Dr. S was finally able to have a decent meal, relishing the taste of the second fossa he had killed. Afterwards, he was found basking in a warm patch of sun, belly bugling, eyes squeezed shut, with the dopiest grin on his face. It was also there that he took a well deserved nap.
Over the following couple days, life was able to somewhat settle down for the lemur kingdom. Well, settle down as in there wasn't constant destruction and panic day in and day out. Dr. S and Nurse Phantom finished moving into the medical hut, which became the new official hospital. Citizens were slowly able to start rebuilding their homes without fear of the structures being destroyed immediately upon being finished, that having been the case for lemurs like Willie. And the New Yorkers were finally able to start collaboration with Timo in designing and building a way that would take them homeward bound. So things were still busy, just in a much more preferable way.
King Julien, Maurice, and Mort helped out in the construction efforts while simultaneously trying to find a way to change the Dr. S and Clover contract. All three racked their brains trying to come up with an alternative solution in case Dr. S failed to preform his new duties but they didn't have much luck. Everything they came up with posed a risk of endangering lemur's lives and putting the citizens of the kingdom through yet more pain. Also, none of the trio's ideas would be nearly as attractive to said citizens then an opportunity to punish Clover for all the pain she had helped cause.
One day, King Julien, Maurice, and Mort were all in the throne room, taking a break from helping the kingdom and trying to help Clover. Maurice was curled up in a seat rereading one of his books while King Julien was on his throne rereading one of the numerous books Mort had written about him while Mort himself was busy brushing the king's tail. Then the curtains separating first class and coach parted. Heads turned, Mort let out a sharp gasp, for standing before them was...
"Clover...?" King Julien hopped down from his seat, his breath taken away at the sight of Clover standing in the doorway. Clover, who looked just as surprised at the sight of her friends as they were at seeing her. She then let out a cry, rushing over and scooping Mort up in her arms. She then grabbed Maurice and Julien, pulling them all close in a tender embrace.
"Thank the gods, you boys are okay." Clover said, her voice raspy, overcome with relief. Then she added soft and low. "You're okay.", giving her friends a squeeze.
Her touch sent warmth spreading throughout King Julien's body and he melted into her embrace, letting out a disbelieving breath, overcome with this unexpected and wonderful turn of events. He wanted to say something, anything to his dear friend but found words evading him. "You came back..." He settled on, voice soft in thrilled disbelief. He would have gladly returned the hug if Clover didn't have his arms pinned against his sides, Maurice and Mort feeling the same way.
"Of course I came back." Clover pulled away, breaking apart the hug. "When I heard about what's been happening around here, I just had to."
"Wait, you know what's been going on around here?" Maurice asked.
Clover nodded. "I heard the fossa started attacking the kingdom again and you lot have been trying to stop them with robots and-and walls but everything keeps going horribly wrong and the kingdom has been plunged into constant chaos and destruction and everything keeps exploding and-and catching on fire and and…!" Clover was working herself into a frenzy.
"Whoa, whoa there!" King Julien held up his paws in a stopping motion. "Easy, it's okay. Yes, things were, I'm saying were...really bad for a while there but they're not anymore! We're alive, we're safe, everything's okay. We're okay." King Julien said gently, trying to ease Clover's mind.
"Really?" The panicky look in Clover's eyes began to fade, the fur on her back settling back down.
"Yeah, finally had a plan work and none too soon." Maurice said, shaking his head and inwardly shuddering at the memory of all the failed plans that came before Dr. S.
"So, what finally worked then? What's keeping you all safe?" Clover inquired.
"Uh..." Julien was hesitant to tell her about Dr. S, remembering the initial backlash most everyone had shown against the idea of the unorthodox doctor being in charge of protecting the entire kingdom. He had to choose his next words very carefully.
"Uh...that's an excellent question! Maurice, why don't you answer?" Julien nudged Maurice in the shoulder.
"Oh no, this is your idea, you tell her." Maurice argued. He knew full well that Clover wasn't going to like Julien's choice for her replacement but it was Julien's bed that he made and he needed to lie in it.
"It's not my idea, it's Frank's!"
"What?" Clover's face scrunched up in confusion.
"You said yourself that Frank spoke to you so you could tell all of us! Well, I say that includes Clover!"
"Will someone just tell me what's going on here?" Clover demanded.
"Oh for the love of Pete, I'll tell her! It's..." Mort started to say before being interrupted by a loud screech piercing through the air. It sounded like it belonged to a large bird and that it was coming from right outside the plane.
"Ow!" A exclamation of pain followed right after, the voice sounding familiar to everyone present, all of them rushing to look out the windshield. Dr. S was up in the baobab tree, body coiled, lunging and snapping at a hawk, which was able to flap, hop and dodge away from his fangs. Dr. S meanwhile wasn't able to fully dodge the hawk, the large bird getting in quite a few good pecks on his head, causing the snake to yelp out in pain each time.
Snap.
Peck.
"Ow!"
Snap.
Peck.
"OW!"
"Oy, oy get away from her!" Clover shouted, leaping out the window, climbing unto the nose of the plane, leaping down unto the tree and rushing over to stand between them.
"Clover?" Dr. S stared wide eyed at her in shock.
"You get away from Shadow right now!" She demanded, standing protectively before the hawk, who was keeping an eye on Dr. S through narrowed amber eyes, dark grey feathers ruffled, body tensed and ready to strike again.
"Shadow?" Dr. S cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"The hawk! Her name is Shadow and I'm not going to let you try and eat her!" Clover explained.
"Eat her? I was making sure she didn't eat King Julien!"
"Wait, what?" Now Clover was confused.
"Some people saw the hawk come up here and sent me to check it out, see if it either belonged to your kingdom or if it was a wild one that was trying to eat King Julien. So here I am." Dr. S explained.
"Wait, why would you be sent to check that out?" From Dr. S's words to how reluctant Julien and Maurice just were, Clover was beginning to have a hunch of what was going on but thought that it couldn't possibly be true. It was too ridiculous, too insane even by King Julien standards, right?
"Wait, you don't know? No one's told her yet?" Dr. S looked over Clover's shoulder. Clover turned around and saw Julien, Maurice, and Mort had followed her out of the plane. Julien and Maurice weren't looking her in the eyes and it was Mort who took a step forward and said,
"No but I was about to. It's Dr. S, okay? Dr. S is your replacement, Clover." He thought it would be better to get it over and done with, ripping off the bandaid so to speak.
A flat "What?" was all Clover could respond with.
"Dr. S is protecting the kingdom. King Julien, me, Maurice, everybody, he's protecting us now." Mort reiterated.
"What?!" Clover shrieked, glaring over at King Julien.
"Now, now Clover, let me explain!" King Julien said, taking a step back and holding his hands out defensively, nervous by the scary angry look she was giving him.
"You better! Why, just...what in blazes gave you the idea to trust everyone's safety in the hands...tail...whatever of-of him!" Clover said, motioning her hands at Dr. S.
"It wasn't my idea to begin with..." King Julien started to say in his defense.
"Oh no you don't! You are not going to try and pin this one on Maurice!"
"I'm not! It wasn't his idea either! It was Frank's!"
"...What?"
"Let me explain! I had thought that maybe a wall would stop the fossa. As you heard, it didn't stop the fossa. And when that failed, everybody was real upset and I was real upset and everything was really messed up. So I went out to clear my head and ended up praying to Frank, asking, begging him for a solution on how to keep us all safe, to show me a sign." At the word begging, King Julien clasped his paws together and looked up to the sky like he had that fateful night for the rest of the sentence before looking back to Clover. "I than ran into Nurse Phantom and we ran into a fossa and all of us ran into Dr. S, who then saved me and Nurse Phantom from the fossa!"
"Wait, he saved your lives?" Clover asked incredulously, looking over at Dr. S, who shrugged.
"I still can't believe it myself." He said, still coming to terms with the fact that yes, he did that. Clover turned back to Julien.
"Yes, he did! Right after I just asked Frank for a sign on how to keep everyone safe, then Dr. S saves me and Nurse Phantom? Coincidence, I think not! I truly believe that was the sign I was asking for, that it was Frank's way of telling me that Dr. S was meant to protect the kingdom!"
"So wait, let me get this straight. Dr. S, our Dr. S," Clover stretched her arm and palm out to indicate said snake doctor. "Saved yours and Nurse Phantom's lives?" Her mind was having a very hard time wrapping itself around that fact.
"Yes, we would have died without him, Clover. He was a real hero." Julien looked over at Dr. S and gave him a small smile. Dr. S gave him a shy smile back. He had been a lot more humble about that fact then Julien would have thought but then again, that wasn't the only way the eccentric snake had defied expectations as of late.
Clover's mind was finally able to coil itself around that bizarre bit of information and she was able to get back on track. "...Fine, Dr. S managed to be briefly competent enough to save you both but that doesn't mean you should trust him with everyone else's safely all the time!"
"Com-com-po-what?" Julien asked, not knowing that word.
"Competent. It means being capable of doing something. Like guarding the entire kingdom, which you think Dr. S can do all because of what you believe was a sign from Frank!" Clover reiterated.
"It's not just that!...Anymore. The fossa attacked the village the next day and Dr. S saved mine and Nurse Phantom's lives again along with a whole bunch of other people's! He was a hero, again Clover and I believe he iscom-po-tent to do it again and again!"
"Y-you're not serious...he protected the village too?" Clover couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"He sure did." Mort said.
"I don't...I don't believe this." Clover slowly shook her head, the sheer insanity of all too much to take in. "You're telling me he actually managed to protect all of you?"
"I can hardly believe it myself and I saw Dr. S chase those fossa away with my own eyes." Maurice piped in. "Look, I get it, Clover. Dr. S isn't my idea of a hero either and he's definitely not the picture of responsibility but he did save us, saved King Julien and Nurse Phantom twice and as crazy as it sounds, I'm willing to wait and see if he can continue to surprise us. He's earned that much." At the last sentence, he looked over to Dr. S, who was taken aback by the praise.
"But what if it's all a fluke? What if he can't handle the job? What if he can't protect you? What are you gonna do then or have you even thought that far ahead?" Clover directed the last question towards King Julien, who once again couldn't meet her eyes.
"Uh..." Julien really didn't want to answer that.
"Pancho and Hector sure did." Dr. S did it for him.
"Pancho and Hector...what do you mean? They thought of a back up plan?" Clover asked incredulously, looking back and forth between Dr. S and King Julien.
"...Yes." King Julien reluctantly responded.
"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Clover was afraid to know how much Pancho had contributed to said plan and what exactly it entailed and that's why she needed to know every last detail.
Julien mumbled something too low for Clover to hear.
"What?"
Again Julien's words were at too low a volume for Clover's ears to pick up.
"Speak up!" Clover demanded.
"It's you, okay!? You're the back up plan!" King Julien was finally able to spit out.
"What?" Clover's face fell and her eyes went wide.
"I...Pancho proposed that if Dr. S can't protect the kingdom, then I'll have to make you come back to resume your old job and I agreed to it!" King Julien felt sick to his stomach.
"What!?" Clover grabbed King Julien's chest fur and pulled him close to her face.
"I signed a contract and everything and I'm so sorry Clover!"
"How could you could do that!?" Clover demanded, shaking Julien furiously before allowing him to speak.
"After the wall, Hector started saying that I didn't care about him or any of the peoples anymore and then he started demanding that I march on over to your kingdom and force you to come back here to protect us and then everybody was chanting 'Bring her back. Bring her back.'and they were hurt and-and angry and thought I didn't love them no more when I refused. And then when I first said that Dr. S would take your place, they really didn't like that idea and made all kinds of arguments against it with some good points but I was so mad and desperate and not wanting to hurt anyone but also wanting to prove that I do love my peoples but I didn't want to listen to them and then Pancho proposed the plan and I agreed to it! I agreed cause I clung unto Dr. S protecting everyone so the people would stop getting hurt without hurting you but ignoring the fact that if Dr. S fails, then I'll have to hurt you, and it's all so wrong and I'm sorry, Clover!" The guilt wrapped around Julien's heart like vines covered in thorns, coiling tightly and piercing through, the blood pouring out in his remorseful words.
"Sorry doesn't even begin to excuse what you've done!" Clover started off hot then curiously got to her. "Also, how could everyone think you didn't care about them anymore?"
"Everything got so messed up because I was trying to come with something to protect us so the New York Freaks wouldn't have to but plan after plan failed and people kept getting hurt and they felt like I was putting the freaks before them and when I refused to make you come back, they thought I was putting you before them, that I cared more about the freaks and you, that I didn't love them, the peoples, anymore. They were hurt and angry and scared and honestly, I don't blame them one bit." Reflection upon the entire situation had made King Julien realize that his subjects had not been lashing out because they were 'haters', but because that they all had been deeply hurt by his actions. That even Hector was just looking out for the good of everyone, that despite what he may say otherwise, he truly did care about his fellow citizens.
"Wait, all those plans were so these 'New York Freaks' wouldn't have to protect you lot? So, they did protect you and what actually is a 'New York Freak' anyways?" Clover inquired, letting Julien go.
"What, you didn't hear about the New York Freaks?" King Julien asked. Clover had briefly heard about strange animals seen in King Julien's kingdom but had left to go aid said kingdom before getting many details. She shook her head and Julien went on to explain.
"Well, they're freaks from a faraway land called 'New York City' and one of them saved us from the fossa during that first attack and we offered them all a home here forever so they could protect us but they don't want to stay here forever. They want to go back to their real home. In fact, before trying to help them get home, they tried to go home and the only reason they didn't leave was because their boat ran out of fuel! Great for us lemurs, since that meant they would be staying but not so great for the freaks. And then Maurice and I figured that Timo could easily build the freaks a way back home and we didn't want to hide Timo from them and lie cause it would have been seriously messed up and wrong! Even if they did try to leave us high and wet."
"It's high and dry, your majesty." Maurice corrected him, then said to Clover. "But he is right about it being wrong."
"Wet, dry, whatever. Anyways, then I came up a plan so that the freaks could go home and the kingdom would still be safe. So the freaks agreed to protect us until Timo built something that could protect us instead. Unfortunately as you've heard, that plan didn't entirely go according to plan." King Julien rubbed the back of his neck in shame, guilt gnawing at him over all the pain he had caused his people.
"So wait, they tried to leave without leaving you all any kind of other protection and all the destruction and everyone's lives being put in danger has been because you've been trying to help them get home?!" Clover shrieked. "If you had just forbade Timo from ever helping them, then nothing bad would have happened and they would be protecting you all instead of having to worry if he can!" She spread out an arm pointed in Dr. S's direction, who was very much uncomfortable over being put on the spot and where the conversation had gone.
And he wasn't the only one on the latter. Well, I suppose highly disturbed would be more accurate.
"What the heck, Clover!?" King Julien rebuked. "That would have been wrong! Just sick and wrong and cruel!"
"It's what those freaks deserve after they tried to leave you all for dead!" Clover argued back. Julien took in a sharp gasp, that familiar phrase shaking him to the core. It took shook everyone else and they looked among themselves and at Clover, lost on how to say what needed to be said. "What? What!?" Clover demanded at their uncomfortable expressions.
It was Dr. S who told her while non too happy doing it, "That's what people have been saying about you."
"What?" Clover's sneering mouth was now hanging slightly open in confusion. Her livid green eyes simmered down and looked from face to face, waiting for more.
"That's another reason why the peoples were so gong ho about making you come back. They're convinced that...they believe you...that because you left without checking on Mary Ann and if she had the whole her own peoples rebelling thing under control and-and that you didn't train someone to take your place that…that you meant to..." Julien took a shaky deep breath. "That you meant to leave us all for dead." Even though he was repeating other's words, Julien still felt dirty saying that phrase, practically feeling bile building in his throat.
"Oh." Was Clover's response. Short. Stunned. It was all she could say as the weight of the words came crushing down upon her.
"We know that's not true!" Julien pointed out himself, Maurice, and Mort. "We know you didn't mean to hurt anyone! That you thought like the rest of us that Mary Ann would keep the fossa away! And that you were so caught up in being in love and the wedding that you forgot all the other stuff! Like the rest of us forgot! I know kingdom security didn't cross my mind at all after Sage proposed!"
"Didn't cross my mind either!" Maurice piped in.
"It didn't even cross Maurice's mind, Clover, Maurice! Love made us all dumb, including you! Unfortunately, the peoples are not really buying that. So yeah, you're not very popular around here right now." Julien had hoped to lessen the emotional punch but knew that he had failed before he had finished talking.
Clover turned away, looking out over the jungle and hugging herself. "Oh." She responded in that same stunned fashion as realization came upon her like boulders down a mountain side, slamming into and surrounding her and crushing her under it's weight while it's razor sharp edges cut deep into her heart.
"Clover..." Julien reached out a paw in concern, her silence frightening him. He laid his paw on her shoulder as Maurice, Mort, and Shadow came over to stand by her side in concern as well, the hawk head butting Clover's other shoulder in affection. Dr. S stood back, feeling Clover wouldn't appreciate any attempts at comfort from him.
"Dr. S." Clover turning away from Julien and Shadow's touch to face the snake doctor, her expression now determined and her voice while still on the low side, now carried an air of command. "Shadow me on patrol."
"Huh?" Dr. S asked, very much confused.
"I don't supposed you've scouted the perimeter for possible threats, have you?" Clover asked, to which Dr. S shook his head.
"Then follow me around and see how it's done." She reiterated firmly.
"O-okay." Dr. S said, nervous and confused but feeling like questioning her at that moment wasn't the best idea. So when Clover began to climb down the tree, he obediently followed her.
Mort, Maurice, and Julien stared after them for a few moments before Mort turned to his friends and said, "Wait, what just happened?"
"Maurice, wha-what's Clover doing?" Julien asked, nervous.
"I don't know but I indeed to find out." Maurice said before starting his way down the tree with Julien and Mort close behind. They saw a growing number of lemurs gathered around it's base and as they neared the ground, they heard the murmurs.
"Is that...Clover?"
"What's she doing here?"
"Why's Dr. S with her?"
"Hasn't she done enough?"
Clover had made it to the ground and walked at an even pace with her head held high while looking straight ahead, her determined face unresponsive to the growing number of death glares shoot at her. Her friends on the other hand, were very much visibly bothered. Lemurs were looking at her like they wished that looks alone could make her drop dead right then and there and she wasn't even giving them a second glance and that frightened them.
"Well, if it ain't miss high and mighty herself come to grace us with her presence." Becca said in bitterly sarcastic fashion, voice dripping in venom as she marched right up to Clover, who wavered as she was taken aback by the other lemur's forwardness. "Why you here?" Becca went on to say, pointing an accusing finger at Clover.
"I...I heard the kingdom was in trouble." Clover responded, her commanding tone wavering.
"It was but it ain't anymore. Dr. S saved us and is guarding the kingdom now." Becca looked over at Dr. S, who was very much uncomfortable being roped into the conversation on top of being surrounded by so many death glares, even though they weren't directed at him.
"Yes, I heard." Clover said.
"Then you also heard everything is fine now. So you can run along and report that back to your muscle meathead of a husband and big tough army." Becca said, poking Clover in the chest.
Clover's confidence was coming back, steadfast as she said, "One, my hawk needs to rest and two, I want to see Dr. S in action, access how he does protecting you lot."
"Oh, oh so now you care about our safety? Is that it?" Becca's amber eyes were starting to flare up.
"Becca..." Maurice said to her in warning, anger bubbling.
"Stand down, Maurice! You too as well." Clover ordered Maurice, then King Julien and Mort. Then turned back to Becca. "I already know how you feel about me. How you all feel." Clover looked about at the growing crowd before turning back to Becca. "So go ahead and say it."
"Clover..." Julien couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Oh, I have plenty of things to say, you back stabbing..." Becca began to say before being interrupted.
"Great, what's going on n-ah!" Alex started to complain, he and his friends having just arrived on the scene, when Clover suddenly let out a "he-yaw!", kicking him square in the stomach. This sent Alex slamming down to the ground, flat on his back, where Clover then jumped unto his chest and proceeded to violently beat on him.
"Clover! Clover, stop!" Julien rushed over towards them.
"Get back your majesty! It's a giant fossa with...weird hair." Clover said, having a hold on Alex's mane with one hand as she repeatedly punched him in the face with another. Then she barked at Dr. S, "Don't just stand there, do something!"
"One, it seems you have this one covered and two, Alex isn't a fossa." Dr. S explained.
"What?" Clover said, delivering one more punch before taking a pause.
"It's true, I'm not a fossa! I apparently just look like one." Alex said to her, holding up his paws defensively.
"You kinda do." Mort piped in. Hector and Clover weren't the only ones who saw the resemblance.
"Yes, Alex looks like a fossa but he's not a fossa! He's one of the New York Freaks, Clover." King Julien explained.
"One of the freaks?" Clover said as realization hit her. And then she hit Alex in the face again.
"Lady, what is wrong with you!? They just said I'm not a fossa!" Alex spread out an arm to point towards said individuals.
"That's for trying to leave my friends for dead!" Clover snapped as she violently shook him.
"What?" Alex said, confused and also dizzy.
"Wait, are you Clover?" Marty asked, stepped towards them. Clover stopped shaking Alex. "I thought I heard Julien call you Clover."
"Yes, I'm Clover." Clover answered.
"Wait, you're Clover? The same Clover who left everyone in the first place? And you're calling me out!?" Alex said in outrage.
"That doesn't change the fact that you and your friends were going to leave mine without anyone to protect them!" Clover argued.
"Oh, oh and look whose talking! Fine, yes, we tried to leave! We thought we would be leaving everyone to their normal lives! How were we supposed to know about you leaving or Julien's psychopath uncle who forbid anything fun and loud and everyone surviving but not living? We didn't, okay? We thought no one would mind if we left but it turns out they did!" Alex pointed an accusing finger at the other lemurs. "They did mind cause that meant they couldn't continue to use us!"
"Use you?" King Julien asked, confused. Alex turned on him and his subjects.
"Yes! From the very beginning, you've used us! You were only nice to me and my friends in the first place so I'd keep the fossa away! Then you tried to guilt trip us into staying here, make us choose a bunch of fuzz buckets that we only just met over over our home, our real one! And when it looked like we'd never see it again, you celebrated! Then you found a way that we could get back to New York and you dangled it just out of our reach so we'd have to continue to do your bidding, all for a chance that maybe you'd set us free from this hell hole!"
"Fine, you're right, we used you but don't you dare take it out on them!" King Julien argued, indicating his subjects. "It was my idea to butter you guys up, my idea for Timo to help you in exchange for protecting us! They went along with it so you guys could home without them, you know, dying! And that's the whole reason I came up with all those crazy plans in the first place, so you freaks could go home without my peeps dying!"
"And you know what? At least I can understand your motivations! You guys were helpless, with nothing and no one to protect you because someone didn't do her job!" Alex glared at Clover, whose scowl wavered under his words. "Because she up and left you guys without making sure that one fossa would keep the other fossa away! Because she didn't test you guys to see if you could actually defend yourselves! Because she didn't teach you how to defend yourselves herself! Because she did nothing to make sure you all didn't die without her!" Clover backed off Alex's chest, rage sweep away. Alex stood up, his blue gaze turned ice cold as he glared down at her.
"What I want to know is why? Why didn't you do any of that? From what I've heard, you're supposed to be this super paranoid and crazy prepared lady who would do anything to keep her friends safe, so why didn't you? Why didn't you do all you could to make sure they would be safe after you left? Me and my friends, we can at least plead ignorance." Alex spread out his arm to point out Marty, Melmen, and Gloria behind him. "What's your excuse?"
"Yeah, what's your excuse for stabbing us in the back!?" Becca demanded, marching over to stand at Clover's other side.
"That's enough!" King Julien marched over to stand by Clover, glaring back and forth between Alex and Becca. "You two back off right now!"
"Julien!" Clover's word started off hot then cooled into sorrow. "They're right."
"What?" Julien couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maurice prayed that she wouldn't go on to say what he feared she would.
"There is no excuse." Clover continued, briefly facing Alex before turning her attention to Becca and the rest of the crowd, speaking ruefully. "I was careless and thought only of myself. I did nothing to prepare you all before I left, leaving you defenseless against the fossa. You're right. I left you all for dead."