Among the wilderness of the wild, a sun began to rise from the horizon. Trees swayed softly in the wind, the clouds parting away to reveal the bright blue sky behind them.
Just then, the silhouette of a male teenager with a sail on his back and a long tail swung on a vine, all the while letting out a Tarzan yell. He jumps off of the vine after swinging on it, performing a tuck-and-roll, now passing by a choir of penguins with black bow ties as they fly away. The male silhouette leaps over a chasm, performing a barrel roll and frontflip roll, landing on the other side as he sprinted along, unaware of a figure now watching the male from afar, sneaking up after the first figure.
But as the figure got close towards the tall trees and the crystal blue lagoon right before him...
"Surprise!" Someone abruptly jumped up right in front of the first male, revealing himself to be Braedey, now 18 years old, snapping the first male from his daydream.
Dante yelled out in fright, then stumbled and fell off of the treadmill, crashing into the fence behind him. He groaned as he rubbed the back of his head, then got to his feet. "Ouch. Braedey! Do not interrupt me while I'm daydreaming, man! When a Dino is in the zone, you leave him alone." He gestured to the mural of the wild on the wall behind Braedey.
Braedey, now 18 years older, stands about 9ft tall, the skin around his hands looking to be leathery and in a darkish leather, with the skin around the face and chest being a Caspian white. He even has two fangs jutting down from his upper lip. He now has broad shoulders, lean legs and arms that show off lean yet powerful muscle, while he has lean muscles, a firm dominant six pack on his abdomen. He has small black tipped claws as fingernails. He has a black leathery scaled tail, around half of his body height, while on his back are three rows of sharp spines, 89 dorsal spines in total, all in a maple-leaf design, the centre row being the tallest, his draconic wings now twice the size of his height. He has on a black shirt that has a freakish-colour fur collar, a pair of dark grey pants and a lightish grey belt around his waist. He also has on some armour plating with spiky additions on them, the armour on the upper arms and shoulders, the lower arms sporting smaller yet streamlined plating, as on the 'skirt' and codpiece, with the feet protected by the shoes and armour.
Dante is a blonde male with spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and white skin. He is around 19 years of age, who is standing at 8ft tall, has a broad chest with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and lightly toned muscles across his form, along with having a noticeable six-pack on his abdomen area. He also has a Spinosaurus dorsal spine jutting out of his back with orange and pale red scales on it, as well as a long tail behind him to go with the dorsal spine. He has what might be an Egyptian-style piece covering the upper half of his chest and shoulders, in the colours of orange and gold, whilst a light tan cape is behind him. A small piece of jewellery is around his neck; a blue and orange necklace, and he has what may be a tunic in the same colour as his chest piece, and a pair of black sandals.
"Come on, Dante. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, pal!" Braedey smiled at him. Yes, today is actually Dante's 17th birthday, a milestone for most.
"Really? It's my birthday today?" Dante asked with wide eyes and surprise. He checks his little calendar over by his hut, and he saw Braedey was right. "Oh. You're right. Hey, man. Thanks a lot!" He smiled back. Suddenly, Braedey began to express pain on the right side of his jaw as he held it. "You- You okay there?" Dante asked in concern.
"Hey, um... I got s—I got a little something stuck in my teeth. It's been driving me crazy since this morning! Can you help a brother out here? Please?" Braedey asked.
Dante smiled back. "Ah! You've come to the right place, my friend. Doctor Dante Spinosaur, D.D.S. In the house! Please hop on top of my sterilised examination table, if you please." He patted the slab of concrete that separates his paddock and Braedey's, the brunette sitting on it. "Now, let's see what we've got." He checks the jawline, Braedey opening his mouth, the brunette even unhinging his jaw to allow Dante to see, but the latter couldn't see much. "Hmm... I don't see anything." Dante mused, his face now inside of Braedey's mouth.
"It's on the left side-" Braedey spoke out in a muffled voice, Dante yelling out in pain as the brunette's teeth nearly harm him. "Oh, sorry." He apologised, Dante now stepping back.
"Okay. Word of advice: don't talk with your mouth full." Dante advised, Braedey nodding back before opening his mouth again. Dante now reaches his hand in, and he gets something. "Aha! Found it. Right in here." He now pulls out a small snow globe out of Braedey's mouth. "What in the heck is this thing doing in there?" Dante asked in bewilderment.
"Happy birthday!" Braedey announced with a smile.
Dante looked in surprise, then smiled. "Aww. Hey, thanks, man. Good trick there. You put this in behind your tooth. You're now as right as rain." He reassured to Braedey.
"Check this: these things aren't even on the shelf yet. I've had to ask my Dad to get this last night from the gift shop for you." Braedey now shakes the snow globe, and hands it back to Dante. "Here! Check it out. Check it out! Look at that. Ooh! Look at that!"
Dante eyes the snow globe, which has a small-scale Braedey inside in a pose inside a small-scale New York zoo. "Well, would you look at that. It's snowing in Manhattan." He chuckled.
"17 years old, huh? Almost two whole decades. Double digits. The big 1-7!" Braedey smiled with a laugh. He then spotted Dante's crestfallen expression. "Wait. Do you... not like it?" He asked in concern.
Dante quickly shook his head. "No, no, it's great!"
"You hate it." Braedey realised, then snarled to himself. "I should've gotten you the deluxe dragon alarm clock. That's the good one. That's the big seller these days."
Dante shook his head, putting the snow globe down next to the other gifts, most of which were of gift shop things that mostly has Braedey on it. "No, no, no. The present's great, it is. It's just another year has come and gone, and here I am, still doing the same old thing since we met 8 years back." He now runs about the paddock. "'Stalk over there, tackle over there. Grab some fish, swim about over here'." He sighed.
8 years ago, Braedey met up with Dante, the latter having arrived at the Central Park Zoo when Dante was found inside of a wooden crate floating in the Hudson River. He told his story that he was sent away from his homeland of Japan because of his grandmother, who was a total profiling individual and saw him as a freak, but his parents weren't going to listen to her: they saw Dante as someone amazing and extraordinary. But the grandmother wasn't hearing any of it. So, in the dead of night, she took him from his home, trapped him in a crate, and pushed it into the sea. Dante's parents had searched for him but to no avail, but they knew the grandmother was responsible, and she was arrested on sight for child abuse/endangerment and many other charges. Fortunately, when Dante arrived at the zoo, Braedey and many others, as well as his parents, they took a liking to Dante, and welcomed him to the family. Ever since then, Dante and Braedey were like brothers.
"Right. I see your problem." Braedey nodded.
"What should I do about it?" Dante asked.
Braedey leaped to his feet. "You just need to break out of that boring old routine.
"But how?" Dante questioned.
"Throw out the old act. Get out there! Who knows what you're gonna do." Braedey explained as he danced along the concrete slab. "Make it up as you go along. Ad lib. Improvise. On the fly. Boom, boom, boom."
Dante raised an eyebrow. "Really? Boom?"
Braedey got down off the slab. "You know, make it new. Make it fresh." He stated simply.
Dante now cupped his chin in thought at this. "Fresh, huh? Okay. I could try fresh."
"If it works for me, it can work for you." Braedey smiled.
"Morning, you two." The two males now saw Naomi, who is now 38 years old, now wearing a zookeeper outfit. "Glad to see you two awake and smiling now. Happy birthday, Dante." She nodded.
"Thanks, ma'am." Dante nodded.
"Morning, Mom." Braedey gently hugs his mother, even picking her up in the process, while she hugs him back.
"Best you guys get ready for today." Naomi suggested to them, Braedey gently putting her down on her feet. "The zoo is about to open... now!" She announced as she pointed to the front gates.
Just then, at exactly 9:00AM in the morning, the statue monkeys began to ring the bell at the front of the zoo, the lion and zebra statues underneath the bell moving around in circles. It is time. The people are coming now!
Braedey bursts with excitement about them. "Here comes the people, Dante! Oh, I love the people! It's fun people fun time! Whoo-hoo!" Braedey now leaps into the air, landing nearby Maria the Seagirl's water habitat, and tap-dances by her pool. "Yo, Maria! Up and at 'em! We are open!!"
Maria rises out of the water with a yawn, getting to her feet as she stands by a light post. She is a teenage girl about 18 years of age, with a pale blue skin complexion, standing at 9ft tall, with long deep blue hair with curls at the base, her hair put into a high ponytail, and has big brown eyes. She has a curvy figure, with a set of gills on both sides of her neck, her hands and feet looking to be webbed and fin-shaped, while she has blueish scales across her arms and legs, plus a fish fin sticking out from her back. She's in a white two-piece bikini, hugging her curves tightly, as well as a blue waterproof skirt around her waist.
"What day is it?" Maria sighed, rubbing the sleepers out of her eyes.
"It's Friday! It's Field Trip day!" Braedey sang out, tap-dancing as he goes along. "Dadadadada! Boom! Let's go!"
Maria smiled broadly. "Yes, it's field trip day! Let's get up and go... in just 5 more minutes." She sighed, diving down into her pool once again.
Braedey soars overhead of another adjacent paddock with his wings, landing nearby two homes that are next to one another. He knocked on the rooftops to wake the two that are asleep inside.
"Hey, Blake! Melissa! It's time! Let's get up and ready!" Braedey announced to the two inside, both individuals starting to climb out of their homes.
Blake is a 17-year-old male, who is a Black Cat Anthro. He has fair skin, short black hair, silvery-green eyes, as well as cat-like teeth. He even has a pair of cat ears on top of his head, along with a cat tail above his tailbone. He is fit and well-built, standing about 5ft 4" tall. He has on a white short-sleeve shirt with a black sweater overtop, as well as black pants and boots.
Melissa is an 18-year-old female who is a Deer Anthro. She has soft gentle skin with shoulder-length orange hair, blue eyes, freckles across her form and rosy cheeks, while she has Deer ears on either side of her head, with a set of antlers on top of her head, and a deer tail behind her. She has a slender yet curvy body, standing 5ft 6" tall with an athletic build to her physical form. She has on a black short-sleeve shirt with a red Canadian maple leaf in the middle of her shirt, a red-and-black chequered lumberjack shirt, a pair of blue daisy duke jean shorts, plus a pair of cowboy boots.
Blake is one of Braedey's best buds, having met him about three of four years back. Blake was mistaken to be a Black Panther cat Anthro, despite the evidence he is not. However, the name stuck, and he went along with it. He found his way at the Central Park Zoo, being spotted by Braedey and Dante one day, only for Blake to end up breaking his arm after slipping off the brick wall. Blake was tended to by Naomi and James, fixing him up while the Cat Anthro got the chance to meet Braedey, Dante, and the others at the zoo, then he soon became part of the zoo and the group.
Melissa is a born-and-bred Canadian, who loves the snow and the scenery. However, she opted to move to a home outside of New York just because she wanted to try something new. When she arrived in New York, she came across Blake one day when he was relaxing on his own. The two of them soon had a connection, and after that, Melissa got along with Blake and the others, becoming a part of the zoo group.
"What's all the hoo-hah about?" Melissa asked as she got to her feet.
"It's field trip day! It's a Friday!" Braedey announced with a dance, then took to the air.
"Oh, right!" Blake realised, now getting himself ready to go. "We need to be ready!"
"You got it, kitty-cat." Melissa smiled, gently patting Blake's head, making the latter now purr in response, then the two head off to get ready.
Braedey flew overhead of some of the paddocks, even swinging off a lamppost, eventually arriving at the roof of the giraffe-human hybrid Manny's pen. "C'mon! Manny, Manny, Manny! Manny, Manny, Manny!" He calls out like he's in a conga, and dances on the roof of the hut. "Wake up! Rise and shine! It is another fabulous morning here in the Big Apple. Let's go!"
Manny now steps out of the hut. He is a male giraffe Anthro, standing 5m tall, with a lightly tan skin tone, with long deep brown hair reaching to the bottom of his jawline, and yellowish eyes. He looks to be around 18 years of age. He has a broad chest with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and lightly toned muscles across his form, along with having a noticeable six-pack on his abdomen area, which has the pattern of a giraffe's brown patches, which are brown, separated by light cream hair. He has prominent horn-like structures called ossicones, reaching 13.5cm (5.3 in) on top of his head, as well as giraffe ears. He is wearing an Egyptian-style outfit covering his chest and shoulders, in the colours of dark orange and gold. Around his neck is a piece of jewellery, and he has what might be a tunic in the same colour as his chest piece around his waist. His lower half is of a male giraffe, which adds to his full height.
Manny stepped out, shaking his head with a scoff. "Not for me. I'm calling in sick." He said to Braedey.
Braedey looks at him in bewilderment. "What? Again?"
"I found a brow- another brown spot on my stomach. Right here." Manny gestured to his human abdomen just above his giraffe body. "See? Right there. You see it?"
"Manny, you know it's all in your head?" Braedey asked nonchalantly.
Sure enough, kids and adults began to burst through the zoo gates, all of them eager to see the animals and the hybrid beings, even wanting to know so much more about them. Among those are other Anthros, who are curious and also oiled to know more about the animals and even those Anthros who are here at the zoo.
As rushed parents threw away their coffee cups in the trash, a chimpanzee named Mason yawns, retrieving a newspaper, a half-empty coffee cup, and a bagel from the nearby trash can, and returns over to his roommate Phil, a mute chimpanzee who doesn't speak.
"Phil! Wake up, you filthy monkey." Mason gives Phil his coffee while he reads the newspaper and he eats his bagel.
Meanwhile, over at his paddock, Dante now prepares to give his audience something special for his birthday. He started to do some stretches and extends his claws from his hands, while getting his teeth sharpened.
"Oh, I'm going to be fresh. Straight outta the ground. Tasty fresh! Freshalicious." Dante now sips some water and spits it out. "Streamline fresh."
Meanwhile, an eager crowd now awaits outside Braedey's tall pedestal of a rock in his paddock as they wait for their king to emerge, the kids chanting out 'Braedey'. Backstage, Braedey now prepares himself for another day of people pleasing. He unfurled his wings and stretched out his form, his ligaments clicking into place.
"Show 'em the dragon! Who's the dragon?" Braedey coached to himself.
"Now, Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages." James' voice announced over the P.A system. "The Central Park Zoo proudly presents to you: The King of New York City..."
"Braedey the Nightfury!" The brunette and announcer called out in unison, the crowds cheering at once.
Dante smirked. "It's showtime!"
A wall of smoke erupts around the pedestal, as the silhouette of Braedey started to walk up to the top of the pedestal in a dramatic fashion. It was then Braedey whipped out his wings to wave away the smoke, and he lets out his signature roar, one that seemed to emanate like a Tyrannosaurus. The crowds instantly go wild! This is what he lived for! Braedey shows off his muscles and strength, even taking to the air as he does flyovers and even holds his hands out for high-fives while many take his picture, him smiling for the camera. Braedey just loved all of this.
Meanwhile, folks gathered around Dante's pen to see his act and what he could do. The spinosaur hybrid leaped out of the water of the small lagoon within his paddock, some folks taking pictures of him as he sprinted along, smiling at those as he goes along.
"Gather around, people. The big show about to start." Dante announced as he began to sprint about. "Check out the Spinosaur taking care of the business. Now watch this."
Dante immediately sprinted about, grabbing some fish from a nearby trough. He throws one into the air, only for him to stab his tail through it. He next throws two more into the air, Dante getting the first fish off his tail, then he leaps into the air, swinging his claws around and slashes the two fish into pieces. He now throws the other fish into the air, and with quick martial arts skills, he sliced apart the fish into what could be sushi, now landing on a plate as Dante leaps in the air, snapping up the last fish. He lets out a Spinosaurian roar in response, people cheering for him.
As this is happening at Braedey and Dante's paddocks, Melissa was showing off her strength by ramming into wooden trunks and turning them to splinters with her antlers. She even grabbed the splintered wood and lifts it above her head before tossing it aside. Blake, on the other hand, he was caught among a group of kids now patting his head and stroking his tail, but he couldn't shake them off to tell them to leave. He just allowed them to do so. As this goes on, Maria was showing off her aquatic skills of underwater dancing and freestyle movements, even leaping right out of the water like a dolphin to do backflips or frontflips, then diving back into the water again. Manny, meanwhile, he was now undergoing an MRI and medication treatments.
Meanwhile, on another side of the zoo, four penguin brothers who go by the names of Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private, were being watched and having their pictures taken as they stand there. Three of them were waving at the crowds while the fourth is missing, all of them plotting their mission... to escape the zoo and get back to their homes in the outside world.
"Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave." Skipper, leader of the group told his two teammates, before looking to a fish bowl. "Kowalski, progress report!" He whispered
Kowalski, the brains of the group, emerges from a hole underneath the fish bowl, dug out previously by the penguins. "We're only 500 feet from the main sewer line." He informed.
"And the bad news?" Skipper asked knowingly.
"We've broken our last shovel." Kowalski stated and shows a broken spoon.
"Right..." Skipper turns to his weapon specialist. Rico. "Rico, you're on litter patrol. We need shovels. And find more Popsicle sticks. We don't want to risk another cave-in." With a salute. Rico jumps in the pool.
Private, the youngest of the group, perks up. "And me, Skipper?"
Skipper smiled to him. "I want you to look cute and cuddly, Private. Today, we're gonna blow this dump." He and Private waddle along towards the water.
As this is happening, unbeknown to someone, Rico snatches a plastic spoon from a boy eating his frozen yogurt.
Soon enough, sunset fell across New York City and the zoo. Over at Dante's paddock, he was shaking his sail and tail about, knocking it against the steel fence around the paddock, which is making a melodic sound.
"Definitely something you'd never expect." Dante said to those, who seemed curious. "Some animals do this to show off and even to intimidate, just by shaking their sails." He chuckled, as some soon left. "Show is over, folks. Thanks for coming. I hope you thought it was fresh. I'll be here all week. I'll be here my whole life. All the days of the year, including Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, Halloween, Kwanzaa. Don't forget to never spay or neuter your pets. And tip your cabbie, because he's broke." He sighed, taking a sip of his beverage before throwing it to the side.
Just then, a pair of shovels suddenly dig up from the ground and the penguins emerge. Dante just looked on in confusion as to what these flightless birds were up to in the first place at all.
Skipper now looked to see Dante. "You, bipedal dinosaur. Sprechen sie Englisch?" He asked.
Dante pointed to himself. "I sprechen English."
"What continent is this?" Skipper asked.
"Manhattan island." Dante answered casually.
Skipper sighed. "Hoover Dam! We're still in New York. Abort. Dive! Dive! Dive!" He forced the other penguins down into the hole before he dives in.
"Hey, hey! Flightless birds! Wait a dang minute!" Dante ran up to the hole. "What in the world are you guys even doing?" He asked, the four penguins popping up.
"We're digging to Antarctica." Private answered, and they receives a slap from Skipper to silence him.
"Serious? Antarctica?" Dante echoed.
"Can you keep a secret, my aegyptiacus friend?" Skipper asked. Dante nodded and leans down to listen a little secret without the others noticing. "Do you ever see any penguins running free around New York City?" Dante shook his head no. "Of course not. We don't belong here. It's just not natural. This is all some kind of whacked-out conspiracy. We're going to the wide-open spaces of Antarctica. To the wild!" With they, the four high five each other as Skipper slaps Private again.
"The wild? You could actually go there? That sounds great." Dante smiled. Before he can thank them, the four have already gone down the hole. "Hey, wait! Where is this place? Tell me where it is!"
Skipper alone emerges from the hole pushing his face. "You didn't see anything... Right?" He asked.
"Yes, sir! Oh! Uh, sorry. No, sir." Dante answered. With that, Skipper dives back into the hole and seals the hole entrance with Dante's cup, leaving Dante to think on about this.
"For his final appearance of the day, the king of New York City: Braedey the Nightfury!" James announced on the P.A, with Braedey letting out one more roar, fireworks and confetti flying away.
Eventually, at about 5:00PM, the bells at the front gate began to ring, finally announcing the zoo is about to close, and it's time for everyone to go home. As the crowds begin to leave, they'd throw flowers, treats, and gifts over to the brunette, who bowed and waved to them as they left.
"Thank you. Thank you very much." Braedey thanked as he waved to them while they started to leave, being escorted away by the zookeepers and security. "You guys are great. You're a great crowd. Give yourselves a hand, huh. Thank you."
Eventually, everyone was beginning to leave the zoo as it begins to wind down and prepare for the evening. But for tonight, some folks intend to stay up to celebrate someone's birthday...
A/N: first offical chapter of 'Madagascar' is complete, and a catapult for introducing the new characters, as well as the iconic penguins themselves. I have to admit, those four are real cool, especially when they got their own solo movie.