asked. "I believe she put them in her habitat," Kowalski replied.

"Well, let's go look and grab a few," I said. With that, we once again headed to Marlene's place to look for board games. It still felt a little odd waddling in and not seeing her, but at least both of them would be back soon. "Found them!" Private said. "Good job. So what games are here?" I asked.

"It looks like she's got Parcheesi, cards, jacks, and a game called Sorry," Private said. ** "Sorry? I swear, there's more similarities between our universes than I thought," I said. "So you've played it before?" Private asked. "I loved playing it as a kid. I haven't played it in awhile, but I still remember how to play," I said happily. "So the game is Sorry?" Kowalski asked. "Yep. Let's put the other games back before we go back," I said. After we cleaned up the habitat, we headed back.

"So what is the objective?" asked Kowalski. "You win if you can get all four of your pieces into the Home area. But when you pick a card, you need to follow the instructions of the card you get. If you get a Sorry card, specifically, you can replace any piece in your Start area with any piece of any opponent and the opponent's piece is sent back to their Start. "Sounds like fun!" Private said cheerfully.

With that, we got underway. We quickly got our first pieces out of the Start area and onto our board. We eventually got onto our 2nd and 3rd pieces throughout the game as well. Out of nowhere, Private drew a Sorry card. We all looked at him nervously, wondering whom he would pick.

"Sorry, Matthew," Private said as he replaced my third piece with his. "Darn. Good move, Private," I said. "Thank you," Private said. Eventually, the game ended and Private won. "Good game Private," I said. "Thanks. That was really fun. I hope we can get Skipper to play when they get back," Private said. "I'm sure Marlene will find a way to do that," I said, which made us all laugh.

"It still feels them strange without them here, though. The zoo doesn't feel complete without them," I said. "I miss them," Private said. "Don't worry, Private. I'm sure they miss us as well," Kowalski said. (P to Skipper and Marlene on a beach somewhere)

Marlene sighed and said, "I wish this could last forever." "Me, too, Marlene. Me, too," Skipper said. They then kissed. "I wonder how they're all doing back home. I sure do miss those guys," Marlene said. "I'm sure they're doing fine. I miss them as well," Skipper said. "It's almost as if our lives don't feel complete without them, even though we're finally married," Marlene said.

"I agree completely. Those guys are like a family to us," Skipper said. "Even our newest friend, Matthew?" Marlene asked. "Yes, even him. I'm sure without him, we would have been lost in that universe, possibly being separated from each other," Skipper said. "I sure wouldn't want to be away from my favorite Penguin," Marlene said, kissing Skipper again. "And I wouldn't want to be anywhere without my favorite Otter," Skipper said, kissing her back. They both then fell asleep on the beach next to each other. (P back to the zoo in two days)

Once again, it was another day without the couple. After a quick breakfast, we went to the zoo office to make sure no new otters were being transferred in. "Luckily, it seems there's still no transfer of any new otters," Kowalski said. "I'm glad for that. I still don't trust Alice," I said, with a slight smirk.

"At least she's a better zookeeper than X was. With him around, we could barely do anything without him foiling us and saying one-liners in the process," Kowalski said. *** "One-liners are never fun when they're used against you," I agreed.

Once again, we performed for the crowd and got our usual resupply of fish. "How many days until they come back, Kowalski?" Private asked. "Well, they left last Wednesday and today is Monday, so they should be back in two days' time," Kowalski replied. That brought a smile to our faces, knowing the happy couple would soon be returning home.

That's it for chapter 15. Please rate and review. Time for notes.

* I'm referencing "Kanga Management" where the Penguins accidentally blew up part of Leonard's habitat by playing Hot Potato.

** I intend no copyright infringement to Hasbro, who owns the rights to the game.

*** I'm referencing "The Officer X Factor" where X kept foiling the Penguins plans to get to the East River.