Author's Note: Happy New Year! Here's the 下一个 chapter!

For the 秒 time that day, I woke up –this time with the smell of sardines. Private’s face was hovering close by, and that was the first thing I saw. “He’s awake!” Private yelled.

I held a flipper to my head and groaned. “Remind me not to spin my head like that again,” I said.

Rico smiled at me. He 说 something I didn’t understand. “Sorry,” I said. “What did 你 say?”

Private translated. “He says that you’ll get well soon.”

I glanced at Rico. He nodded in confirmation. Kowalski waddled over. “Perhaps 你 should get some rest,” he said. “Sleep is 说 to be the best medicine for illnesses.”

I raised my non-existent brow. “I have been sleeping for the past two weeks. I think I have enough of that for a while.”

“But-”

“No buts, Kowalski.”

This got a chuckle from Private, and I could guess why. “You know,” I went on. “They say that laughter is also a good remedy.”

Kowalski thought hard for a moment. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try?” he suggested weakly.

I smiled at him. “Good work.”

Scanning the room, I asked them, “Do 你 have a wheelchair?”

Skipper turned to Rico. “Rico!Wheelchair. ASAP.”

Then, the most 不可思议的 thing happened. Rico somehow regurgitated a wheelchair. I opened my beak to ask something when I saw Skipper shake his head. “Is it clean?” I asked instead.

Rico nodded vigorously. Taking that as a yes, I slowly eased myself into the chair. It was a little harder than sitting up, but this time, I had the help of the other penguins. Private waddled over to me. “Thanks for saving me,” he said.

Kowalski bowed his head. “And for saving us as well.”

Skipper smirked. “You took the worst hit, soldier. That makes 你 welcome anytime.”

“You might not be saying that again in your life, Skipper,” I laughed. “By the way, my name is Nathan.”

Before he could answer, the TV screen turned on. A 企鹅 appeared on it. “Hello,” he said.

There were some scuffling in the background and some hushed whispers before he spoke again. “I heard that Nathan is well again.”

I nearly stood up when he 说 that. “How do 你 know me?” I asked.

“And who are you?” Skipper added.

Kowalski inched away from the TV’s view to find where the video was being broadcasted. The 企鹅 laughed. “My name is Leo, but many of 你 know me as the ‘Lion.’”

We all froze when he 说 that –well, all of us except Private that is. “Who?” the young 企鹅 asked.

Leo glanced down at him. “Ah,” he noted. “College boy.”

“Why does everybody say that like an insult?” exclaimed Private. “I think somebody is just jealous.”

I gasped, and Skipper hurriedly placed a flipper on Private’s beak. “He didn’t mean that, sir.”

“Yes I did!” mumbled Private.

I laughed nervously. “Why did 你 call us, sir?”

“I wanted to talk to 你 about the mission.”

I forgot who I was talking to when I spoke the 下一个 few sentences. “Oh, yeah.About that. Why did 你 send two teams in? Without even telling them? Were 你 trying to get us killed? We almost 迷失 a 企鹅 in there! Who do 你 think 你 are?” I blurted out.

Immediately, I covered my beak. I knew I had just 给 myself a death sentence. Surprisingly, Leo scratched the back of his head nervously. “Sorry about that,” he said. “We thought it would be the best way to bring your teams together.”

“What'da'ya mean?” asked Skipper.

“I mean that from now on, 你 two are going to have to work together.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I cut in. “You nearly got us killed and now you’re telling us that we have to work together?”

“Yes.”

“Hey,” yelled Skipper. “What’s the point of this?”

“Yeah!” I agreed.

“Um, Skipper, perhaps 你 shouldn’t-”

Skipper held up a flipper to silence the scientist. “Let the 企鹅 answer,” he said.

Leo sighed. “Look, we’re trying to enforce the 企鹅 credo 更多 and eliminate solo players.”

I glared daggers at him. “All of 你 at the NPTA (National 企鹅 Team Association) know that I work alone. I will not endanger another one of my own again!”

With that, I wheeled myself to one of their secret tunnels and banged the door shut. After waiting awhile, I pressed an ear to the door to hear the rest of the conversation. “What was that about?” asked Private.

“I should have known this wouldn’t be easy,” 说 Leo.

“What did he mean 由 ‘endangering one of his own’?” asked Kowalski.

Leo sighed. “I guess I should tell 你 about his partner.”

How dare he tell them about Billy? I clenched my fists and wheeled myself away without hearing the rest of their talk.