Authors Note: Finally, chapter two of this! Leave a review! The review button won't bite! ...Although Rico might, if he had some fake teeth that is. =/

~Natty

Habits Die.

~PoM~

"So he's going to be okay right?" Alice pointed. "Because we can't really afford that many long term injuries on any of the animals. Kind of on a budget here."

The doctor chuckled, readjusting his rubber gloves on his hands, bring them back around the penguin's body to examine its stomach. "He should be fine, Alice. There is no visible long term damage I can see."

Alice nodded that she was following. "So what, is there any invisible damage we should be worried about?"

Inside one of three separate cages, the tallest penguin, Kowalski, rolled his eyes at the notion. He scoffed. Invisible injuries, pfft! How did this woman graduate grade school?

Beside the analyst, in the second cage was Private who took his gaze from the working doctor to Kowalski when he heard the tall penguin scoff in ridicule.

"Psst, Rico!" Private whispered to his left.

"Huh?" The penguin in question turned at his name being called. Rico turned from staring ahead to the private in the cage to his right. "Wha oo wan?"

"Why's K'walski glaring at Alice for?" asked Private.

Rico looked to his farther left, past Private's cage and to Kowalski's. The analyst was casting the zookeeper a few dirty looks. The weapons expert looked between Kowalski and the bored looking zookeeper.

Rico shrugged. "Ionno"

"Hm…" Private hummed, turning his head back to look forward again. "At least Skippah's taking the doctor visit well. I'm glad he's alright now. He has a few bumps and bruises but he's right as rain, wouldn't you say so?"

Rico nodded. "Yup."

Private laughed. "Skippah was ready to take that Officah X all by himself in his condition. It was lucky Alice came when she did. Things would have been so much worse if she hadn't of come."

"Uh huh…" The weapons expert rolled his eyes at the young soldier's rambling.

"That's what I love most about Skippah. He nevah stops trying, even when it seems impossibly hopeless, he still pulls through one way or anothah! That's our Skippah."

"Uhm, Pri'ate?" Rico got the small penguin's attention.

"Yes, Rico?"

"Shuh uhp."

"Oh…" Private said disappointed. "Alright…"

The doctor squeezed around the injured penguin's middle, earning a wince from the bird. "Mm-hm, yes, just as I've suspected. There has been a reasonable amount of pressure on the rib area but none are broken or appear to be cracked. We'll have to do a quick x-ray just to make sure. Other than that this penguin is right as rain and in perfectly functioning health."

Skipper smiled at that. Good, so he'd be back in action sooner than he thought. He didn't even have to take a break actually. He had no serious injuries, plus he liked to push himself when he was in pain as his own form of personal training to himself. The more pain he could learn to take, the more it'd help him last longer in fights or zoo overlords forbid, if he was ever tortured for some kind of information. He'd like to see anyone TRY to break him.

"Good!" Alice sighed in frustrated relief.

The doctor carried the penguin over to the cages, placing him in the second cage with the smallest penguin. He smiled as the two shared an embrace. He chose for these two to be in the same cage for that specific reason. They were the two smallest penguins and the flat headed penguin was always closest to the smallest one. He had guessed that the penguins were father and son but that was just a simple theory. Perhaps the two being in the same cage would benefit the health of the penguin patient.

However, normally each animal had its own cage. Somehow the fourth penguin cage had gone missing from the inventory, and it was the oddest thing that that was the only thing stolen from the veterinary office, that and the placed smelled vaguely like fish after the small break-in. The doctor then laughed at his coworker's outburst. "You do not seem very relieved, Alice."

"That's because I'm not! This is the fourth time this guy has barged in here and done something like this! There just is no stopping this guy! He won't stay away!"

"Have you contacted the authorities?"

"That's the thing!" Alice said. "The guy is some sort of authority figure. The only time he ever backs off is when I ask where his badge is."

"The man doesn't have a badge?"

"Nope, but he wears a cop's uniform and has all the police stuff. You know, handcuff's, baton, mace and all that. But no badge! I wish he'd knock it off!"

"Have you tried asking nicely?"

Alice scoffed. "Like that would ever work!"

"You haven't tried, how do you know?"

"He targets these penguins on purpose and I don't know why! He's insane probably!"

"Hm…Well then perhaps you should call the authorities." The doctor advised, throwing out his rubber gloves in a trash bin and putting on a new pair. "Press charges for trespassing or for endangering the public, something so he won't come back and do this all again."

"You really think I should?" Alice hopped down from the counter she was sitting on. "I don't really want to cause anything I can't handle."

"Well, you've said it yourself, he is not going to stop on his own. Sometimes things require a bit of a push to help get the motion going. A domino cannot cause an effect with only one domino, correct?"

"I guess…" Alice nodded, sort of getting the metaphor. "But what about the…" The zookeeper trailed on into her doubt.

Meanwhile, Private had his flippers wrapped around his leader, nuzzling him with affection. "I'm so glad you're alright, Skippah. But please don't evah do something like that again. You scared my daylights out, you did."

"I promise, Private." Skipper lied. He'd do anything to protect the ones he cared for, even if they couldn't understand his actions.

"Oo 'kay?" Rico asked in the cage to the left of them, their cage being in the middle and Kowalski's being in the farthest cage right.

"You heard the doctor, Rico. I'm right as rain and there isn't much to it." The leader freed them from worry. He wasn't even in that much pain anyway.

"I'm glad you'll make a full recovery, Skipper." Kowalski added in respectfully.

Skipper nodded but he frowned at the analyst in doubt. "Kowalski-" he started but never got to finish because the doctor reached into the cage and pulled out Private.

"I just need to do some checking up on the other three penguins, just to make sure they weren't harmed during this event as well." The doctor informed and began checking over the smallest penguin for injuries. This repeated with the last two penguins, a check-up for each of them, thankfully no needles were used and no penguins were harmed by its unforgiving point and before they knew they were all in one cage headed back to their habitat under Alice's arm.

"Thanks again, Doc!" She called, pushing open the exit back to the zoo paths. "And I thought about what you said, and you know what? I'm pressing charges! I'd like to see that guy dare to show his face back here again!"

"You are most welcome." The doctor waved, calling after her. "And you keep an eye on those four little penguins, you hear?" He chuckled once more but this time to himself, sighing. "Those penguins, they are so very cute and cuddly…"

~PoM~

Lemur Habitat/Otter Habitat/Chimp Habitat/Penguin Habitat. (All Habitats Visible)

"So, eh, be telling me again, what exactly happened dis morning dat I was supposedly present for?" King Julien XIII asked.

Maurice groaned. "Man, you were there! You SAW what happened!"

"I saw it!" Mort proclaimed, and he pouted. "But I did not like it!"

King Julien XIII nodded. "Right…but what happened?"

"That Officer X guy came and attacked the penguins. The dude almost killed Skipper and they're all at the doctor right now." Maurice told him.

"Oh yeah, dat! I remember dat happening!" King Julien XIII recalled, but then lost it again. "Eh, nope, it is gone again…. what are we waiting for, again, Maurice?"

Maurice sighed and rolled his eyes. "Forget it, Julien."

"Oh okay den. Forgetting is easy, its da remembering part dat really knows how to stump de royal melon!"

In Marlene's habitat, she sighed as she lay down on her habitat wall. She was tired of being tired of waiting, huh, that was a new one for her. "I hope they're okay. They've been in that office for hours now. I hope their injuries aren't too serious."

To the left in the Chimp Habitat, Phil and Mason were present and in the conversation as well. It was a close community and they didn't need to be in the same habitat to talk to one another.

The zoo had been closed early due to the crazed Officer X's appearance earlier today. The guests even had to evacuate the zoo for two mandatory reasons: One for a possibly dangerous and armed trespasser and two for escape animals. In this case it being the four penguins, while they weren't dangerous animals, the zoo was mainly evacuated for Officer X and so the people wouldn't accidentally step on one of the penguins or trample them in the midst of the chaos.

Phil started signing to Mason who translated.

"Phil says that they should be fine. The only one that could possibly be the most injured is Skipper and second being Kowalski being kicked into the wall and such. The worst case could be an overnight stay in the doctor's clinic, nothing worse." Mason translated, reassuring the other animals.

"Well that's a relief." Marlene sighed. "Thanks you guys."

Mason nodded. "It is no problem at all, my dear."

King Julien XIII's eyes widened and he pointed . "OH NO! It is de freaky zookeeper lady! Be hiding everyone!" The self-proclaimed king cried and picked up Mort, hiding behind him and clenching his royal eyes shut.

"Man, we only need to do that if we're OUT of our habitats, which we're not. There's no problem, but there will be if you're hiding in your own habitat and she doesn't SEE you in your habitat." Maurice explained.

"Oh yeah, but look! De freaky zookeeper lady has brought back de silly penguins! What a bummer to what is supposed to be my un-bummery plan! I was supposed to get all de penguin's stuffity stuff after dhey went away and never came back!"

"I'll help you get the penguin's stuff, King Julien!" Mort promised.

The aye-aye lemur, the otter, the two chimps and even the self-absorbed king had a smile on, happy to see the penguin's being returned safely to their habitat.

"Alright, back to your habitat you go." Alice said, kicking the plank in place and walking across it with the cage. She placed the cage down, let out the four penguins and left with the plank whistling. Marlene took this moment to reach up to the makeshift zip line the penguins had made for her for easier access to their habitat in emergencies. She grabbed onto the clothes hangar and zip lined down into their habitat where Skipper caught her with ease by the waist. He put her down on the island.

"Hello doll-face, nice of you to drop in." Skipper greeted.

"Hi Marlene!" Private waved.

"Oh my gosh, are you guys okay? I thought you guys were seriously hurt!" Marlene exclaimed frantically, waving her arms around. "You know, I thought that Officer- X guy! You know, seriously like-"

"Marlene, Marlene, at ease. We can handle anything, you know that." Skipper shook his head.

The otter nodded, but not all that convinced. She knew what the penguins said but it pained her to say that she didn't always believe them. Everything they did was dangerous and just downright well, yeah, she's gonna go with psychotic! "Yeah, but that officer, you know, he's kinda big…and scary…and big…"

Kowalski chuckled. "Oh Marlene, Officer X is nothing short of a glorified bouncer at a country club. Underpaid and overly lame. Nothing at all we can't take care of."

Private blinked. "Is that why you were crying for Alice then?"

The analyst scowled. "I was not crying for one, and it did work didn't it? If Alice hadn't of gotten there in time, we all would have been-"

"Kowalski…" Skipper sighed.

"Options, Skipper?"

"No, not that. I just wanted to say I was truly sorry for doubting your strategies before."

"Sir-"

"No, let me finish." The leader ordered and the analyst nodded, letting his commander continue his apology. "I never should have doubted my own analyst. You've never failed me before, so why would you start now? If it wasn't for you, well, I don't think I'd be standing here right now." Skipper shrugged. "I'm sorry, Kowalski."

The analyst was too stunned for words. "Wow, ah, apology accepted, Skipper…" he watched his leader smile and he returned it. "Always..."