TDL's note: Hi. Uh, read and review. It's short.



Skipper bolted upright.

Private fell out of his bunk.
"Oof." He landed on his back. "Did te hear that, Skippa'?"

Skipper glanced down nervously at the young private. His breathing settled, and he jump out of his bunk, almost landing on Private.
"We got no time to lose. Roll out, team!"

Skipper turned to face the bunks. Rico and Kowalski were still snoring in their beds. Skipper sighed. He grabbed some extra pillows and chucked them at the sleeping soldiers.

Rico squealed and rolled awkwardly out of his bunk, landing on all fours. Kowalski yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"What is it now, Skipper?" The tallest pinguino sighed sleepily.

"Another scream! We have to leave the HQ now." Skipper hastily pointed a flipper towards the exit.

The sleep left the lieutenant's eyes, and he climbed out of his bunk.

"Roll out, team!" Skipper yelped again.

---

The four were once again waddling in the darkness.

"Where do te suppose the scream came from, Skippa'?" Private fixed his eyes on the leader.

"Uh, that way." Skipper looked ahead of him.

"The lemure exhibit? Are te sure?" Kowalski flashed a skeptical glare at Skipper.

"Affirmative."

"Well..." Kowlaski's train of thought left him.

There was one thing each of the penguins know for sure: a lemure is dead.

They snuck into the lemure habitat, and slid on their bellies towards the platform.

Skipper heard sobbing coming from the bouncer. He slowly waddled up to it with the other three close behind. He paused to listen. Nothing.

Skipper stood still for another minute, and the sobbing came back. Skipper slid onto the boucer.

There, he saw Maurice sleeping soundlessly. Mort curled into a ball, hiding behind his tail.

"Sad Eyes...?" Skipper took one step at a time towards the topo, mouse lemur.

Mort pulled his tail in front of his face and started wimpering.

"Tell us a fully detailed descrizione of what te saw." Kowalski pulled out is clip board and stared intently at him.

Mort wimpered a little more, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"Cold and heartless." Mort rocked back and forth. "Cold and heartless. Cold and heartless. Cold and heartless. Cold and heartless." He twitched and kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

"I don't think he's in his right mind. Must be the shock." Kowalski examined him.

"Poor guy," Skipper muttered.

"Who's 'cold and heartless'?" Private asked.

Mort twitched and rocked, not answering.

Rico squaked. "The throne. King's on the throne."

Skipper and Rico climbed up onto the platform, while Kowalski and Private stayed behind to try to calm Mort down.

What the two saw was horrifying.

Rico gasped and passed out. Skipper gulped.

He sat on the throne, his ribs sticking outward. Blood was gushing out. The cuore was missing. His eyes were wide, staring at nothing, and his mouth hung open, blood oozing out. The kill was the same as Darla's.

Skipper turned around, grabbed Rico, and waddled towards the other three.

Kowalski looked up at the leader. "News?"

Skipper sighed. "The King is no more."

Mort's behavior never changed. He was still rocking back and forth. "Cold and heartless. Cold and heartless. Cold and heartless..."


"Mort's been driven into madness. He's uncurable." Kowalski heaved a sigh. "What he witnessed must've been-"

"-Hell. Mort saw Hell right before his innocent eyes." Skipper glanced sadly down at the sick lemur.

Mort wimpered. "Cold and heartless. Cold and heartless."

"The domanda is, who is he referring to?"

Julien certainly was now cold and heartless. And same with the killer.