King Julien walked alone for a short while, deep in brooding thoughts, when suddenly he was snapped out of them by the sound of nearby shouting. It sounded like it was coming from multiple voices and a jolt of fear rippled through out Julien's body, fear that the fossa had come back and the shouting was the panicked cries of his people. He raced towards the commotion but when he reached the source, he found that it wasn't his peoples who were making it at all and the shouts weren't of terror but of joy sounded out by none other then the New York Freaks gathered together in a small clearing.
The penguins were giving each other high fives (or high fins as they called it) while the chimps were swinging from branch to branch, tree to tree that surrounded the clearing, happily hooing and howling as they went. All while two of the larger freaks were linked arm in arm, their feet light as they skipped around in circles, laughing as they went while Marty gave out triumphant woohoos and boo yaws while turning cartwheel after cartwheel. This while Alex was leaping and bounding about, his feet light as feathers as they carried him around the clearing and up into the air where the eager lion shouted out yes multiple times in unbridled joy and triumph. Then he grabbed a tree trunk and swung himself around with one foot on the trunk while the other stuck out while Alex sung a song with one name coming up over and over again. New York.
"King Julien!" King Julien turned to see Timo, who he hadn't noticed at first. The eccentric scientist was rushing towards him, he too wearing a wide grin. "King Julien, it's finished! The New Yorker's transportation is finished! They can finally go home!" He said joyfully followed by a gleeful snort laugh.
"Our round monochromatic friend is right." Skipper had finished his high fins for the moment to waddle over. "First thing tomorrow morning, we're blowing this popsicle stand!" He said with a smirk.
"And this nightmare will finally be over!" Alex paused his singing to shout out in triumph, then tilted his head back to give a loud manic laugh.
"That...that's fantastic." King Julien said, not sounding as enthusiastic as he had hoped. He was sincerely happy for the freaks but unfortunately, that happiness was overshadowed by a dark cloud. A dark cloud called Sage, who had stolen Julien's happiness away just as he had stolen Clover.
.
.
.
Wait, what? No!
Sage may have been a joy sucking leech but he hadn't stolen Clover. Clover couldn't be stolen because she didn't belong to anyone. Except maybe herself. Yeah, she belonged to herself and it had been her choice to marry Sage, just as it was her choice to want and give him another chance.
.
.
.
"King Julien?"
"Huh?" King Julien was pulled out of his musings by Timo's voice, the royal scientist looking at him with concern, asking,
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, what gives Ringtail? With all the trouble you've gone through, I thought you'd be over the moon." Skipper pointed out.
"I...I'm ecstatic. See?" King Julien curled his lips into a smile that was much too wide and fooled no one.
"What horrible thing did I miss this time?" Timo asked point blank, referencing the fact that he had left Clover and Sage's wedding reception before the infamous fossa attack.
"None of ya business, you nosy fathead!" King Julien snapped at him. "You just focus on making sure that this machine doesn't blow up, got it!?"
Timo leaned away from him and winced, stuttering timidly, "Well a-actually, th-that's the reason the New Yorker's ar-aren't leaving today. I want to go over some last minute tune ups and-and double checks and..."
"Then do it already!" King Julien barked, causing Timo to wince some more. Julien let out an irritated sigh, then turned to face Skipper, his tone now friendlier. "We need to celebrate. We need...we need a party. Yeah! This kingdom hasn't had a good party since...in forever and this is the perfect occasion to have one, not just to celebrate you freaks but-but Dr. S too and everybody not getting eaten! Yeah, let's do it! Let's throw a party!" King Julien got more excited as he went, ending in an eager proclamation.
Timo, Skipper and the rest of the New York animals were a little confused by the king's mood to say the least. As were King Julien's subjects as he threw them right away into party preparations.
"Uh, Kj? Why are you throwing a party instead of, you know, being there for Clover in her time of need?" Ted questioned his king as he was watching him stir cake mix. "Being a shoulder to cry on as she vents about Sage and all?"
"...She doesn't want my shoulder. She'd rather have Maurice's." Was King Julien snide remark as he looked away from Ted and crossed his arms.
"What did you say to her?" Ted accused him point blank.
"None of your business, Ted!" King Julien snapped, turning on him. "Just keep stirring, we're gonna need a whole lot of cake! Tons of Cake! Cake out the wazoo! Chop, Chop!" He ordered, clapping his hands together. Then he turned this way and that to look at his other subjects, telling them,
"More streamers! More balloons! And where's Horst!? Can't have a rocking party without a dj, so where's the dj!?"
Julien continued to bark orders and his confused and concerned subjects obeyed them, keeping a frantic pace in their preparations for the night, which came in no time.
Cakes of various sizes and flavors were spread out on multiple long tables with multitudes of other delicious treats with multiple clusters of colorful balloons tied to the table's ends. A rainbow of streamers were stung up between the trees, with the over head lights shining through them creating a kaleidoscope of colors illuminating the dance floor. Which was empty, the party guests standing on the sidelines in the shadows, their moods clashing with the upbeat, move your feet music playing around them. Horst, the one playing said music, took a long sip of his beverage and wondered how much longer he would have to the job before King Julien would let him go home already. This while the New Yorkers and Dr. S stood on the sidelines as well, as uncomfortable as the quests that they were guarding.
When Mort had first heard about the party, he had gone straight to King Julien and demanded to know how he could throw a party at a time like that, when Clover was so miserable. When King Julien was too vague and evasive with his answers, Mort had left him in frustration and had gone searching for Clover to hear her side of things. He had gone to the hospital first, since she had been staying there the past few days, but found only Dr. S and Nurse Phantom. Mort told them what he knew and then all three of them had gone out looking for Clover. They found her at Ted and Dorothy's house along with Dorothy and Maurice. The two groups swapped information, one told about Clover and King Julien's argument while the other was told about the party.
"Well I for one am not going!" Mort had declared with the others voicing their agreements. Except Clover, who shouted firmly and on the edge of panic,
"Yes you are!" At everyone's confused looks, Clover wilted in embarrassment but held firm as she said to Dr. S, more composed this time, "Dr. S, you have to go."
"What, why? If this is about security, the freaks will be there, everyone will be safe with them." Dr. S argued.
"They'll be safer if you're there too!" Clover snapped at him, then composed herself, continuing to argue more calm like while remaining firm, "Especially since it's been a while since the last fossa attack. Consider it part of your training. You're going to need to guard parties and other events in the future, might as well start with this one."
Dr. S studied Clover's face, especially her eyes. Her determined, fearful, and hopeful eyes imploring with him. Dr. S let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Thank you." Clover's demeanor relaxed as she spoke to him soft and sincere.
So Dr. S had gone off in search of King Julien and when he found him, when the lemur king asked him to attend the party, the snake doctor had said yes but not without telling him that the only reason he was going was because of Clover. Clover being concerned over everyone's safety even when she was so miserable didn't surprise King Julien at all. Clover was always looking out for them all, even when they were being colossal jerks towards her. And that included King Julien himself.
Julien almost dropped everything then and there. Almost cancelled the party, almost asked Dr. S where Clover was so he could rush to her and say that he was sorry. He almost did those things but then he remembered how much of a colossal jerk Sage had been towards Clover, dismissing her feelings and those of Julien's peoples. Dismissing her tears during their wedding. That got Julien's blood boiling once more, fueling his fury as he continued to bark orders until it came time for the party
King Julien did come up with a plan to, once the party was in full swing, to sneak among the crowd and whisper the fact that Clover had been worried about their safety that night all stealthy like. Julien knew deep down it wasn't nearly good enough and knew what the right thing to do was but again, his thoughts turned to Sage and his conscience was shoved into the closet of his mind. So stealth mode on the dance floor it was.
Now if the quests would get out on said dance floor!
"Come on, peoples! We're celebrating! So get out on the dance floor already!" King Julien begged, grabbing Willie's paws and trying to pull him towards said dance floor but Willie wasn't budging.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked. King Julien let go. "Clover's one of your best friends, why are you partying instead of comforting her?"
"I...what do you care?! You hate Clover!" King Julien pointed out defensively.
"Yeah but you don't! You really care about her, so why are you here instead of being with her when she needs you?" Willie's question took King Julien aback for a moment.
"Cause he gave her the cold, hard facts about her marriage, that's what." Pancho piped in from his place by the snack table. "I couldn't help but overhear you two earlier." He told King Julien.
"You mean ease dropping!" King Julien snapped at him.
"Well excuse me for having ears!" Pancho snapped back, offended. "If you didn't want anybody to hear yas, then maybe don't scream loud for them to hear yas all the way over in the Mountain Lemur Kingdom!"
"Uh, Pancho? What do you mean by cold and hard truth?" Willie asked. Pancho turned to him.
"That Sage was a grade a jackass today, brushing aside Clover's feelings and our feelings and everything that's his fault just like he did at his wedding! Making me dig all over for him cause we thought he was buried alive cause he didn't tell anyone he had already dug himself out1 And when the bastard finally makes an appearance, he gives Clover, who need I remind you thought that he had died, an apology like one you give for using up all the hot water! That he spews all his peace loving space case crap to get out of taking responsibly for his actions cause he doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself and that Clover should dump his not sorry ass to the curb if she knows what's good fo her! You wanna know what her response was? She defends the asshole, making up bullshit excuses like 'he does care, he just takes living in the present too far'." Pancho said the words mockingly in air quotes.
"Well, I wouldn't put it tha..." King Julien started to say when the cheery music that had been playing suddenly stopped with a rough record scratch. Heads turned to Horst, who had turned the volume on low to hear Pancho. He put down his beverage, left his dj station and came on over, his narrowed blue eyes ice cold.
"Are you saying Clover is defending Sage not giving a damn that we almost all died!?" Horst demanded to know from Pancho.
"That's not what she's defending!" King Julien protested.
"Yes, it is!" Pancho argued.
"I knew it! I knew it! This proves that she devil doesn't give a damn about us!" Horst shouted in outrage at King Julien.
"Clover's not a devil and she does care, so much that she's furious at Sage for downplaying our pain and she's going to be make him apologize! She just wants to give him a chance to redeem himself cause...cause she knows that he's weird and that he likes to live in the now and wants to focus more on the fact that-that we're all okay. Yes, he needs to face the past and take responsibility and need to be coaxed to do that in this case but that doesn't mean he doesn't care!" King Julien said in defense. Remembering Clover's comparison of himself and Sage and thinking about it more and more, the more Julien realized that maybe Clover was right. He did screw up a lot and sometimes someone had to shove him in the right direction for him to do take responsibility for his actions but at the end of the day, he still cared. And it had been the same for Sage when Koto took over and Clover had to convince him not to just run away but fight back. And he did and after it was all said and done, he took responsibility as the mountain lemur's new king. It had taken some coaxing but in the end, he had done the right thing. Maybe it would happen again. Maybe he would see the error of his ways and apologize. Maybe. Maybe not.
"Is that the lies she's feed you?" Was Horst's response.
"Or she truly believes she can change the bastard cause she's a hopelessly stupid broad in love." Was Pancho's.
"Clover's not lying and she's not stupid!"
"Why not? You and Maurice have been going on for days how love made all of us stupid, so why can't it be doing the same for Clover?" Pancho asked, looking around briefly at his fellow citizens as he did.
"Cause...cause that would imply she's too stupid to know what's good for her but we do..." King Julien repeated Maurice's words, feeling sick to his stomach knowing that while he hadn't said the same words, he had still dismissed Clover's feelings and intelligence in the same manner as Pancho. That he already knew this thanks to both Maurice and Clover but had let his anger and pride dismiss one friend's valuable advice and farther hurt another. Let himself throw a party to distract himself from how much of an inconsiderate jerk he himself had been.
"Oh, I'm not implying, that's exactly what I'm saying!"
"You don't know what's best for Clover! I don't know what's best for her! Clover knows what's best for herself and if she wants to sit down with Sage and have an adult conversation with him, then that's her choice! We don't have to like it but we need to respect it cause Clover's more then smart enough to make her own choices, even the ones we don't like! And we have no right to call her stupid for making them!" King Julien told him with great conviction. Pancho sneered in response but before he could come up with a comeback, Horst spoke up.
"You're right, King Julien. Clover is smart enough to make her own choices." He said calm and composed, giving King Julien the beginnings of hope. "Like how she choose to betray Mary Ann, betray us all cause she's a gold digger, power hungry bitch!" His composure crumbled, his blue gaze once again turned bitter cold and his words were like icicles sharpened to a fine point, piercing through the king's heart.
Mortified gasps rippled through out the crowd. King Julien's eyes first went wide as two suns, then narrowed into a scorching scowl aimed directly at Horst.
"Take that back." Julien said dangerously low.
"No!" Horst said firmly.
"I said Take. That. Back!" Julien snarled.
"No I won't!" Horst snapped back. "It's the truth whether you like it or not! Clover doesn't care about you or Maurice or anyone but herself and what she wants and she wants to have it all! Her crown and arm candy husband and big powerful army while keeping you as an ally! Oh, she may put on a good show yelling at Sage, seemingly compassionate towards our pain but it's all an act cause at the end of the day, she's not leaving him and giving up all her new found power and once again, the two of them will get away with treating us all like trash and you wanna know why? Cause you are too blinded by love for that bitch to see that she's using you!"
King Julien screamed and lunged for Horst, toppling him over and pinning him to the ground where Julien then proceeded to start beating on him while continuing to bellow out his wrathful war cry. Horst answered with his own cries, desperate ones for help and yelps of pain as punch after punch collided into his person, as he writhed underneath Julien's weight, trying to escape but to no avail.
"Hey! Get off of him! Get off of him" Pancho called out, rushing over and grabbing King Julien around his midsection and managing to pull him up and off Horst, pinning the enraged king's arms to his sides all while Julien fought and squirmed against him to break free. After some seconds of squirming and Horst was able to crawl a good distance away, Julien turned on Pancho and bit down hard on his arm. Pancho cried out in pain, letting go of his hold of King Julien to grab unto his injured arm. After shutting his eyes and wincing in pain, Pancho opened them to shoot amber daggers at King Julien, screaming,
"You son of a bitch!" Pancho charged towards King Julien, sending them both down to the ground, where they proceeded to roll and bite and claw at each other all while screaming bloody murder.
"Sweet sassafras! Somebody do something!" Ted cried out in desperation as he and the other party guests watched the fight in shock and horror.
"Alright, break it up!" The crowd parted as Gloria made her way through to the livid lemurs. Then she grabbed King Julien in one hand and Pancho in the other, spreading her arms out to keep them apart as they both twisted and turning, trying to break from her iron grip. Then Gloria addressed the crowd, proclaiming,
"That's it, party's over!"
….
Ding
Ding
"Nurse Phantom, get out here!"
Nurse Phantom heard the dinging of the bell at the front desk and Dr. S's agitated voice as he rushed down the hospital hall. When he stepped into the waiting room, he saw Dr. S holding King Julien with his tail and Gloria holding Pancho and Horst in each arm. All three lemurs looked furious, with ears pinned back and Horst and Pancho glaring in King Julien's direction, who was returning the expression in kind. All three lemurs also sported injuries, with King Julien having long slashes across his body with blood trickling out, clumping his matted dusty fur. The beginnings of a bruise was forming around his left eye and a thin line of blood was running down from a cut in his forehead. Pancho also had the beginnings of a black eye and Horst's forehead had a cut as well along with a split lower lip. Nurse Phantom didn't see anything obvious from the neck down but with their respective red and black fur and the candle light not being ideal, he knew that he might spot other injuries yet. Dr. S and Gloria looked physically fine, each wearing glares that told Nurse Phantom that they were beyond done with their charges.
"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Nurse Phantom asked in concern, looking longer at King Julien, who turned his face away, unable to meet his gaze. No one answered right away.
"What? Now you have nothing to say?" Gloria questioned Pancho and Horst irritably.
"Well apparently a lemur can't tell it like it is without this guy going all agro on ya!" Pancho said, pointing a thumb out towards King Julien.
"Telling big fat lies is more like it!" King Julien snapped back.
"The only one telling lies is your previous Clover." Horst snarled, voice dripping with bitter venom especially on Clover's name.
"Shut up!" King Julien snapped.
"Enough!" Nurse Phantom shouted in frustration. "Look, let's get everyone patched up and maybe by the time we're done, someone will have told me what happened!"
So Gloria left King Julien, Pancho, and Horst in the doctor and nurse team's care and while the trio was being treated, Nurse Phantom was told of the events leading up their injuries.
"This is all my fault." King Julien said sadly when the tale had been told, slowly shaking his now bandaged head in shame. "I'm the one who pushed Clover about Sage. I'm the one who first called her stupid for wanting to talk to him. Now I've convinced Pancho and I'm sure other peoples too and...and what have I done?" He hide his face behind his paws.
"You didn't convince me of nothing! I figured Clover's being a dumb love struck broad on my own." Pancho told him as he sat in a chair and held an ice pack to his eye.
"Clover's not dumb, I am!" King Julien snapped at him. "A big dummy jerk who threw a party instead of apologizing and being there for my friend, whose reputation is even worse now thanks to me!" Sorrow mixed with anger into a bitter cocktail and Julien once again hung his head in shame.
"Your own reputation isn't looking so rosy right now either, not after what you just did." Was Horst's comment from his seat on the examination table, finding some satisfaction in that fact. Also earning him glares from Dr. S and Nurse Phantom and a nod of agreement from Pancho.
"And I deserve it, not Clover!" Was King Julien's earnest response.
Horst started to say a comeback, then shut his mouth, the shooting pain rippling through his ribs telling him loud and clear that it wasn't worth it.
After having their wounds examined, cleaned, and bandaged, Dr. S and Nurse Phantom sent Pancho and Horst away while telling King Julien to stay.
So Pancho and Horst walked out where the humid night air hung thick on their fur and the mums of insects filled their eardrums. Horst looked up at the moon shining brightly in the thick inky sky and his first thought was of Mary Ann, wondering if at that moment in time she was looking up at it too. The thought that came after he shared with Pancho.
"You know I wasn't talking about King Julien being blinded by platonic love, right? I meant he's hopelessly in love with Clover."
"Oh yeah, I think everyone got that memo." Pancho responded. Then he paused and added, "Well, most everyone.", looking over his shoulder back towards the hospital.
Back at said hospital, Dr. S and Nurse Phantom went to a corner of the examination room and whispered to each other so that King Julien wouldn't hear them.
"What do you think? Think he's learned his lesson?" Dr. S asked his friend, skeptical.
"It sounds like it." Was Nurse Phantom's more hopeful but still a tad skeptical answer. He figured there was one way to find out. "I could go see if Clover's willing to talk to him?" He suggested cautiously.
Dr. S looked over to King Julien, who was still sulking, then back at Nurse Phantom. "Yeah, go ahead and do that."
"I'll be back." Nurse Phantom said, walking to the door that lead into the hall of the hospital. When he opened said door,
"Ow!"
"Mort?" Nurse Phantom opened the door the rest of the way and saw Mort on the floor rubbing his head with Maurice, Clover, and Dorothy standing around him. This pulled King Julien out of his lamenting thoughts and he walked on over.
"Clover..." He said to his dear friend. He wanted to say so many things to her but found the words were getting all jumbled up and breaking apart like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, a really big one that he was having a very hard time putting together. Then he noticed Dorothy among the group. "Dorothy, what are you doing here?" He asked her, genuinely confused. He figured that all the guys were there offering moral support to Clover but Dorothy too? Didn't she hate Clover like most all the other peoples in the kingdom?
"Just helping out another lemur, unlike some people." Was Dorothy's answer as she glared red hot daggers at King Julien. This took him aback, as he had not been expecting that response or attitude and he stared at her for a moment before hanging his head in shame, knowing who she was talking about and knowing that she was right.
"How much did you hear?" Dr. S asked the easing dropping group but especially Clover.
"Enough to know how the party went." Clover answered bluntly while looking King Julien's way. "King Julien?" Julien met her gaze and she told him point blank, "Pancho is right about one thing. He would be judging me no matter what, he didn't need you for that. Nor do the others, so there's no need to apologize for that. As for everything else..." Clover paused, then continued to ask him while trying not to show how nervous and hopeful she was but Julien could still hear it loud and clear, "Do you really mean it this time, about respecting my decisions cause I haven't changed my mind?"
King Julien continued to meet Clover's gaze as he spoke to her gently and sincerely. "The truth is, I'm still angry with Sage and it's going to take a lot for me to forgive him but I never should have treated you like you're stupid for wanting to give him a chance to be forgiven...Wait, what? Ugh, what I mean is, I shouldn't have pressured you to dump Sage. I should have trusted your judgement. You're not stupid, you know Sage can be really stupid and sometimes needs a push to take action sometimes but at the end of the day, he still cares. Like me. I knew I was being a jerk and yet I went right on being horrible and I'm sorry it took Pancho and Horst being horrible for me to do anything about it. Horst and so many peoples have been dismissing my judgement of you, saying that you don't care about me or anyone and that I'm too stupid to realize it and I shouldn't have done the same with you and Sage. I have my issues with Sage, big time, but you love him and your feelings for him matter much more then mine and I promise to respect those feelings in the future."
Clover was silent for a moment or two, looking at Julien with an expression of stone, emotions hidden within the jungle of her eyes. Then she spoke calmly while still clearly showing her hurt, "It hurts that you couldn't trust me. I know you care and that you're worried for me but the last thing I need is for you to start acting like my overprotective dad. I don't need a dad, I need a friend who will trust me to make my own choices." She then said softly, "Thank you for finally trusting me." She then closed the gap between them and gave Julien a warm hug. After his initial shock, Julien gladly hugged her back.
…
Timo, the penguins and chimps had built a blimp. It's passenger car welded together from scrap metal found in The Cove of Wonders while the balloon was stitched together into a mixed matched patchwork made from old bed sheets and other various scraps of cloth. It wasn't the prettiest or fanciest mode of transportation but that didn't matter. What mattered was that it could fly, having been flown the previous day on a test run (at Timo's insistence). Though the real test would be whether or not it could make it across the sea and bring the New Yorkers back to their beloved city.
The vessel cast a large shadow over The Cove of Wonders and the large crowd gathered around it, who were waiting in anticipation to see their long stayed guests off on the next leg of their long journey.
First up were the penguins, smiling and waving at the crowd as they proudly waddled towards their creation. Next came the chimps also waving and stepping lively. Last came the largest of the bunch, all four moving happily to the booty shaking beat that King Julien had playing for the occasion. As they all walked, the crowd threw flowers their way and cheered, some out of genuine happiness for their temporary protectors who they were eternally grateful for while others were thrilled to be finally rid of them, seeing them as destructive ingrates that everyone would be better off without.
King Julien was in the first camp, cheering loudly and jumping for genuine joy now that his heart wasn't so heavy. He wore a true warm smile as he came towards the blimp and his reluctant allies.
"On behalf of the entire kingdom, I want to say thank you, freaks. I know this hasn't been the most...ideal arrangement." King Julien started to say, then got uncomfortable. Then composed himself and continued to say sincerely, "But seriously though, thank you all for helping us out. May your journey be smooth sailing and may you get to enjoy your big apples once again." The New York animals looked at each in confusion over that last part while Maurice shook his head in amusement. Then Marty stepped forward and said awkwardly,
"Uh, thanks Julien and...yeah, thanks for letting us crash with you guys and Timo's help. Even if things did get kinda messed up there. Speaking of, good luck with...you know." He nodded his head towards where Clover and Dr. S were skirting the edge of the crowd with several lemurs throwing non too friendly looks Clover's way.
"What are you...oh. Oh." King Julien turned that way too and it took him a moment but then he understood. He turned back to Marty and rubbed the back of his neck."Yeah, gonna need a whole lot of that. Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah. So long, farewell, goodbye. Now let's finally blow this joint!" Skipper said, stepping into the passenger car of the blimp with a hop and a skip.
"Smell ya never, fuzz buckets!" Was Alex's thrilled farewell before following the penguin's lead and leaping into the vessel. Everyone else said their own quick goodbyes and hopped on board as well. And when all it's intended passengers were aboard, the blimp took off and rose up, up into the air and then glided across the morning sky. King Julien was among those who kept watching long after take off, watching the homeward bound vessel grow ever smaller until it was gone.
While animals ate from the celebratory food spread (aka all the leftovers from the previous night's party) Clover skirted the sidelines of the crowd, keeping eyes and ears peeked for any possible signs of fossa. A growl, a howl, a long furry tail snaking around the surrounding brush. She didn't catch anything of that nature but her ears did pick up surrounding conversation.
"I don't know, Pancho. I feel kinda bad for Clover." She heard Willie saying.
"I don't. If she's too stupid to accept the truth and leave that bastard, then I ain't crying for her." Was Pancho's argument. Clover clenched her teeth and her fist and her fur began to bristle.
"Come on Pancho, have a heart. Clover really needs some compassion right now." Was Xixi's argument.
"Oh, you want me to show concern for Clover? Like how she showed it for us when she left with that...that wook!?" Pancho snapped and Clover felt that now familiar pang of stabbing shame in her heart. And also confusion.
"...I don't know what that word means." Willie said.
Neither did Clover but she didn't stick around to find out, moving out of earshot of that conversation and soon picking up another, stopping to watch and listen.
"Welp, the freaks are gone, so when it is gonna be Clover's turn?" Tammy was saying to Becca and Dorothy.
"Yeah, go back to your precious man candy and army why don't ya." Was Becca's comment.
"Lay off of her, you two." Dorothy scolded them.
"I will not and what's with you? I recall you hating Clover just as much as the rest of us but now you're defending her? What gives?" Tammy demanded to know, looming over Dorothy and giving the smaller lemur a dirty scrutinizing eye. Dorothy wilted under the harsh gaze and Clover almost rushed over to stand between the two lemurs. But before she could, Dorothy scowled, straighten up and spoke nervously but still firm, holding her ground and eye contact with Tammy as she did.
"I just realized that maybe we all have been too hard on Clover, that maybe it was really a horrible, stupid accident..."
"Oh no you don't!" Becca interrupted. "Now I can admit that maybe, maybe most of us were made plum dumb by the wedding but Clover? No, no no, she knew exactly what she was doing cause she is a gold digging, power hungry bi..."
"Whoa there girl, you might wanna slow down!" Tammy interrupted, holding a paw out in a stopping motion. "I would think before you say that last word least King Julien hears you. You don't wanna end up with your butt whooped like Horst."
"King Julien wouldn't hit a woman!" Dorothy argued in outrage.
"No, he would get Clover to do it for him!" Was Tammy's.
"No he wouldn't, not just for talking! King Julien has heard plenty of lemurs bad mouthing Clover and he hasn't had any of them beaten up!" Dorothy implored, desperate for them to see reason.
"Except Horst when he snapped last night!" Becca snapped. "Face it, King Julien is done with his and Clover's 'haters' and he'll do anything to shut us up!" She used mocking air quotes for the one word.
"This has gone on long enough!" Clover thought to herself, taking a step forward. She wasn't going to stand for such slander against her friend! But before she could take another step…
"Fossa!"
Clover's heart skipped a beat, her boiling blood froze at Dr. S's frantic call.
Lemurs screamed and scrambled in a panic, not wishing to stay out in the open but not knowing whether or not to turn to the jungle and climb up the trees or head farther into the cove towards all the junk for cover, least they run right into the waiting jaws of a hungry fossa.
"Where is it!?" Clover called out as loud as she could over the cries of frantic citizens, looking wildly about this way and that for any signs of fossa and Dr. S.
"In the bushes!" She heard Dr. S call above the crowd, following the sound and spotting the snake doctor towering over them all, his upper body reared up into the air where he was looking out over towards the jungle that skirted the edge of the cove. Others saw him as well, some racing towards him with the rest following their lead, scrambling to and piling behind their peculiar protector. Who continued to look straight ahead through pupils contracted to thin claws surrounded by blazing amber irises. His whole body was tense, the lower part coiled tight, ready to pounce. All this while his tongue flickered in and out of his mouth, licking the air.
Clover looked in the same direction but didn't see anything. "If you've gotten everyone in a panic for nothing, I swear to Frank..." She thought to herself. Then she bounded towards the jungle, weaving between lemurs bounding for Dr. S until she came to where rock turned into dirt and grass and the jungle began.
By that time, everyone else had gotten behind Dr. S, their cries petering out to small whimpers. Clover was grateful for the quiet as she skirted along the trees and brush, the better to hear her old enemies if they were close by. Then she spotted something on the ground. It was paw print. A fossa paw print which she knelt down to and upon closer inspection could tell that it was a fresh one. She found more leading deeper into the jungle with toes pointed away from the cove.
Clover came back into the open and rushed over to everyone, who were still cowering behind Dr. S. Including King Julien, who asked her, nervous and hopeful,
"Is it gone?"
"There was at least one fossa and yes, it's gone. It's tracks are leading away from the cove. You're all safe, thanks to Dr. S." Clover told him, looking over at Dr. S at the last sentence. She spoke with relief but also with a hint of sadness?
As she spoke, the fire simmered down in Dr. S's eyes, his pupils filling back into their usual shape. He body relaxed as lemurs slowly started to come out from behind it, breathing along with them a collective sigh of relief.
He looked back at Clover as she said to him genuinely impressed, "Good job spotting that fossa, Dr. S."
"Oh, I didn't see it, I smelled it. I was just scouting around like you told me to and caught a whiff." Dr. S told her not in a boastful way but more humble like, flicking his tongue out.
King Julien gave a funny look and asked, "Why are you doing that?"
"Doing what?" Dr. S didn't understand what he meant.
"You're talking about smelling the fossa but you're sticking your tongue out, why?" King Julien was confused.
"Oh, that's how I smell." Dr. S explained.
King Julien gave him a skeptical look. "...You're pulling my leg."
"No, honest! We snakes smell with our tongues." Dr. S insisted.
"Na uh!"
"Yeah huh!"
Maurice watched this back and forth with amusement. He glanced over at Clover, who was also wearing an amused smirk. Then the smirk faded and then she looked kinda sad, though Maurice couldn't understand why. Dr. S had once again kept everyone safe, partly thanks to her training. She should be happy, right?
….
Maurice figured that Clover was troubled over Sage and so after the celebrations, he told King Julien about his suspicions. When the two of them came to Clover about them, she denied that anything was the matter at first.
"I told you, I'm fine." Clover insisted once more as the three of them stood around the royal throne room.
"You don't seem fine. You seem sad. If you need to talk about Sage..." King Julien started to offer in concern.
"What's there to say that hasn't already been said? When I get home, Sage and I are going to have a nice long talk about responsibility. End of story. Now if you don't mind, I would like to get back out and do some work." Clover said in a huff, spreading an arm out to indicate a window leading outside.
"You just did plenty of work. You can take a break." King Julien insisted.
"No I didn't." Clover grumbled.
"Excuse me, what?" King Julien didn't quite catch what she said but Maurice did and he asked her,
"What do you mean? You were scouting all over the cove looking out for fossa..."
"Before I got distracted by gossip and slander!" Clover snapped. "I was so focused on what people were saying about me and-and Sage and you!" She pointed to King Julien, who was taken aback by this outburst. "That I didn't notice there was a fossa stalking you all! If Dr. S wasn't there...if he didn't spot and-and scare it away, it might have..." Her words petered out as the gravity of could have happened once again hit her like a tidal wave, slamming into and pinning her down under it's crushing weight.
"But he was there and everything turned out okay! We're all okay!" King Julien tried to reassure her.
"No thanks to me!" Clover snapped.
"That's not true! Dr. S found the fossa cause he was on the look out for one and being vigilant like you told him to! He was following your orders, your training, so really, he kept us all safe partly thanks to you!" Maurice argued earnestly.
"Partly isn't good enough when lives are on the line!" Clover argued back sharply. Then her face fell and she said sadly, "This-this whole mess with Sage, what people are saying about him and us and you, your majesty." She faced King Julien and fresh waves of guilt slammed into her. His own reputation continued to be dragged through the dirt because of her. Because even after what she had done, no matter how others tried to convince him otherwise, he continued to defend her through it all. Continued to be her friend.
"It's okay, Clover..." King Julien started to say gently, growing ever more concerned as was Maurice.
"It's not okay! I need to be focused on Dr. S and training and keeping you all safe, not listening to hogwash gossip and fretting over Sage! I can't...I can't let myself get so wrapped up in him that it compromises everyone's safety. Not again." Clover's words started off hot and as she went, simmered into sorrow, her voice growing ever lower but the shame and regret ringing loud and clear for her friends. "I can't, not again."
King Julien and Maurice saw their friend looking so lost and felt lost themselves. They both wanted to reach out and somehow convince Clover that her feelings were important too, that she wasn't a bad person just because she was rightfully upset about her husband, that everything would be alright.
"Go to him." Maurice said, unenthusiastic but still sincere.
"What?" Clover asked, confused. Julien also gave him a puzzled look.
"Go back to The Mountain Lemur Kingdom and talk to Sage already." Maurice reiterated. Clover opened her mouth to protest but Maurice went on with, "This whole situation is really stressing you out and you said yourself you can't concentrate on anything else. Might as well go ahead and talk to Sage. Clear the air between you two and your head. Spend time with him and your people and take a break. Then you and Sage can come back here and he can apologize and with that load off your mind, you'll be able to focus on training Dr. S. Heck, it could be part of his training if you think about it. See how he does on his own with what you've taught him so far. A test if you will."
"With everyone's lives on the line." Clover pointed out darkly.
"He's guarded the kingdom on his own before. He could do it again, just for a day or two." Maurice pointed out, trying to be reassuring. "And this time he would also have a little training under his belt, you've said yourself he's making progress. I believe he's got potential and you'll be able to better bring out that potential if you're not so stressed out. Please just, think it over?"
Clover looked back at him in silence for a moment, looked into his earnest, imploring eyes. Then she sighed and said, "You're right. Dr. S did protect everyone without me. And honestly, he still has, even with me here." Her friends opened their mouths, ready to once again reassure her about that morning but Clover went on with, "I'm not just talking about today. Remember the fossa attack, the same day I came back? Before I could even say 'On it!', Dr. S was bolting out the door and scaring away the fossa all on his own." She sighed again. Then she faced Julien. "What do you think, your majesty? Should I stay or should I go?"
"I...Maurice is right. You should go. You are super stressed out and talking to Sage is super important. We'll be alright and hey, if there is any trouble that Dr. S can't handle, then I promise I'll let you know right away." King Julien told her, unenthusiastic about the idea (his faith in Sage flipping back and forth) but still sincere, knowing how important it was her, with Maurice nodding in agreement.
Clover looked back and forth between her friends for a long moment. Then sighed and said, "You better."
And so after telling Dr. S, Mort, Nurse Phantom, and Dorothy about the plan and saying their goodbyes, Clover set off on Shadow back to The Mountain Lemur Kingdom.