The next morning...
"Are ya sure you know where King Julien is? Man, we shouldn't have left 'im without a chaperon for so long. His parents surely crushed 'im without mercy yesterday..." a worried Maurice rambled as he and Karl walked through the jungle, the latter carrying a handheld remote.
"There's no reason to be concerned, Maurice. After perfecting my fly drones, I took the liberty of building a tracking chip in the likeness of a tick." Karl explained as he watched the radar.
"Tracking chip? When?"
"I sent it to anchor itself to King Julien last night, and as it turns out, he's currently at the beach."
"The beach? What would he be doing there?" Maurice questioned.
The two halted as they spotted Mason and Phill carrying a ton of luggage on their backs respectively and walking up a gangplank, onto the ship that used to belong to Captain Ethan.
"Huh?" Maurice and Karl were flabbergasted to find King Julien aboard, talking to his parents.
"This can't be good..." Maurice worried. King Julien's parents were leaving the island, no going back now.
"Is this grotty vessel the best you can offer to your own parents?" Julienne huffed in displeasure, crossing her arms and looking around as multiple lemurs feverishly worked on decorating the place and installing various commodities.
"And you could only spare fifteen lemurs to serve us on our voyage?" Barty added with his new scepter slung over his shoulder. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to punish us."
"I understand and I sincerely apologize for your substandard traveling conditions."Julien said gently while scratching a painful itch behind his ear, as Mason and Phill walked behind him and unloaded the heavy cargo.
The two dropped to the floor, trying to catch their breath. A lemur-sized suitcase would be lightwork for a chimpanzee, but Barty and Julienne had a LOT of luggage, and somehow even more than the duo remembered heaving when the royal couple arrived on the island.
"But this was the best I could arrange given your decision to...y'know, drop everything and leave at a moment's notice. Plus...the kingdom's dealing with a bit of a crisis, with the mystery predator devouring lemurs and all?" Julien elaborated but his parents looked unmoved.
"But rest assured, your trip to Mari...Maur...um...the dodo island should take less than a day. The captain knows his way on the high seas and he'll take the fastest route, with plenty of picturesque isles and atolls to spectate along the way."
"You got that right, hulio!" Wearing a captain's hat, Pancho gave them a thumbs up from atop the forecastle, before grabbing the helm again and narrowing his eyes at the horizon. Julien hoped this little gig would help Pancho forgive him for gluing his butt to a toilet. The crowned lemur loved manning any vessel.
"Hehehe...neither monsoons, nor man-eating sharks, nor beautiful, enticing women will keep me from reaching Mauritius by nightfall." Pancho said to himself dangerously.
Well...he wasn't so sure about the last one. He had to remember to wear earplugs and blinkers when they passed Siren Island. He couldn't handle another harassment lawsuit from Crimson.
"Oh, alright. I suppose we can slum it for a day if it means reaching our resort faster." Barty said begrudgingly. "Just as long as you make sure that the rest of our luggage arrives there on time."
"What other luggage?" an exhausted Mason blurted as he leaned against a large suitcase.
"And don't forget our mango shipment." Julienne added while her son eyed the chimps.
"Umm... excuse me for a sec." Julien said to his parents before rushing over to the panting chimps lying by the luggage, who both glared at him.
"King Julien, why did you insist that we do this task again?" an irate Mason asked.
"Because... you pansies have far more muscle than any lemur bellhop." Julien said while bulging his biceps. "And the sooner we board the rest of their luggage, the sooner my folks will be leaving."
Panting and sitting against another suitcase, Phill did some hand gestures, causing Mason to nod in agreement.
"Fair enough I suppose. But we will be compensated for this backbreaking labor, as agreed?"
"Of course, you have the king's word and the king never breaks his word." Julien assured them. "I'll gladly triple your pay if you help with the other luggage. All the bananas you can eat, freshly picked!"
Maurice and Karl looked at each other incredulously before swiftly hiding behind a palm tree as Mason and Phill came down the gangplank and walked past them, with the mute chimp frowning and gesturing with his hands.
Mason was aghast. "Phill, I'm not terribly fond of King Julien's parents either, but there is no reason to use such obscene terms."
"What in Frank's name is going on here?" Maurice didn't know what to make of this. Karl shushed him and they continued spying on the event.
"Well...I suppose this is goodbye." Julien rubbed the back of his neck. "I wish you a lovely voyage, and I hope your stay in my glorious kingdom has been to your liking."
His parents exchanged posh glances, not looking very impressed. Julien hated to admit that he wasn't the least bit surprised.
"I have to say that it wasn't the greatest, old boy. The service at your hotel was substandard at best. And Michael was even more sloppy and unhelpful than usual. You should really consider finding a new advisor." Barty said in earnest.
Maurice grumbled under his breath and balled his fists.
"And you were also rather intrusive, if I do say so myself." Julienne added with a scowl.
"Heh...gotcha." Julien shot his folks a finger gun. "I shall take your harsh criticism to heart and demand that my servants do better. Same for me. I king must always be at his kingliest, and I see now that I still have things to learn, like suppressing my fondness for silly pranking shenanigans..."
Maurice and Karl listened as the king's voice slowly took on a more somber tone. "...and believe me, you guys...did a lot in helping me understand which aspects of my kingly persona still need polishing. I...appreciate your blunt, brutal, uncompromised honesty. More than you might think."
His parents seemed mildly surprised but shrugged it off. A compliment was a compliment to them and they didn't dwell on it beyond that.
"Happy to be of service, but if you wish for more advice from us?" Barty stroked his chin. "I dare say, when are you planning on becoming betrothed?"
"Betrothed?" Julien blinked, not knowing what the word meant.
"Yes, a very pressing question, dear." Julienne nodded to Barty before addressing their son.
"See, while your uncle's singleminded obsession with hoarding all his royal authority to himself was admirable and logical for a monarch, it proved to be shortsighted in the long run." Julienne elaborated. "Which makes it fortunate that me and Barty...ahem...made a backup."
"Oh...you're talking about me finding a queen?" Julien realized while scratching his itching neck. He hadn't really thought about it much. He didn't really know what to say to that.
"We'll...I've had my fair share of romantic entanglements, but none of them ended well."
"A pity. From what I heard, that Karen had all the right qualities for a queen; ruthless, determined, and wishing to rule the land with an iron fist." Julienne shrugged. "If only she hadn't tried to assassinate you."
"And you're not seriously still considering that..." Barty grimaced a bit "...that indecent woman Crimson as a potential consort, as rumors would have it?"
"What? Oh, no, no." Julien raised his hands in reassurance. "She and the king are ancient history, season two ancient history that is. Even if Crimson failed to get the memo."
"Ah, good to hear." Barty perked up. "Fortunately, your mother and I met lot of fine gentlelemurs of high status at our prestigious country club, and they would be more than happy to offer their fair daughters to the King of Madagascar. Their consent in the marriage is optional."
"Precisely." Julienne handed her son a bunch of photographs. "We already hand-picked all the potential suitors. As you can see, they don't have a single, even minute physical imperfection."
"Huh...not a sight for sore eyes." Julien smiled a bit as he glossed through the photos.
But his mother added. "All of them are also staunch traditionalists, very puritanical, their etiquette is impeccable, their sense of joy and wonder nonexistent, and they absolutely loathe the lower class. What more could you ask for?"
"Oh...well." Julien started sweating. "I'll see if my royal schedule will allow me to be paying these...lovely ladies a visit, but...eh...it might take some time." he said as he crumpled up the pictures behind his back into a ball and kicked it away.
"But rest assured. I shall not rest until I find the right one." he raised his finger. "And make her the luckiest gal in the world."
Julienne's normally pompous expression suddenly turned into a terrifying, icy cold glare, as she got closer to her son, her tone matching her expression. "And your consort will be a her, are we clear?"
Julien shrank back and gulped.
"Those ugly rumors about your affairs with that fanaloka who shall not be named were nothing more than slanderous gossip laced with mal intent to ruin your kingly reputation." Julienne added, her tone bone-chilling.
"Not this again..." Karl muttered and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Damn rumors just wouldn't die.
"Of course, mommy...I mean, mother." Julien squeaked and raised his hands. "I can assure you that Karl is only single cuz he lucked out at getting a girlfriend countless times and has resigned himself to being a bitter, woman-hating bachelor."
"That is not true." an indignant Karl told Maurice. "I simply devoted my life to science, and I don't have any issues with those of the female persuasion."
"Aha...keep telling yourself that." Maurice said flatly.
And just as quickly, Julienne calmed down and resumed her snotty smile. "Very well then. But I assume the king of Madagascar shouldn't be having such troubles?"
"Naturally." Julien nodded, trying to placate his parents. "Why, by the time you return, you'll probably be meeting your grandchildren."
"Oh, no. You misunderstand" Barty chuckled good-naturedly. "We aren't interested in knowing them or being a part of their lives, we just want to ensure that you, my son, will keep our royal bloodline going."
"Oh, right... gotcha." Julien understood. He couldn't promise his parents that he would get hitched any time soon, nor was he sure he wanted to rush into something like this, but given how long their absences tended to last, he wasn't exactly on a time crunch to meet their demands either.
Maurice and Karl watched Julien walk down the gangplank, his expression downtrodden. After hissing in annoyance and scratching his ear with his hindleg like a dog, he put on a happy face and turned around to wave as the ship set sail but there was nobody on the stern waving back to him.
Sighing in resignation, he turned around and walked back towards the jungle. Maurice and Karl were stunned and turned their heads to see the ship growing smaller and smaller as it sailed off into the distance.
"They...they left?" Maurice's face dropped.
"Huh, that was strangely...anti-climactic." Karl commented.
"Hey, Maurice. Hey, Karl. Sup?" the two jumped as Julien was suddenly standing next to them.
"King Julien, your majesty?" Maurice didn't know what to say. "What the blazes was going on there?"
"Oh, that?" Julien pointed over his shoulder at the distant ship, trying to be nonchalant. "Nothing. I just came to see my parents off. As you know, they wished to go to some fancy schmancy resort, so I arranged their voyage."
Maurice and Karl watched him slack-jawed.
"And you're...content with that?" the latter asked, trying to wrap his head around it.
"Of course. I am the king, and their son. It would have been majorly inconsiderate if I wasn't present for their hasty and unplanned departure, and convinced the pansies to carry their heavy luggage so they wouldn't have to wait long."
"But...but..." a stupified Maurice fumbled "...but if they ain't here...won't that mean..."
"Yeah, they forgot about my surprise birthday party I'm not supposed to know about, guess they weren't the ones planning it." Julien waved his hand. "Big whoop, I still have like a whole kingdom that adores me who will be attending the grandiose festivity."
"And you're...okay with that?" Maurice dared to ask.
Julien's mouth thinned and he shifted uneasily before noticing something in the corner of his eye; two black-and-white forms waddling in the distance. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to keep his act in front of his entourage for much longer, Julien excused himself.
"Sure I am. It's just a minor inconvenience. But if you will excuse me, I have important matters to attend to." he turned his back on them and left.
The dumbfounded Maurice and Karl watched him quicken his pace, but the fanaloka slowly grew a gleeful smile and turned to the aye-aye.
"Ha! I was completely right!" Karl gloated. "I told you not to interfere with the king's family affairs and look at the result. Julien let his parental issues go, both literally and figuratively."
"I know..." Maurice scratched his head "...it's jus'... this is so sudden? He was still in complete denial jus' yesterday. Do ya really think he's cool with the whole thing?"
"Oh, no. He's undoubtedly putting on a brave face and will likely cry himself to sleep tonight."Karl admitted nonchalantly. "But the road to recovery isn't a pretty one. What matters is that he took the first and most crucial step."
"But what in the world made 'im see reason? The session with Masikura was a total bust, I was there." an incredulous Maurice wondered when a certain chameleon manifested on top of his head.
"I might have taken a different approach and took the king on a trip down memory lane."
"What?" Maurice scowled. "You ain't saying that you invaded his personal thoughts without his permission? Masikura, I told ya that we wouldn't resort to something so radical."
"But it did the job, didn't it?" Masikura said matter-of-factly.
"I fully agree. Marvelous work, Masikura." Karl congratulated her. "I always said that the direct approach is the most effective one."
"But what did King Julien see in his head that made 'im finally see reason?" Maurice inquired.
"Sorry, but I'm obliged to maintain patient confidentiality." the chameleon told him with a cryptic smile. "Let's just say we unlocked some buried memories that made King Julien... reconsider his parents' nature. You'll have to wait until he's good and ready to share the details with you."
"You're right..." Maurice deflated. What was done was done. What mattered now was that his king and best friend needed a shoulder to cry on when he inevitably broke down.
"Are you sure this isn't a fool's errand, Kowalski?" Private implored his superior. "I don't think-"
"I'm very confident that this investigation will yield results." Kowalski said with utmost confidence while writing on his notepad. "Those nesomyds might seem harmless, but I have reason to suspect that-"
"Salutations, silly penguins!" Kowalkis and Private adopted fighting stances until they realized that it was King Julien approaching them.
"Oh, it's you." Kowalski said flatly as he hid his notepad behind his back. "Any particular reason for pestering us again, "your highness"?"
"Please, we can't handle another prank." Private said meekly. "That experience made me terrified of ever touching a winkie again."
"Oh, no. You misunderstand." Julien assured the rookie. "As hilarious as it was watching you being in excruciating pain, I understand now that it was very mean and..." he struggled to say the word in relation to himself "..j-j-j...juvenile of me to enable Keke to prank you guys. And for that, I wish to issue a royal apology."
The penguins hadn't seen this coming. Naturally, one of them was more touched than the other.
"Oh, well...that's very considerate of you, King Julien." Private smiled pleasantly, but Kowalski kept his skeptical look.
"Is that all then?" the tall penguin tapped his foot. "As you surely know, we are very busy-"
"Yes, well...speaking of that, I was wondering if you penguins made any progress tracking down and capturing the fiend who has been eating my adoring subjects?" Julien asked. "Everyone's still on edge over that."
"Hmmm...I'm afraid that's confidential." Kowalski said stoically.
"Oh, please." Julien clutched his hands. "Can't you give me at least a tiny weenie little hint? I am the king, I need to tell my peoples something."
Kowalski hummed and pondered. "I can tell you that we do have a good lead. So expect to hear from us soon. Very soon."
"I'm not so sure about that, Kowalski?" Private admitted. "They don't strike me as the sort of chaps who would-"
"Oh, Private. Sweet, naive Private." Kowalski patted the younger penguin on the head. "You still have a lot to learn about the nuances and cliches of criminal investigations. As a rule of thumb, the least likely suspect has a 75% chance of being the culprit, or at least an associate of the true culprit, who puts on a facade of unassuming naivete in order to throw everyone off their scent."
"Well...okay." Private didn't want to question his superior. "But are you sure that they might be affiliated with-"
Kowalski shushed him. "Need to know basis, soldier." he warned the rookie via mimicking Skipper.
"That's awesome! So...you can help Mary Ann get...what's the word, exhumed soon enough?" Julien asked hopefully.
Private winced while Kowalski gave the ringtail an unamused look. "Um...you mean "exonerated", right?"
"Eh, yes! Yes. That too." Julien nodded. "Will ya prove her innocence?"
"We can't promise anything at this point." Kowalski said in a professional manner. "But I have a very strong, borderline unquestionable hunch that my genius forensic skills will soon bear fruit."
We see his hidden notepad, which has a crude sketch of King Joey shaking hands with a dolphin on a segway and sporting a cybernetic eye.
"I'll have to scavenge for a proper fishing rod when I get the chance." Mary Ann muttered as she walked through the jungle, her tail gnawed, bent, and still having two piranhas holding on to it.
Grunting, the fossa shook her tail and flung one piranhas off but the other one was stubborn and bit down harder.
Hissing in pain, Mary Ann sucked it up and pried the razor-toothed fish off her tail with her paw. She was about to throw it away but after examining it for a few seconds, she decided to throw it into her mouth.
"Hmm...not bad." she noted as she crunched down and swallowed it whole. The Cove of Wonders would have to wait though, she was looking for Keke.
That girl was better doing good deeds to endear herself to the kingdom or else she would get an earful. Hearing Keke giggling, Mary Ann followed the sound and was horrified to see her swimming and diving in a mudhole.
"Hola, Mary Ann!" the mud-covered kinkajou waved at her while Mary Ann glanced up and saw an avahi mother glaring at them from the banks, accompanied by two children, who watched curiously.
Grinning nervously, Mary Ann rushed and picked Keke out of the mudhole. "She's...she just lost her baseball in the mudhole. That's all."
The mother lemur huffed and led her two pups away. Deflating, Mary Ann turned to Keke.
"Keke, I thought you were doing good deeds?" she scolded her. She would have supervised the rambunctious girl herself, but she had to quell her carnivorous hunger if she wanted to stay focused.
"I am, I swear." Keke insisted. "I walked three grannies down the street, mowed someone's lawn, painted two huts, gave free lemonade to sweaty construction workers, and returned Mr. Hans's head to him. I'm even helping feed the hungry."
She emphasized her last point by holding up half a dozen worms in both paws. Cringing in disgust, Mary Ann lowered Keke to the ground and noticed a bucket filled with worms next to them.
"Why are you collecting worms if I may ask?" Mary Ann got her answer as she saw mole trails heading toward the bucket and several round, beige-colored heads poked out of the ground, all sporting huge claws.
"Here ya go, amigos." Keke dropped the last worms in as one of the golden moles rose up from the ground and sniffed the bucket's slimy, wiggling content.
"Thank you so much, Keke." the mole said while clutching his paws, before sniffing the air and turning to Mary Ann, his eyes shut tight. "You have a wonderful daughter, ma'am. The other lemurs oughta envy you."
Mary Ann blinked in confusion and turned to Keke, whispering, "Why aren't they scared of me?"
"Because they're completely blind." Keke whispered back as the moles said their goodbyes and dragged the bucket underground.
Mary Ann sighed. "Keke...while it's nice that you're helping these...subterranean creatures, you're supposed to make up to those you've pranked."
"I'm trying to, but I couldn't find those big monkeys, the long-necked guy, or Pancho..." Keke explained before growing a stubborn expression and crossing her arms "...and I'm NOT apologizing to the silly penguins or pansy crocodiles, I gotta keep some dignity."
"The penguins and crocodiles are optional." Mary Ann played ball. Nobody in the kingdom liked those guys anyway. "But the rest are mandatory. Have you..." she was hesitant to ask "...have you considered trying to make peace with Hector again?"
Keke wilted at the question.
Flashback time!
Grumbling as usual, Hector, still sporting his white beard, opened the door to his hut. He was taken aback to find it redecorated to be more bright and homely.
Glowering, he found Keke standing on the table, putting some yellow flowers into a vase.
"Keke!" Hector gritted his teeth.
"Buenos días, Mr. Hector." Keke waved nervously. "Do you like what I did?"
"What are you doing in my house!" Hector demanded angrily. "You snuck in to steal more of my stuff, didn't ya! No-good thieving rat!"
"No, no." Keke raised her paws. "I just wanted to show how sorry I am by redecorating your casa fea. Look, I even brought sunflowers to brighten the place."
"Hold on? Did ya say "sunflowers"?" a startled Hector asked. Keke nodded happily only for the old lemur to start sneezing violently and scratching his face.
"Estás bien?"
"You lil'... miscreant!" Hector yelled between sneezes, his eyes puffy. "I'm allergic to... freakin' sunflowers!"
"Oh, come on!" a vexed Keke pulled on her ears before recoiling in horror as Hector's head puffed up like a pufferfish and he fell on his butt as purple warts grew all over his grotesquely swollen noggin.
Grinning and chuckling nervously, Keke grabbed the flowers as Hector's swollen, watery eyes glared daggers at her.
"I'll... just throw these away." she said as she jumped through the window. "Mejorate pronto. Adiós!"
Back to the present...
"Um...I'd rather not." Keke put her paws behind her back and avoided Mary Ann's gaze.
The fossa's face softened and she patted Keke's head gently. "Alright...I guess you've done enough for today. You deserve a break."
"Gracias." a relieved Keke replied. "Have the silly penguins found out who's eating the lemurs?"
Mary Ann froze with hesitation. She couldn't let Keke lose hope.
"Eh...I think they must first report their findings to King Julien. I'm sure he'll announce it to the kingdom very soon. Anyway, where's Horst? He was supposed to watch you while I went fishing?"
"He was. He left just before you arrived." Keke shrugged. "Said he needed to run a quick errand and that he would be back soon."
Mary Ann hummed in annoyance, having a nagging suspicion of what that meant.
"The usual, Neil. And please, make it quick. I'm really not supposed to be here." Horst told a sifaka bartender at Club Moist, who just nodded and went to prepare the regular's order.
Looking around nervously, Horst drummed his fingers, knowing that he was a weakling who fell of the wagon. But one little beverage wouldn't hurt anyone, as long as Mary Ann didn't know.
Hearing someone groaning miserably, Horst glanced to his left, expecting to see one of the usual disheveled barflies.
He didn't expect to find King Julien slumped over a table in a pathetic heap, resting his head and holding an empty coconut cup. He burped before trying to raise his hoarse voice.
"Hit me with another Double Mango-Wango Surprise..." he raised his hand to a passing red-ruffed waitress.
"King Julien, is that you?" Horst approached him. He almost didn't recognize him, as the ringtail wasn't wearing his crown.
"Hey, Horst..." Julien said in a pitiful stupor as a tear slid down his face.
"What are you doing here by your lonesome? Why aren't you wearing your crown?"
"Meh...I'm not feelin' very kingly today..." Julien slurred and caressed his scalp"...my crown deserves better than to adorn the head of a pathetic, emotionally stunted loser."
"Here's your drink." Horst was given a coconut cup with a straw and umbrella, and shook excitedly.
"My precious..." he held it up and snuggled it to his face before remembering his downtrodden king and sitting next to him. Horst wasn't the most observant lemur but even he could tell that something was seriously wrong with Julien.
"Why are you so blue? You're birthday is coming and everyone's excited for the big surprise birthday party you're not supposed to know about?"
"I know..." Julien sighed, his head still planted on the table "...but three guests of honor aren't going to be attendin'. One's busy wagin' war for her barbaric kingdom, so I can't blame her for bein' a no-show, and she did send me a pretty dope gilded mace... but the other two..."
"You're talking about Clover and your parents, right?" Horst tried to make sure they were on the same page.
"Mmmhmm...turns out my parents really don't love me and want nothin' ta do with me. Who'd 'ave thunk?"
Horst didn't even blink at the revelation. Pretty much everyone in the kingdom knew that already.
"Oh...so you finally realized that...took ya long enough..." he muttered the latter half through the corner of his mouth.
"No, ya don't get it...ah've known 'bout it since I was a kid, Horst..." Julien grumbled. "...I jus' sorta... pretended not to know it for all these years... but then Masikura used her weird tongue trick to tap into mah memory an' now ah can't un-remember it. I've been pretendin' for so long that I convinced myself that what ah saw with my own eyes wasn't true."
"Wow...that's deep." Horst's simple mind was sufficiently blown by the revelation and he took a quick sip. "So what are you going to do now?"
He yelped as his drink was yanked out of his hand and he cowered under Mary Ann's glare.
Keke was on her back and looked around in amazement. "Wow, what is this place?"
"Horst..." the fossa started sternly.
"Wait, honey! This isn't what you think!" Horst raised his hands before pulling the half-sober Julien into a one-armed hug.
"I came here to offer moral support to King Julien cuz his parents ditched him just before his surprise birthday party he's not supposed to know about. See how glum he is?"
"Meh..." Julien hiccuped "...I'm fine wallowin' in self-pity by myself, don't wanna ruin your day too..."
"Right, right..." Mary Ann deadpanned "...and you're the only one who knew about this...how?"
"Umm...?" Horst fiddled with his fingers.
"Mr. Julien, you don't have to be sad." a concerned Keke jumped onto the table and grabbed the ringtail's hand.
"I didn't meet them but everyone else says that your parents are the worst. Even you said so to me...in a weird, apologist kind of way. It's no big pérdida, right?"
"Yeah..." Julien hung his head "...they...aren't the greatest. Actually...they kinda suck."
Mary Ann was surprised to hear this, momentarily forgetting about Horst's flakiness, much to his relief.
She must have missed out on something important. "Oh...so it's okay for all of us to finally acknowledge it?"
"Yeah...sure. Knock yourself out. Whatever." Julien waved his hand despondantly. "Honestly...it's not even the worst part."
"What's the worst part then?" Keke asked.
After staying silent for a few moments, Julien's lip trembled. "It's Maurice, kay! He has always been there for me, my number one guy, ever since we were adorable little pups, and yet when he tried to help me now, I acted like a total jerk to 'im. Told 'im he was salty that his parents abandoned him to some bell gods that don't exist, when I am the one with the stupid mommy and daddy issues."
He fell over Horst's shoulder and finally just gave in and started bawling his eyes out. Not sure what else to do, Horst hugged him and patted his back.
"Look at me?" Julien said through hot tears. "Your glorious leader, the illustrious King of Madagascar is crying like a little baby! How lame is that! How childish can I get!"
"There, there, KJ. You're not childish..." Horst tried to comfort him and shrugged "...maybe a little delusional, and perhaps a bit petty-"
"Horst." Mary Ann hissed when Julien surprised them again with another self-critical admission.
"Dude, I ran around with an 8-year-old playing pranks on everyone because I was upset with my folks. How is that NOT childish?" the ringtail threw his arms up before remembering who was listening and turned to Keke.
"Umm...no offense, Keke." he apologized as he leaned back into his chair and sighed.
"Why apologize? It just means you know how to have fun." Keke argued. "Being an "adult" is all about being a boring fuddy-duddy."
Julien grew a small smile and ruffled her head.
"That is very true, Keke. But the thing is..." he couldn't believe he was saying this "...sometimes you need to be a lame, fun-hating stiff when you have a ton of responsibilities, like I do. Otherwise there can and will be big, nasty, sometimes near-kingdom-destroying consequences."
"Like the pranking spree which led to the fiasco with the eagle and Bone-Fossa?" Mary Ann asked in an unamused tone, while Horst shifted uneasily.
"Yeah...jus' like that." Julien shot her a crooked finger gun, his gaze facing the table. "It might have been Keke's idea but I shouldn't have enabled her to do it."
Mary Ann and Horst widened their eyes in disbelief, while Keke scowled.
"Hey, hey, I took the blame for it." she pointed at herself. "Why are you taking it back now?"
Julien's weak chuckle was cut off by a hicup. "Cuz...I am the grownup and the king. We can't both be judged by the same lofty standards, Keke. Even if it goes 'gainst everythin' I believe in as the life of the party, I should have been a killjoy at that moment."
"Maurice though, he's really, really good at being a borin' but responsible killjoy, that's why he's so valuable to me. And yet just two days ago, I was actin' like a nasty, heartless unmentionable to 'im, yelled at 'im, rubbed his tragic backstory in his face, and reduced the poor guy to tears."
"Mary Ann, I think we might be witnessing a historic event here..." a somewhat giddy Horst whispered to his dumbfounded wife.
"So...just tell him that you're really, really sorry?" Keke shrugged. "Sencillo."
Julien knew that he should do that. He knew Maurice would undoubtedly accept his apology. He was his king after all. But somehow, it didn't feel good enough to Julien. He felt like he needed to do more. He didn't know what though.
"King Julien, if I may say so..." Mary Ann started tentatively "...admitting that you did something wrong is very big of you, and very mature at that. As is acknowledging your numero-eh...um... collective faults."
"Yeah..." Horst chimed in "...and here you are drowning your sorrows at the clubs? Frankly, I can't think of anything more mature than that."
"Don't say that in front of the kid." Mary Ann shushed him.
"Huh...guess it kinda is?" Julien mumbled as he looked at his empty cup. "Maybe this miserable experience with my parents taught me something."
Chuckling, Julien raised his finger in a wobbly fashion. "Thanks, yall. Ah love yah guys. An' ah love Maurice. An' ah love Clover. An' ah love Karl. An' ah love Masikura. Ah love all maah peoplez, even thu lil' trash goblin who's ghostin' me. Ah also love thu freaks, an' thu pansies, and even thu silly penguins ain't thaaat bad..."
His expression turned sour and he looked aside "...but ah don't love the bossy penguin or the croc ambassador. They can both take a hike."
"King Julien...we're...we're flattered to be in the 98% percent that you approve of." Mary Ann said awkwardly. "Thank you very much."
"Naaah...ah should be thankin' ya." Julien pointed at her, his eyelids half-open. "For honorin' me with the sight of a model family like yours. Ah, thu king, really envy ya. How crazy is that?"
Mary Ann blushed while Horst looked aside awkwardly.
"Mr. Julien, why are you being so sappy?" Keke shook him by the arm, sensing that something wasn't quite right with him. "I thought you were cool."
Julien's plastered gaze was fixed on the other adults. "Heh...isn't she precious. Mary Ann...ah wish ta say somethin' ta Keke, privately. Yah may take yur shiftless husband outside an' give 'im an earful for being beholden ta his addiction ta beverages...um...if it's okay with ya that is?"
Mary Ann considered it and nodded. "Alright, but make it quick. Come on, Horst."
Horst whimpered and hung his head as he followed Mary Ann out of the club.
"What did you want to tell me?" Keke asked Julien. Slouching, he let out a little throat chuckle and patted her back affectionately.
"Y'know...ya 'ave a good thing goin' on here. With Mary Ann and Horst. Ah don't think many rational folks would be stickin' their necks out fer a kid they've only known fer like a few days..."
"I...I know, they are not so bad..." Keke admitted bashfully. "I'm sure gonna miss them when my momma returns from her secret spy mission to pick me up."
Julien was sober enough to gulp after hearing that. "Yeah...eh...ah'm happy tah know that you've taken a shine tah Mary Ann an' Horst."
"I did... I'd just wish that vaca gorda and all the other busybodies would leave us alone."
"Pfftttt...don't worry 'bout stupid ol' Tammy." Julien slurred with sheer confidence. "Yurr gonna prove her wrong by thu end of thu week, yur already off tah ah great start...sans thu mishap with thu eagle and Bonehead Fossa, an' ya sockin' a now-dead kid."
"You really think so?" the kinkajou asked hopefully.
"The king knows so." Julien said as he playfully pushed his fist against Keke's cheek.
"Thanks."
Julien's eyelids felt heavy "Now, Keke...can yah please bring back Mary Ann an' Horst?"
"What for?"
"Heh...ah'll be needin' someone tahh drag mahh booty back tahh mahhh royal chamber..." Julien managed to slur before unceremoniously faceplanting on the table.
It's been like two and a half years since I posted the first chapter. Progress on this fic has been slow and a constant source of frustration for me, not helped by my other fics taking up my attention, and me recently starting to work on another long one based on the Ice Age series. But I am determined to finish this one, no matter how long it takes to update the next chapter. Thankfully, it is nearing its conclusion. Julien's parents took their exit in this chapter and Julien's final interaction with them wasn't grandiose or anything, it ended on a whimper, with Julien simply accepting the fact that he can't force a relationship the other party doesn't care about maintaining and realizing that he needs to put more effort in the relationships that truly matter, like his friendship with Maurice.
Writing this fic, I certainly realized that many of these characters and the general tongue-in-cheek tone of the series work much better in small doses, like Barty and Julienne's whole shtick of being out-of-touch obnoxious snobs, so I'm glad to have finally ended their side of this story, and what's left to tell will hopefully be a bit more dynamic and interesting.
For another zoological tidbit, golden moles aren't true moles at all, they are mole mimics and most closely related to tenrecs, who in turn mimic hedgehogs, who in turn are actually closely related to true moles. An odd example of convergent evolution going full circle XD Some moles actually appear as minor antagonists in the Madagascar 2 video game, and they might be meant to be golden moles. And yes, nesomyids are the family of rodents that Malagasy jumping rats belong to. Of course Kowalski, being the navel-gazing nerd he is, would call them by their scientific name.