Back at the other lemur kingdom, King Julien was pacing about his throne room while fretting frantically to both himself and Maurice.
"Oh dear Frank, Xixi must have gotten to The Mountain Lemur Kingdom by now! She must have given the letter to Clover by now! Clover's on her way here right now! She's gonna be here any second, I know it! What am I going to say to her!? How am I supposed to say it!? How am I supposed to talk her now that I...that I know that I…!?" Julien stopped and covered his mouth with one paw while continuing to hug himself with one arm, unable to bring himself to utter the terrible truth. That he was madly in love with Clover. That she along with everybody else continued to suffer because of his selfish desires.
They had exhanged daily letters since that horrible revelation but that wasn't the same as talking face to face! Clover didn't see Maurice, Rob, Mort and others having to come up with like ninety percent of the words filling said letters because Julien struggled that much to put even one word onto paper. She didn't see him freaking out when he did manage to write something down because he was so afraid of saying the wrong thing or when each message was finally sent after a lot of coaxing, all the anxiety that twisted his guts up and made them feel so heavy in his tummy like lead preztels as he waited for her replies. And again, he had made his friends do most of the talking with her butterfly spies.
Clover had desperately wanted to send some of her subjects to keep an eye on her friends but Sage and lemurs allied with Campion made their stance on any of them setting foot in Julien's kingdom very clear. So Clover went to the butterfly kingdom , where she implored it's citizens to check on her companions, to which a multitude of the colorful insects promptly obliged.
"Just talk to her as her friend, your majesty! Tell her what we've gone over, that we're going to continue to take the situation very seriously and keep taking precautions with your uncle and Zora!" Maurice advised with great concern and he was going to make sure those plans were followed through. For while musk didn't lie, that didn't absolve Uncle King Julien or Zora from lying about other matters. It didn't mean that the old bastard was a changed lemur or that Zora wasn't conspiring with him to kill King Julien. Dear Frank, he was getting to be just as paranoid as Clover but she had every right to be! This was Uncle King Julien for Frank's sake! The monster of whom Maurice had known his whole life as a lemur devoid of any kindness or compassion and it was going to take more then a few seemingly sweet (though admittedly very convincing) moments with Zora or King Julien's weird dream for him to believe anything otherwise!
"But how am I supposed to do that!? I-I can't do this!" Julien declared in a panic and headed towards the doorway separating first class and coach. To which Maurice rushed to block his path, standing with arms and legs spread wide as he commanded with stern conviction,
"Yes you can! You have to! Clover's your friend! You can't just ignore her!"
"That's easy for you to say! You're not…!" Julien started to snap before a hawk's sharp shriek cut his rebuke short and in that second, the lemur king swore that his heart stopped. He stood frozen on the spot as he heard familiar beautifully crazy yelling and saw Maurice's wide eyes following it's source behind his back.
"Clover!" Maurice enthusiastically exclaimed. Then, was uneased once more upon seeing Julien's petrified state.
"Maurice! Your majesty! I heard screaming! Are you two alright!? I came as fast as I co...your majesty?" Clover's frantic explanation turned into confused questioning when she saw that Julien still hadn't turned around, feeling her eyes boring into his back along with Maurice's concerned gaze flanking his front until he forced himself to face his fierce friend.
"Clover! So glad you're here!" He smiled and said with mock enthusiasm while holding his arms out wide as he felt his hammering heart thrashing against his rib cage, threatening to smash through that and burst out of his chest at any moment.
"Your majesty, are you alright?" Clover asked in concern, so she could see through her friend's false smile and detected the uneasiness in his tone.
"Who, me? I'm fine! Totally fine! Just a little slow! A-a little on edge! Just a little! Haven't been sleeping all that great lately, what with all the crazy going on! Heh heh!" Julien awkwardly insisted, ending with a painfully forced chuckle, doing a poor job overall of hiding his unease. But then, gazing upon Clover's worried expression brought something else to mind that shoved the pretense aside and he asked her with tender concern, "...And worrying about you! How are you doing with...everything?"
"Me? I-I'm...getting by." Clover told him, stunned at first then tried to sound nonchalant. Then, she furrowed her brow and added sternly, "At least I'm not the one stuck with my psychopath uncle and his girlfriend! And speaking of, where are they? He on the job today? Dr. S keeping an eye on her like he's supposed to?"
"Yeah, yeah everybody's where they're supposed to." Julien told her, trying to sound nonchalant to hide his anxiety, hoping against hope that she didn't ask to…
"Good! Dr. S should be alright on his own for a little longer! In the meantime, take me to Uncle King Julien!"
...Nevermind.
At this demand, Julien and Maurice looked to each other, each silently begging the other for an answer.
"What? What!?" Clover asked irritably, confused by her friend's uneasiness. To which they looked back to their companion and Maurice tentatively told her,
"Clover, I really don't think that's a good idea..."
"Why not!?"
"Because...right, Uncle King Julien is...he's with one of..." Maurice paused to bit his bottom lip, then took a breath and said with solemn sadness, "One of the family members of the wedding victims."
His words wiped the scowl clean off Clover's face and it was all she could say to them but, "...Oh." Simple and stunned. And it was all she could do but stare at her friend with eyes like two open fields as he went on to say solemnly,
"The people agreed that because they're the ones who've been suffering the most, that having first dibs on Uncle King Julien is the least they deserve. So, he's been working for relative after relative every day since then, including today."
"Oh. That-that's good! The-the people are right!" Clover said, trying to keep her stunned and sincere words steady but the sorrow gripping them could still be heard, sending pangs pulsing through her friend's hearts. Which ached ever still when Clover turned her face away from them, hugged herself and added, with voice lower and raspier as if being choked by her grief, "They absolutely deserve it!"
"Clover..." Maurice said with tender sorrow, reaching out a concerned paw to his friend while taking a step forward, with Julien following his lead. But before either could reach her, Clover swallowed a lump in her throat, looked back to her friends while uncrossing her arms and said more composed like,
"You're right, Maurice. It would be a bad idea." Then, anxiety was mixed into the bitter cocktail. "They're really doing alright with him, right? The families with Uncle King Julien, I mean. They're really watching him closely?"
"Like hawks, I swear." Maurice solemnly said with Julien nodding in kind.
To which Clover crossed her arms once more and turned to look out the windshield, at the puffy white clouds gliding leisurely across a bright blue sky.
"I suppose this relative can handle things…" Then, she asked while sounding more pleading then intended, "Can we please go see Dr. S and Zora?"
"Yeah, yeah, that we can do." Julien said, solemn and gentle.
And so, the three friends soon arrived at the clearing where Clover had trained Dr. S two weeks prior. They found the snake doctor slithering about the dusty open ground, weaving this way and that while looking up into the surrounding treetops through narrowed eyes, his tongue sticking out the side of a wide grin. Then, he rose his upper body and flicked his tongue in and out, lapping in the humid jungle air while keeping his eyes on the treeline.
"Wha…?" Clover started to make her confused inquiry when a coconut suddenly burst out of the treetops, hurtling straight for Dr. S. Who, quick as lightning, hunched his long body into a half loop, the coconut jumping right through. Then, another coconut came his way from another tree close by and once again with lightning speed, he was able to dodge that one as well. Then, came another and another and another, a barrage of coconuts aimed right for the perky protector, who weaved his body around them all as if he were dancing to high pace party music, letting out a gleeful guffaw as he did.
"What the hell are you doing!? And where's Zora!?" Clover snapped, startling her friends and Dr. S, who with a jolt stopped his joyful dance and whipped his head towards her harsh bark.
"Clover!?" He exclaimed in shock but before either could say another word, a fresh coconut came flying, this one smacking the back of the snake doctor's head with full force.
"Ow!" Dr. S yelped and rubbed the back of his skull while letting out a pained groan. Then, he turned, glared up at the treetops and whined, "Hey! Who threw that!? That's not fair! We're in time out!"
"No, we ain't!"
Recognizing the sharp retort's source as Becca, the royal trio came closer to the line of trees from which the coconuts had come from and following Dr. S's gaze, saw the rebellious lemur standing on one of said tree's branches. Abner was sitting by her side while several more lemurs were spread out on other limbs, including Zora, and all were scowling down at the newcomers.
"Yes, we are!" Dr. S retorted back.
"Nobody called for one!"
"I had my back turned! That should have told you that we're in time out!"
"That is not a call for time out!" Zora piped in critically. "It can be a fatal mistake in real battle, so yeah, it totally counts!" Which received a smug smile from Becca and an irritable growl from Dr. S, who then snapped,
"Fine! Then I call for time out starting now!"
"Fine by me. Go do what you have to do." Zora told him calmly while keeping her critical gaze on Clover, who scowled back.
"Come on, Dr. S. There are matters that we need to discuss." Clover said in kind and walked away. To which the serpent student, Julien and Maurice followed her a good distance through the jungle until she stopped and turned back to her companions, her scowl now etched even deeper.
"Can someone please tell me just what the fuck was that about!?" Clover demanded, her fury taking the others aback.
"What are you talking about?" Dr. S asked, confused.
"That! With Becca and Zora and-and the coconuts!? What in blazes were you all doing!?"
"Oh, that! We were training!" Dr. S perked up in realization and answered proudly.
"What?" Clover snarled.
"Zora, she's been training me and Becca and Abner and...uh..." Dr. S told her with a smidge of uneasiness, leaning back just a little.
"Training...Abner and Becca….whose bright idea was that!?" Clover demanded to know with scathing sarcasm, looking around the group furiously, to which Dr. S answered,
"Zora's. I told her about you training me and she asked if she could teach me too, like you. Well, not exactly like you since...you know...anyways, I said yes and then, she asked Abner and Becca if they wanted to learn about defense too and they said yes and got other lemurs into it…"
"I can't believe this! I can't believe you said yes! I can't believe you're going along with that bitch!" Clover snapped, to which Dr. S recoiled from her forceful bark. Then, he got over it and returned her glare with his own.
"I'm doing what you told me to! I'm keeping an eye on Zora and keeping up with my training! I thought you'd be happy!" Was his critical retort.
"Happy? Happy!? You're listening to that manipulative she demon and you think I should be happy!? This is exactly what Zora wants! For you lot to listen to her! To be grateful to her for teaching you so that you won't see her for who she really is! So it'll be that much easier for her and Uncle King Julien to kill King Julien! These 'lessons' need to stop before it's too late!"
Was Clover's scathing comeback. She then stopped to huff in and out ragged breathes, her jungle eyes wild as they darted from one companion to another while no one else breathed a word, too stunned by her scornful ones. Then, Dr. S furrowed his brow and said bluntly,
"That's funny, Becca's been saying the same thing."
To which Clover gave a stunned, "What?"
"Becca already came to the same conclusion! That Zora wants to trick all of us and only agreed to let Zora teach her and got everybody else involved for the finishing touch to her plan!" Dr. S explained earnestly.
"What plan and what do you mean by 'finishing touch' and how do you know all this!?" Clover demanded with mind reeling disbelief.
"Because Becca told me! Just like she also told me the real reason why everyone agreed to let Zora and Uncle King Julien stay here! Revenge and I'm not talking about chores! Oh no, that's just to hold lemurs over until...well, the orginial plan was to wait until there was inrefutable proof that Zora really wasn't...you know..." Dr. S petered off uncomfortably into an awkward pause for a second or two, then cleared his throat to gain back his composure. "Exposing hers and her boyfriend's evil plan so that then lemurs could beat their asses into the next century! Then, it was added on that the people would kill the couple using the very same moves that Zora's teaching them now! Now, I'm to safety restrain Zora while the people kill Julien!...Not this Julien! The other one!" Dr. S ended his explanation with a bit of panic, pointing the tip of his tail at King Julien, who was himself uneased though for a different reason.
"I don't...I don't believe this! I mean, I knew the likes of Becca and Abner had to be up to something to-to not say anything but...you're really going along with this!?"
"Yes! Cause I've never had to deal with Uncle King Julien's crap but the people have! They deserve to have their revenge!"
"Oh, Abner and Becca will certainly get their revenge, alright! And it will start by letting Uncle King Julien and Zora kill King Julien! So when everything else is said and done, those conniving snakes can then claim the throne for themselves!" Clover proclaimed with manic fury.
"What!? No! Abner and Becca want King Julien alive! At least, for now…!" Dr. S first frantically tried to reassure her before trailing off awkwardly. After another awkward second, he resumed explaining with frantic conviction. "That idea was shoot down before they could even bring it up! Hector pointed out that if they did conspire to have King Julien killed and he did die, then you and me would kill them! Then, you and Sage would adopt everyone else as your new subjects! And as much as they hate King Julien, Abner and Becca hate the idea of dying and leaving everyone to deal with you and Sage even more! So for the time being, they'd rather have a living King Julien then a dead one! I swear!"
"But...I..." Clover struggled to speak with stunned incredulousness. She then looked over at her friends and scowled at their concern expressions directed towards her person. "I'm guessing you two already know all this since ya don't seem the least bit shocked!" Was her vexed obversation, taking Julien and Maurice aback with it's harsh tone.
"Y-yeah, Dr. S told us and….and I think he's right!" Maurice told her, sheepish ar first but quickly gained confidence, earnestly arguing that, "If it comes to it, the people deserve to be the ones to punish Uncle King Julien! Not to mention, it'll be easier for Dr. S to handle Zora if he doesn't have to worry about catching and killing the bastard on top of it and easier to keep King Julien safe til it's all over! It's just better for everyone all around if we're all working together, Clover!"
To which Clover silently stared at her friend, stunned by his passion and assertiveness. Then, shock was replaced with tender pride, though it was soured some by his first use of the word if. But then, Maurice's determined scowl crumbled and he looked over at Julien with concern. Following his gaze, Clover saw that their friend seemed uncomfortable, his expression looking pained as he avoided everyone's eyes while rubbing the back of his neck and knowing why that was softened Clover still in spite of herself.
Julien then noticed his friend's uneased eyes on him and scowled. "What!? If it has to be done, then the people should do it! After everything my uncle has done to them, it's their right!" Was his snappish statement, made with sad reluctance that rang loud and clear but still sincere nonetheless.
It was then that Dr. S finally realized the gravity of the subject manner for the lemur king and the snake doctor became worried as well while other troubling manners shoved their way back to the forefront of Clover's mind and scowling once more, she snarled,
"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure they'll exercise that right!"
Well, this certainly got the other's attention and all ears attentively tuned to Clover as she continued to argue critically, "Even if Abner and Becca aren't a threat, that doesn't change the fact that Zora has her 'students' right where she and Uncle King Julien want them! I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner! This all part of their plan! They made their little...spawn on purpose to give Zora more time to gain lemurs trust! Make her look the part of the 'innocent mommy who just wants to help!' And that's exactly why you two need to put a stop to this...this sham before it's too late!",briefly switching to fake dopey, blantantly scathing sarcasm before switching back to sincere fury directed at Dr. S and Julien.
Who snapped out of his stunned state to argue back with incredulousness and earnest, "What!? How do you…!? No! No, even if it is true, I'm not canceling Zora's training! The peoples have been working so hard! Dr. S has been working hard and the peoples wanna help him!"
"And I want their help!" Dr. S piped in kind and when Clover opened her mouth to argue, he added critically, "You think that we forbid lemurs from training, that everyone is just going to go along with it!? Oh, I'm sure some will after you explain your reasoning but others? They might think that you're sprouting a bunch of bull that King Julien is going along with because of course he is and if they really are starting to trust Zora, they might tell her this and ask her to teach them behind our backs and suddenly, I no longer have an easy way to keep tabs on Zora and you and King Julien no longer have an ally who can listen in on what people are saying or what Zora's telling them behind your backs!"
Well, this certainly gave Clover pause, taking a moment or two to mull over the snake doctor's words in stunned silence before asking anxiously,
"Then-then what do you suggest we do!?"
"Exactly what we've been doing!" Dr. S argued in earnest and when Clover opened her mouth to protect, he carried on with, "Others may be starting to trust Zora but I don't! I'm with you, Clover! But like King Julien said, the people want to help me and just keeping Zora busy with training has been such a huge help and maybe...just maybe, with enough of it, they could help me even more!"
"Hold it! Are you suggesting...do you actually believe that the people could help you protect the kingdom!?" Clover asked incredulously.
"I don't know! Maybe!? What I do know is that Zora's students aren't letting her teach them just to trick her and Uncle King Julien! They want to be able to defend themselves, their loved ones, their home! They did once! Against Koto, remember!? And you guys won, working together with the other kingdoms and they would be working with me and it would be awesome for me if I didn't have to protect the entire kingdom all by myself!" Dr. S argued passionately with sincere awe tipped by manic exasperation. Then, seeing the other's stunned and concerned expressions made the passionate protector conscious of his shift in tone and after hunching his body and turning his face away sheepishly, said in kind, "I-I mean...it would be nice..." He then turned back to Clover to solemnly say to her, "And in the meantime, I'll keep watching Zora and Uncle King Julien! I'll keep King Julien safe! I promise!"
"We all will!" Maurice said in kind with Julien nodding in agreement.
To which Clover looked from one pair of pleading eyes to another until she shut hers and breathed out a begrudging sigh. "Just go. Get back to your 'training'." She said with a bitter snarl.
But for a moment, Dr. S was hesitant to obey, for he wanted to say more, wanted to find the words that would ease her troubled mind but finding himself drawing a blank, settled for solemnly saying, "Okay.", and headed back for class.
The others watched him go until he disappeared into the jungle, then Clover turned back to her friends and realized that someone was missing.
"Speaking of people protecting you, where's Mort? You said he's been stuck to you like glue and I thought surely he'd be with you to greet me." She asked Julien, confused greatly.
"Oh he's been stuck to me, alright and he wanted to see you! Told me that while he was freaking out over the baby being real so freaking loud I couldn't hear myself freaking think! I couldn't take it! So I put him under house arrest so I could get a break!" Was Julien's exasperated explanation.
"House arrest!? For being concerned for your safetly!?" Clover shrieked irately, causing Julien to wince and say in frantic defense,
"I needed quiet! I needed to figure out what I was going to say to you! I couldn't handle you and Mort freaking out at the same time!"
"You better learn to handle it because I wanna see him right now!" Clover demanded, getting right up in Julien's face while pointing down at the ground, causing Julien to once again recoil from her harsh bark.
Reluctantly, he and Maurice conceded to her command and the three friends was soon at Mort's home where they found Butterfish sitting in a chair leaned back against the abode, with his head thrown back as he bellowed out ear splitting snoring.
"Butterfish? Butterfish!" Maurice shouted snappishly, to which the larger lemur bolted up right and let out startled and confused mumbles.
"Huh? Wh-what? For the last time, I can't let ya out, little man! Not until KJ gives the all clear!" He said in an annoyed daze while struggling to open his eyes against the scorching sunlight stinging them. He then rubbed and slowly blinked them open and that's when he saw the royal trio standing before him.
"Oh, hey KJ! I see ya'll got Clover with yas! Does this mean I can leave and get my pay now?" He stood up and asked his king hopefully.
"Yeah, yeah, you can go and get your snacks. Just remember, you only have access to Rob's cart for the rest of the day, okay?" Julien reminded him with slight amusement, glad that at least somebody was going to enjoy themselves.
"Rob?" Clover asked, confused due to the fact that it had been quite some time since she had heard his majesty (or anyone for that matter) call the deformed nurse by his real name.
"Yeah, man. Nurse Phantom makes some good chow, I tell ya what." Butterfish gladly explained while patting his belly, then headed off to collect his reward.
With his path now cleared, Mort sprang out of the stump and onto Clover at lightning speed, sending them both down onto the ground, momentarily knocking the wind of Clover's lungs as she was slammed flat onto her back, all while Mort wailed out her name.
"Clovvvvvvver!"
"Clover! I'm so happy to see you!" He sobbed, spreading his small body across Clover's chest in an attempt to give her the biggest hug he possibly could.
"Agh! I'm happy to see you too, Mort." Clover said as she sat up while rubbing the back of her skull, sincerity in her words despite her irritated nerves.
"I wanted to see you right away but they wouldn't let me!" Mort's pitiful lament morphed into a bitter whine, topped off with a seething glare directed at Maurice and Julien, who snapped,
"That's because you were being a super annoying stress monster, that's why!"
"I'm not supposed to be stressed out over what that demon spawn has done!?" Mort snapped back, hopping off of Clover and stomping closer to the lemur king.
"You can do that without screaming so freaking loud I can't hear myself freaking think!"
"I was screaming because you weren't listening to me!"
"You think I'd rather listen to ear hurting shrieking!?"
"At least that got your attention!"
"Will you two stop it!?" Clover demanded and got between them. To which both boys turned away from each other and crossed their arms over their chests. After a second of silent pouting, Mort looked over his shoulder and grumbled,
"Speaking of parasites, I'm surprised you're not off to see the pervert."
"Oh my gods, Mort!" Julien whipped around and snapped. "Seriously!? For the last time, you twisted little troll, it was an accident! That, like we've told you like a whole bunch of times, me and Maurice knew about before Rob!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know the whole 'innocent act'!" Mort said with bitter sarcasm but before Julien or Maurice could give a scathing retort, Clover piped in with her own vexed comment.
"Excuse me! Would someone please tell me just what the blazes are you two talking about!? Accident!? What accident!? And Rob!? You mean Nurse Phantom!?"
"Yeah, that is his name." Julien said like it was the obvious thing.
"I know that! I just haven't heard you call him that in seasons!"
"Oh. Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it? It's just, Rob's really changed and he's been so nice through all this craziness and now that we're real friends again, it just feels more right to call him by his real name again, ya know?" Julien admitted with humble tenderness.
"Real friends? Oh yeah, you two had started hanging out again." Clover said, confusion turning to realization as she recalled her friend being on friendlier terms with the deformed nurse due to all that he had done as of late for both king and kingdom.
"Yes that and something else that happened that actually has to do with the accident." Julien told her.
To which he and Maurice proceeded to recount the events leading up to said accident, with Clover being immensely unsettled by Abner's almost accidental stabbing, not shying away from criticizing Rob's decision to work that day despite his debilitated condition. She was also none too pleased to learn about the nurse's catch up comas, unassured by her friend's insistence that he was working hard to stay sober for the sake of the kingdom. She did however, listen without much a word during their retelling of the reconciliation between old friends and of Rob finally falling asleep on Julien's shoulder. Quietly taking it all in until...
"I tried to move him because again, super gross, but he kept moaning and moving and I was afraid that he was gonna wake up after we had just spent hours getting him to sleep!" Was Julien's exasperated explanation, pulling down on his eyelids. He then let them go and his gaze softened along with his tone. "And he looked so peaceful, like a little baby. I couldn't move him! So I didn't and we stayed cuddled up together the rest of the night.
"Wait, you actually let him stay on your shoulder!? All night!?" Was Clover incredulous comment.
"I know! Makes ya sick, don't it!?" Mort groused, which earned him scolding glares from Julien and Maurice, who snapped,
"Seriously, man, can you shut it for two seconds!?"
But before Mort could snap back, Clover continued her dumbfounded inquiring with, "I'm sorry, I'm just having a very hard time seeing King Julien letting anyone, much less Nurse Phantom, drool on him for one second! Let alone hours!"
"Oh, I get it, believe me! To be honest, I'm still surprised myself!" Julien humbly admitted.
"So am I but believe it or not, it happened and I for one think that it was the right call and really sweet of his majesty!" Maurice said with gentle earnest, turning from Clover to Julien, who after a stunned second gave his friend a small warm smile in return.
"Of course King Julien's intentions were pure! It's that little…!"
"When exactly did this happen again?" Clover cut Mort's scorn short with more critical questioning, then thought to herself, "It better have happened before Julien's uncle and Zora showed up! Dealing with that junkie on top of those two is the last thing you lot need!" Then, that thought sparked another.
"The night before those...those demons showed up with news of their demon spawn! Cause if it's not one thing, it's another these days!" Mort snapped.
"Things have definitely...stayed busy, alright." Maurice uneasily agreed. Then, he noticed Clover's troubled expression and asked with confused concern, "Clover?"
But Clover paid him no heed as echoes of recent memory rang in her ears. As they came together to set that spark of an idea ablaze, blending together into one deafening roar that rapidly tore through her mind like a raging inferno and she knew that if there were sparks of truth to it, the consequences could be just as deadly.
"Clover? Hello, earth to Clo-Clo?" Julien asked and waved his paw in front of Clover's face, puzzled as well, but Clover kept her foreboding mulling up for a moment more before she said to him sternly,
"We can't stay here!"
"What? Why?" Now Julien was even more confused as were the others.
"Before we need to discuss an urgent matter that isn't safe to talk about in the open, that's why!" Clover snapped, letting him and everyone else know that she was no mood to argue. So, no one did and all obediently followed her to the throne room, where she surveyed one corner to another high and low, sharp eyes and ears on alert for any unwanted audience, before she once again faced her very confused companions.
"Okay, now can you tell us what this is about and why we couldn't have just talked about it in Mort's house?" Maurice asked.
"Because in Mort's house, someone could easily pass by and overhear what I have to say concerning his majesty and Nurse Phantom, that's why!" Clover said snappishly.
"Rob?" Julien asked, now even more perplexed.
"Yes and your reconciliation!" Clover snarled, her contempt as clear as the afternoon sky peeking through the windshield behind her person, it's waning light shading her in shadow, darkening her stern expression.
"Oh boy, she's really gonna call that pervert out now!" Mort thought to himself and bounced in place with great entrusiasm while a wide wicked grin danced across his lips.
"What about it?" Julien asked warily, bracing himself to fight another round of criticism towards his friend, ready to once again defend him.
"Have you noticed anything peculiar about when it took place?" Clover inquired, trying hard to keep her anger composed.
"Per-cutey-er…?" A confused Julien struggled to pronouce this strange new word.
"Oh for the love of...it means weird, your majesty! Have you noticed anything weird about when it happened!?" Was Clover's ratty reiteration.
"Oh. Uh…um..." No he did not.
"Think about it! You two were already speading time together, seeing a whole new sweet side to him! Then, he apologizes to you and Maurice and there's all this talk about how he's a changed lemur and all this happens right before Zora and your uncle show up!? Ya see where I'm going with this!?" Clover snarled, the contempt oozing through her clenched teeth gripping Maurice's heart as ice cold claws of dread, for he knew exactly where the conversation was heading. While Julien on the other hand demanded to know,
"No! No, I don't know where you're going! What the heck does me and Rob being friends again have to do with my un…!?"
"It has everything to do with why you're trusting that bastard!" Clover snapped, her jungle eyes feral.
"What!?" Mort said and looked from one friend to another, his confusion mounting.
"Tell him, your majesty! Tell him all about how you not only believe that Zora's an innocent angel but that your uncle is too! That he's really truly changed! That's he's no longer a threat to you or anybody because he's seen the error of his ways thanks to the power of love!" Clover furiously, mockingly demanded and after a stunned second, Julien glared back at her and gave his response.
"One, what part of I think it's possible he's changed do you not understand!?" He snarled at first before snapping while holding up one finger, then lifted a second finger and asked with irate incredulousness, "And two, seriously!? You made me promise not to tell anyone else about that but you can tell Mort!?" To which he spread his arm out towards Mort. He then looked over and saw that the smaller lemur was slowly shaking his head while staring at him in wide eyed horror and demanded of him, "Stop that! Stop looking at me like that, Mort!"
"So it is true! How could you!? After everything he's done to you!? To all of us!?" Mort wailed and his woeful words coupled with the hurt in his big brown eyes made Julien's own heart ache.
"It's because of Nurse Phantom!" Clover furiously proclaimed, then added with bitter sarcasm, "Because if he's a changed lemur, then of course Uncle King Julien must be too!"
"What!?" Was all an incredulous Julien could say.
"You witness Nurse Phantom being sweeter, kinder, willing to lay down his life for the people! So you believe him when he says that he's changed, that he truly cares for everyone! Then, your uncle shows up, going on about how he's changed because he truly cares about Zora and you believe him! Coincidence, I think not!" Was Clover's critical argument.
"I..." Julien was too stunned for words as he struggled to process Clover's, thinking back on those fateful weeks prior. On all the kindness Rob had shown in that time not only to him but to others as well, including hearing numerous recounts of his friend's shift from gleeful tormentor to compassionate caregiver in the days before using his own body to shield his fellow lemurs. To the tenderness and concern his uncle showed for Zora and their unborn child the day they arrived at The Lemur Kingdom, how it had seemed truly geniune. To the freaky deaky dream he had that night where Rob along with Dr. S swapped words with the older Julien, the feelings coming from each other's mouths different and yet, not so different. Much like the exchange of his and Clover's dialouge with Campion and Zora's.
"Rob..." The lemur king uttered softly. He then furrowed his brow into a determined scowl before arguing earnestly, "You know what? You're right! I do think that if Rob can change, then why can't my uncle!?"
"Because Nurse Phantom and your uncle are two completely different lemurs! You can't treat them like they're the same!" Clover snapped.
To which Julien was first stunned, then wounded and snapped back in defense, "I'm not treating them the same! I know they're different and I'm treating them different!"
"No you're not!"
"Yes I am!"
"No you're not!"
"Stop it! Stop it, please!" Maurice pleaded and got between them, desperately looking from one to the other. "Please! If we can just calm down, we can ta…!"
"Calm down? Calm down!? King Julien is out of his fucking mind and you want me to calm down!?" Clover furiously shrieked down at Maurice, who wilted under her ear piercing ire.
"Just for a minute! Just to let King Julien expla…!"
"What's there to explain!? That junkie has got…!"
"Don't call him that!" Maurice snapped and straightened himself up to meet her scolding glare with his own.
"Yeah!" Julien agreed in kind, to which Clover turned on him and demanded to know,
"Do you even know what that word means!?"
"...Someone whose really dirty? Cause...junk like...garbage…?" Julien guessed lamely as his confidence was swiftly drained by the other's critical expressions, to which Clover slapped a palm over her face.
"It's an insult towards drug addicts, your majesty." Maurice explained, keeping his own annoyance composed. "Which yes, Rob does struggle with addiction but Clover has no right to insult him for it!" He went on to say, his composure crumbling along the way, his tone changing from irritable to irate as he looked from Julien to Clover, whose own critical retort to that was,
"I have every right! He almost killed Abner and now, he's got King Julien believing in this love redeems bullcrap putting his life in jeopardy!"
"But Rob didn't tell me to believe that! He doesn't even know that I do!" Julien earnestly argued.
"He still influenced you whether he meant to or not but you don't want to hear that, do you!? Neither of you!" Clover snapped with scathing conviction, looking from Julien to Maurice. "You don't want to hear a damn word I say cause I'm just the mean stupid bitch who should just shut her stupid bitch mouth already, am I right!?" She then stopped to huff and puff ragged breathes while her feral eyes went on roaming from one friend to another, quietly goading them for a response. But as the seconds went by, all she received were three pairs of silent stares, watching as shock was replaced with saddened concern in all of them. "What!? Say something!?"
"Clover..." Julien said sadly and reached a gentle paw out towards her.
"Forget it! You don't wanna listen to reason? Fine!" Clover snarled at him with teeth and bitterness bared, then stomped past all her friends towards the curtain separating first class and coach.
"Clover!" Julien call out to her desperately but she paid him no heed nor to Mort parroting her name in kind, walking through the curtain without a word while Maurice pleaded,
"Clover, please, we didn't mean...we don't want you to…!"
"Aaaaah!"
A blend of screams sliced through the air and the trio ran through the doorway into coach, where they found Clover standing on all fours as she glared down at the lemur pinned beneath her. Who was flat on his back as he met her feral gaze with one of wide eyed panic and was none other then...
"Rob!?"
"Nurse Phantom!?"
Julien and Maurice exclaimed the former while Mort shouted the latter.
"How much did you hear!?" Clover snarled at the nurse dangerously low. "Answer me!" She snapped when he didn't right away but he instead looked to Julien and said to him in dismay,
"You think your uncle's really changed!? Cause of me!?"
Julien stared back at his friend helplessly, desperately racked his brain for the words that would make him understand. "Rob, I..."
"This is all your fault!" Mort's rage erupted and he lunged for Rob's throat but Julien swiflty grabbed the livid lemur mid leap, then pulled him to his chest.
"Let go of me!" Mort demanded and squirmed furiously against the larger lemur's unyielding grip.
"No! I'm not letting you hurt Rob!" Julien snapped back adamantly.
"It's his fault you're trusting that demon!" Mort shrieked in kind.
"It's my own fault for giving my uncle a chance, not Rob's!"
"Be that as it may, he still influenced your decision!" Was Clover's critical comment. She then turned back to Rob. "So I say you are to blame for King Julien putting his life on the line and if you don't want him to lose that life, you better keep your slobbering gob shut! Cause if Zora and his uncle find out about this…!" Clover paused her stern snarling and Rob could see fear flash in her feral eyes, feel her paws trembling as they gripped his fur. Clover then lowered her face so that they were almost nose to nose as she told him in a dangerously low snarl, "Do I make myself clear!?", reminding Rob so much of the jungle in those moments, ready to pounce and tear him apart if he dared defy them but even without them or their master, he already knew his answer.
"I swear, I won't tell a soul!" He solemnly swore as he firmly held Clover's fierce gaze with his own.
To which she glared back into his earnest eyes for a moment more before getting off of the nurse and standing up. She then went over to where Julien continued to hold onto Mort with all his might with an arm pressed up against the piqed primate's mouth, muffling his scathing screams, while his small legs kept sprinting on air.
"Come on, Mort!" Clover barked and swiftly seized Mort's tail, yanking him away from a surprised Julien. "Let's go!"
Hanging upside in her iron grip, Mort begged, "But Clover…!"
"We're clearly not wanted here! No use staying any longer!" Clover snapped, then told him through clenched teeth, her bitterness bared for all to hear, then flipped her friend right side up and held him tight to her chest. Her words sent pangs pulsing through everyone's hearts and Mort went limp in her arms, letting her carry him out the door without a fight.
"Clover!" Maurice desperately called out and rushed to the doorway along with Julien and Rob but like with the others, Clover refused to observe his plea and the trio watched as she carefully climbed down the tree, using one arm to grip it's thick thunk while securing holding onto Mort with the other. Maurice and Rob then leaned back inside the plane and helplessly looked to each other.
"Maybe we should give her some time to cool down?" Rob tentatively suggested.
Maurice opened his mouth to argue but then, closed it while his face and ears fell. "Yeah, that's probably the best thing to do right now." He said sadly.
Both then looked back to where Julien was still staring out the door, down at the spot where Clover had just made it to the jungle floor and was carrying Mort off to places unknown.
"King Julien?"
"Julie?"
Both of the lemur king's friends asked with gentle concern.
After a reluctant second, Julien pried his misty eyes away from the source of his aching affections to look back at his friends, whose hearts ached ever still upon seeing his forlorn expression.
"Y-yeah, you're right, Clo-Clo can use the break." Julien said sadly, low and raspy. He then leaned back into the plane and silently stared at Rob for another hesitant moment before asking him, trying hard to keep his anxiety composed as he begged him, "Rob, can we...can we talk? Please?"
Rob was taken aback by his plea but tried to hide his own anxiety as he said gently, "Yeah, y-yeah, of course we can."
To which Julien turned to Maurice and begged of him, "Momo, can you please leave so we can talk alone?"
"Of course." Maurice said solemnly after a surprised second, giving Rob a brief solemn glance before starting towards the door. Julien moved out of the way to let him through and as he passed, Maurice gave him one last gentle look before exiting. Then, Julien and Rob turned back to each other.
"Please! Please let me explain!" Julien pleaded and even though he couldn't see them for the fading light now shrouding him in shadow, Rob still saw within his mind's eye the deep grooves of exhaustion that seemed as of late perpetually etched into Julien's face as clear as ever and gave his full attention as Julien went on to earnestly, ruefully, bitterly explain.
"Yes, Rob, it's true! I do believe that it's possible that my uncle really has changed and I realize now that, yeah, it is partly because you've changed but you're not the only reason! It's a lot of other reasons too! Like...like Dr. S! Before all this craziness started, I never thought in a billion years that he could protect anyone! That he could be responsible or-or be all logic police or care about you so much that he's willing to protect the peoples that you care about so much! Peoples that I assumed that you didn't care about at all! That you and Maurice and Hector and everybody were being just a bunch of haters when really, you guys had every right to be angry and I was the hater! That Sage was going to be Clover's super wonderful husband who loves her like she deserves! Who cares about her feelings! About the people's! That acting oh so smarter then Clover as I try to force her to leave Sage was an awesome idea! Like sending the freaks away to test Dr. S and the killer robots and the wall and my stupid 'training' that apparently proved that we can defend ourselves even though it was Mary Ann who drove the fossa away, not us, were awesome ideas!...I assumed that Mary Ann had everything covered! That she would punish the rebel fossas and we would all be safe from now on and everything would be fine!...But I was wrong! I've done nothing but assume and assume and assume and I've been wrong, wrong, wrong!"
"And that's why I don't want to just assume that my uncle is still evil or that Zora is evil cause what if I'm wrong again and I hurt Zora and the baby just like I've hurt everybody else!? Like Campion has already hurt Zora!? Please believe me, I'm not Sage! I don't believe with all my heart, no doubt about it believe that my uncle has changed! Part of my heart kepts telling me that maybe he has, that maybe he and Zora really are innocent and really do just want a safe place for their family! But the other part kepts screaming 'Have you lost your mind, man!? This is your uncle, for Frank's sake! The guy's not capable of love or compassion or caring about anyone besides himself! This is just another one of his plans to kill you! You're going to get yourself killed cause he's gonna kill your crazy self!' Or that he and Zora want to kill me and I'm terrified that they are going to kill me but I can't just assume that they wanna kill me cause I don't know that for sure and I just can't! No matter how scared I am, I just can't assume! I want to see for myself how they act here and now and listen and think things through for once instead of rushing to make a stupid decision with my stupid brain that hurts people like I always do!"
And even when he stopped to huff and puff ragged breathes, Julien continued to beseech Rob with his eyes. Like two sunsets over a simmering horizon, glistening as their pools of tears overflowed and trickled down Julien's cheeks. As they both stunned and stabbed Rob's heart as he tried hard to process his friend's anguished plea. That held him in that pensive silence for some long moments until finally, the nurse almost tried to reassure Julien word for word that he wasn't stupid but then, realized that there were other things he needed to say first, to which he instead said gently,
"So you're giving your uncle and Zora a chance so as not to repeat your mistakes?"
"Yes!" Julien said, the word coming out hoarse but still firm.
"You're not just blindly trusting them?"
"No! For Frank's sake, you know I've been super careful since they got here! I...Having Dr. S with me every time I've been anywhere near them!? Having him or somebody or both with me all day and you and Momo and Mort all night while I have the worst time getting to sleep!? Holding you when I hear a loud sound or see Zora holding a scary sharp spear!? Nobody's making me do any of that! Nobody!" Julien argued with earnest exasperation, pushing through the pain of his scorched throat to shout the words loud and clear. That not only sent a fresh round of pangs pulsing through Rob's heart but also reminded him of Julien's last mentioned occurrence.
It had happened a couple days prior, when he and Julien were watching Dr. S along with several lemurs as they trained with Zora. It was during this time that the behemoth teacher had picked up a long spear with a rock at it's end like a giant stone shark's tooth that looked just as razor sharp. Rob remembered Julien's fear scent mixing with his own at the sight of the large lemur firmly holding the weapon in her massive paws. The two of them then swiftly pressing up against each other without a second thought and feeling their bodies trembling in rhythm. Staying huddled together for some long utterly uncomfortable moments until Rob had mercifully excused them and Julien expressing his sincere gratitude once they were far enough away from the fray. It was then that Rob noticed his friend trembling then and there in the fading light of present day.
"You're shaking..." Rob said with gentle concern, to which Julien avoided his gaze as his body continued to quake, with tight fists trembling at his sides.
"Giving them a chance really means that much to you!" Rob said in dawning realization.
"Yes!" Julien adamantly affirmed, then went on to implore, "I'm not asking you to trust my uncle or Zora! I'm not asking you to be totally okay with this! Maurice isn't! He doesn't believe my uncle has changed at all and thinks it's crazy to believe that he has but...but he doesn't get mad or-or treat me like I'm an idiot for wanting to believe that he has! He just...understands! I just want you to understand and-and not be mad at yourself! You may have influenced me but you're not making me do this! No one is making me do this! I'm choosing to do this! Please believe me! Please!" Then, his voice dropped to a pleading whisper as he beseeched his friend once more with simmering sunset eyes, "Please!"
"Julie...I'm sorry! You're not an idiot! I'm sorry! I...I'm not gonna lie, I'm still really freaked out right now! I think your uncle is still nothing more then his same backstabbing bastard self and I really wish you weren't doing this and I'm really scared you're going to get hurt...but I know not doing this would hurt you even more! Keep believing what you believe! Let me be cynical for both of us while I try to understand! I want to understand!" Rob earnestly, tenderly swore.
To which more tears trickled down Julien's cheeks as he let out a shaky breath.
"Julie..." Rob said with tender sadness while reaching out a gentle paw but before he could utter another word, Julien pounched, wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a warm embrace.
"Thank you!" Julien told him with a raspy tender whisper and after a stunned moment, Rob let out his own rattling breath before squeezing his eyes shut and readily returning his hug in kind.