You guys are so lucky I'm impatient. :D

"Oof." Kowalski felt the icy snow hit his face. He laughed, brushing the snow off his beak, looking at his two children that were hiding behind a pile of snow, giggling. Kara snickered, a few feet away. Kowalski grinned and ducked down, sneaking up behind them. They stopped laughing when they peaked around, and didn't see him. Suddenly they squealed as Kowalski jumped out from behind the snow pile. He laughed, and was soon met with another snowball for his efforts. Kida giggled, and Kona laughed.

"Come on dad! Let's go out! Let's go fishing!" Kona said. Kowalski brushed the snow from his face and looked at his son.

"I- I don't know Kona…" he said quietly. "I haven't been fishing in… years." He said quietly. He hadn't touched the water since his run in with the leopard seal. Being the only penguin around there to survive an attack, they all understood. Kida and Kona had long forgotten that day though.

"Aw, come on, it'll be fine!" Kona pleaded. Kowalski looked up at Kara, who made her way next to him.

"You know… I think it's a good idea. I'll go too, that way you don't have to get in the water." She said quietly. Kowalski looked down to his children's pleading faces.

"Oh… Alright." He said giving in. Kida and Kona cheered, as the four made their way to the water.

Kowalski watched nervously as his family swam. They stayed off a few feet from the rest of the colony so Kowalski could keep an eye on them. Kowalski didn't like that… The odds were much higher that any predators would attack prey that was separated from the rest of the colony. He felt the eyes of the penguins in the water staring at him, but he ignored them all.

Watch his family.

Protect his family.

Suddenly Kowalski's blood ran cold, and he felt a dread so thick he nearly choked on it. Someone screamed. Kowalski's gaze shot to the rest of the colony, and his eyes widened in horror.

The odds…

This wasn't right, the odds of an Orca traveling so close to their colony were almost none, and yet there it was… Headed right at his family.

"NO!"

Kowalski launched himself into the water, swimming at speeds he would have never thought probable, calculating as he did so. He heard his family scream, hearing it as though it were so far away.

I'm too far, I'm not going to make it.

No, they only sound far because the sound waves are being slowed from the transition into water, from the air. Keep moving. Kowalski swallowed. There are three of them, I can't grab them all. Kowalski began to panic. Focus! Pick up your speed, increase your speed and the force with which you launch yourself from the water will be increased. All these thoughts occurred to him in less than seven seconds.

Kowalski swam even faster. He felt himself burst from the water and gave a final forced kick. Time seemed to freeze as Kowalski analyzed the situation. Velocity, speed, force. He saw the orca in mid strike. When hit at the right angle, going at the speed with which he would be going at the time of impact, he should be able to change the course of the orca's fall by forty degrees.

Enough to save their lives.

Time snapped back again, and Kowalski's breath was knocked from him by the impact. Kowalski immediately regained his composure, just in time to feel the orca snatch him up, and toss him in the air. Kowalski felt fear and panic well up as his mind flashed back three years ago, during the leopard seal attack.

"Daddy!" Kowalski was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kida scream. He grunted, twisting around, and kicking off the snout of the orca, then hitting the water. Hard.

Naturally, the orca followed. Kowalski groaned, bubbles rising up past his face. Next time, another quarter turn to prevent himself from hitting the water stomach first. He shook his head swiftly, and turned, his heart nearly skipping a beat. Kowalski front flipped through thewater, catching hold of the orca's dorsal fin as it whooshed past. The orca dove up into the air.

"Go!" Kowalski spluttered. "Go!"

Then it was chaos. The orca dove and swam, flipping sharply, trying to shake Kowalski off, but still he held on, one thought going through his head. Protect them.

Suddenly, the orca soared up into the air, flipping over with such animosity that Kowalski was flung off, then swatted by the orca's massive tail. Kowalski cracked his head off the ice as he slammed into the glacier. He groaned, struggling to get up, darkness eating at the corners of his eyes. He looked out into the water.

"Dad!" He heard Kona call. "Dad! Help Kida! Dad!" He screamed. Kowalski huffed, trying to get up, feeling the numbness spread across his limbs.

No, wait… I have… I have to…

Kowalski wiped his eyes again, the tears now freely falling. He had set his picture aside, so not to ruin it.

"I just- I just wasn't good enough. I passed out from the impact. When I woke up, Kida was gone, and… and Kona hated me for not saving her." Everyone stared, shocked.

"That must have been awful…" Marlene whispered. Kowalski shook his head.

"No. No, it wasn't awful. It wasn't awful because 'awful' doesn't cut it. There is no word… no words, than can describe that feeling. Nothing comes even remotely close. " He said. He looked down at his picture.

"Can you imagine… even for a moment, what it could possibly feel like… to lose your only daughter, to already feel like a failure, then to have your only son despise you for not saving her. What's more, to lose your wife, not a year later, and have your only son just hate you more…" He looked up at them.

"Yes, it's true… Before the end of the year, I'd lose Kara as well. I tried to save her, I really did… It's just… She came back from fishing one day, completely cover in a viscous black liquid… and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it off of her. It made her sick… and she just… she just died." Kowalski turned his head.

"Never have been good with women since then… Never been good with feelings period after Kona's fifth birthday. Anyway… when he was four, he had become obsessed with magic tricks. I… guess, it was because he was trying to find a way to bring back Kida and Kara…

I made the mistake of confronting him about it one day…"