Penguins of Anarchy IV: Endgame

Seven

Drake and Camo climbed onto the ledge and stared at the black cavern boring into the face of the cliff. "Should be pretty secure," Camo said. "It's high off the ground, so no dangerous animals should be able to get in."

Drake didn't reply, but pulled out a flashlight and shined it into the darkness. The cave only ran about thirty feet back, but he thought it should be enough room for everyone. "How long do you plan on us staying here?"

"As long as necessary, but we'll need to scout for a settlement before long," Camo replied.

"Half of us are too weak to go on an expedition," Drake reminded him.

"We can use the same system we're using now: You, Gostt, and I head out and search for civilization, while Glyphton watches the others."

Drake nodded. "But if the settlement is too far, we might not be able to move Dreemo and Riker there very easily."

Camo sighed. "Then we'd better hope that's not the case."

Drake clicked off the flashlight and began descending the cliff face. "We should be able to hold up for a while in there if we need to."

"Agreed," Camo responded as he followed his older brother down. "Let's head back before Riker gets in any worse shape."

The sky was darkening, and the visibility was getting even worse. "Hope we can find our way," Drake muttered. "How are we going to signal Gostt?"

"He'll make his way back on his own," Camo replied carelessly. "C'mon, let's go." Drake and Camo began plodding their way through the snow, hoping they were heading back toward the crash site.

"Have you wondered if there's anything else we can do to stop the Alliance?" Camo asked.

Drake hesitantly replied, "I'll take any opportunity I get if it gives us a chance at making things okay."

"But we've lost everything. Most of our teammates are either dead or captured, we've been kicked out of our homeland, we have no allies to be found anywhere, and we're struggling just to survive the elements."

"So what, we should just give up?"

"No, but...I just wonder, after everything has gone so wrong, if we're meant to try any harder. You saved Antarctica from the Alliance once, and you killed President Agamemnon, but maybe we're not the ones who'll ultimately decide how this war ends."

Drake didn't respond for a moment. Then he said, "The way I see it, we're the only ones who can decide how this war ends. We've been more deeply involved in every aspect of it than anyone besides Omniscion. And when you really look hard at it, we're the reason this war started to begin with."

An incredulous look formed on Camo's face. "I'm not sure I follow you."

"Yalashton became the heartless, ruthless penguin he is because we drove him to it. We expected too much of him, we never encouraged him when he performed well, and we made him feel as alone as he was when he first showed up to fight in the Human-Penguin War. We created Omniscion, and Omniscion created this war, and that makes it our responsibility."

Camo scowled. "Well I bloody didn't drive him to shoot me in the face or kill Greeney."

"Maybe not intentionally, but if we had treated him as a friend instead of a nuisance, I truly believe he would have turned out differently."

"So let me get this straight," Camo said angrily. "You're saying that we're the real bad guys here—that Omniscion's nothing but a pawn in a game we created. That's the most bloody ridiculous thing I've ever heard."