Penguins of Anarchy III: Edge of Disaster

Eighteen

Drake was sitting in the fuselage, contemplating what kind of welcome he would get from his homeland, when Glyphton announced that they were almost to Antarctica, after two long days of flying. Despite impossible odds, Drake, Glyphton, Celtic, and Larikos had made it out of North America alive, and they were all overjoyed to be in friendly territory again.

All except Drake. He was feeling grim. He could picture all of his comrades screaming at him, calling him a traitor, calling him a snake, demanding where Felly was. And most of all, Drake dreaded the look he would see on Dreemo's face when he got home.

Meanwhile, Dreemo was with Sam on Alcatraz Island, trudging across the rocky terrain, wondering where in the world Drake and Felly could be. He had neither seen nor heard any sign of either of them.

Dreemo would be sprinting as hard as he could if he knew where he was going, but he didn't. He began to wonder if Drake and Felly were even on the island, or if Riker and Marcosis had died for nothing.

Waff stood face-to-face with Terasane in a heated debate. "You don't have the authority or the reason to do something like this!" Terasane exclaimed.

"It's time to cut off all loose ends, Terasane," Waff explained calmly, trying to seem saner in order to win Terasane over. "Task Force Anarchy has defied this nation's authority several times. Dreemo even came into this very war room and attacked me just before he left. It's time to act before the four remaining members create an uprising."

"They've never done anything wrong!" Terasane shouted. "There's no solid evidence that Drake defected to the enemy, and Dreemo, Sam, Marcosis, and Riker are just trying to rescue two people they care about!"

"They defied me! They attacked me! They are not loyal to this country anymore! We can't afford to let them be a problem anymore!"

"But they're not a problem!" Terasane insisted.

"Give me one really good reason why I shouldn't incarcerate the remaining members. Give me one reason that shows me they're still loyal to Antarctica, and that they're still useful to us!"

Terasane sighed. Maybe Waff was right. Drake and Felly were probably dead. Dreemo, Sam, Riker, and Marcosis had gone on their own mission without Antarctica's consent. And Fragnile, Ursynz, Camo, and Gostt hadn't proven themselves useful in a long, long time.

Waff sneered at Terasane's silence. "That's what I thought," he said. "It's settled, then."

The other high-ranking officers of the army were gathered around the two penguins. Now that Dreemo had gone, they had no excuses left to argue with Waff about dealing with Task Force Anarchy.

Waff leaned in close to Terasane. "This is your last chance to prove yourself loyal to this country before you end up in the same boat as those other troublemakers."

Terasane's face was grave. He had always showed unwavering loyalty for his great country, but after all that had come to pass, Antarctica didn't seem to be as great and just as it once was.

"Go to Task Force Anarchy's bunker and bring its remaining members here, now," Waff ordered one of his soldiers. The soldier ran off to do as he said.

Meanwhile, Terasane left the war room and went out on this bright day into the sunlight. He often liked to stroll around Blizzard Base whenever he felt lonely or uncertain, and he knew one thing for sure: He wasn't about to watch four penguins who had always been kind to him be locked up simply for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dreemo sprinted across the island as fast as he could. He had heard it, he knew he had heard it—the sound of Felly's voice crying for help. Sam tried to keep up with him as they raced toward a concrete lookout tower that sat at the very edge of the plateau. It was shaped like a lighthouse, and had once had windows at the very top where guards could keep an eye out for escapees; but some kind of explosive had struck the top, and now half of the tower's top floor was a pile of rubble at its base.