Cross over between POM and The Hunger Games. The characters belong to the creators of POM completely and you may recognise some parts from The Hunger Games, although it doesn't follow that story plot completely. Thank you.

I would just like to thank Thewriterstory and Aquade for being my regular reviewers, you have really encouraged me to keep writing for this story!

Chapter 13

Skipper strained his eyes to see, shielding his gaze from the harsh light that was summoned down. There was a lashing noise that whipped his earholes, but the leader was able to identify it as a huge helicopter after his vision adjusted. A villainous cackle echoed down followed by a crackling of a megaphone.

"Skipper, how was it that I knew that you'd be the last one standing?" Dr Blowhole called, over the whooping of the propellers. The penguin closed his eyes tightly, before diverting his gaze to his fallen team mate, who he cradled in his flippers. He supported the back of Kowalski's neck, raising the taller penguin's head slightly as he examined his face at peace. A frustrated groan followed.

"I'm waiting, pen-GU-in"

"I'm coming dolphin!" snapped Skipper, scowling back up at the helicopter, which had its spotlights still on him. He pulled the corpse close to him, nestling his beak to his lieutenant's shoulder. 'Such weakness...' he thought, 'I never would have done this if you were alive...'. With a saddened sigh, Skipper removed Kowalski's body, lying him gently in the long grass. Getting to his feet, he suddenly clenched his flippers into a fist. "What do you want Blowhole?!"

"You've won the Hunger Games, you negligent fool" the dolphin hissed, "Step onto the platform".

"Why should I trust you?!" he barked.

"Does your paranoia have no bounds?" Blowhole sighed, putting a flipper to his face, "Just get on it".

Skipper eyed up the metallic platform in question. He pulled the dagger from Kowalski's chest and placed it into his throwing dagger bag. Despite his trust for Blowhole being non-existent, he went ahead and stepped up onto the platform. After a sudden jolt, which slightly unbalanced Skipper, the platform was slowly eased up to the helicopter. Dr Blowhole greeted him with a malicious smirk.

"Let's return to the arena to announce your victory, as much as I would love to see you dead, rules are rules" he muttered.

Skipper's eye twitched in anger.

"Announce my victory? Announce my victory?! It's nothing to be proud of!" the commander snarled, marching towards the dolphin.

"Hey now," frowned Blowhole, backing up his Segway, "I wasn't the one who killed them".

"You?! Loads of penguin agents have died because of you!"

"I haven't killed any" the villain persisted.

"You set up the game! If the penguins don't die because of the rules then they die of starvation in fear of dying from the games!"

"Blame it all on me. But I am not the one who has betrayed my own kind"

Skipper narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you dare and try to make me feel guilty. I had no other choice!"

"You could have kept your honour and died"

"I still have my honour!" Skipper bellowed.

"...You think Private would agree?" he teased, hitting Skipper's nerves, "Or Rico?"

"Don't you dare speak of them!"

"What about Kowalski? Hmm? You think he thinks you are honourable?"

"He took his own life for me, they all did" Skipper gulped, casting away his gaze, blinking hard.

"A true leader would do anything for their team" he continued to taunt.

"I did everything I could!" yelled Skipper, his voice straining in desperation.

Dr Blowhole leaned forward towards the commander in a threatening manner.

"You did nothing. You betrayed your own team" he intimidated through gritted teeth, "I knew you were arrogant but I never would've guessed that you would've been this selfish".

Skipper reached into his throwing knives bag, clenching the handle of the dagger but keeping it out of sight.

"It's funny to think that Private, Rico and Kowalski would have died knowing what kind of leader you really are; pathetic and self-centred!"

The level-headed penguin couldn't take it any more. Insults of himself, he could take, but if his loyal deceased team mates? Rage boiled to exploding point as he whipped out the dagger and lunged at the dolphin. Blowhole swerved his Segway back, but was knocked to the ground by Skipper. He struggled. Holding Skipper's flippers to try and keep the dagger away, Blowhole called out to his minions. Enough lobster henchmen were on board to keep piloting the helicopter whilst others restrained Skipper. Dr Blowhole unravelled the dagger from Skipper's clenched flipper, who writhed in desperation to escape. The villainous dolphin smirked, holding the dagger to Skipper's throat as he was restrained. Skipper ceased all movements.

"I could just kill you, so easily. Look how defenceless you are now" he spat in disgust, "But I promised a winner".

"Since when do you keep your word?" Skipper muttered, swallowing hard. The dagger was slowly eased away from his throat.

"Since I realised that it will be a greater pain for you to live in guilt then just to kill you" smirked Blowhole.

"At least I have remorse, I almost feel sorry for you for having a stone cold heart..."

For surviving such a lethal and mentally traumatising game, the reward was meaningless. To keep his life, you'd think he'd be grateful, but what is a commander without a team. He went for days mourning over his soldiers, becoming sleep deprived from horrifying nightmares of reliving the whole event again. Now he had returned to his district, now he had nothing else to cast his mind to, he could only find himself thinking of the trauma he went through, no matter how hard he tried...

Though at the time it seemed useless, Skipper's failed attempt to kill Dr Blowhole wasn't in vain. After declaring Skipper as the winner of the this years Hunger Games, the dolphin then announced that this was the final event of the games. What made him change his mind was still unclear to them all, but they tried not to dwell on such negativity. Many lobster minions went round to each district, allowing the to mingle with the other districts and reuniting the penguins agents.

With a brave inhale to brace himself, Skipper returned to his HQ back at the Central Park Zoo. After a meeting with all the penguins agents and a lecture from a lobster henchman on behalf of Blowhole, they were all released. Skipper had done it. He had stopped the Hunger Games. Though how he had done it wasn't clear to him, it wasn't his priority at this point. He stared at the empty space of the HQ. It was cold and lifeless, just like his team mates bodies that once lived in this room. A lunacorn toy on one of the bunks. Memories of the youngest penguin's naïve yet adorable remarks came flooding back to the commander. A chainsaw rested up against the wall near the TV. It could only remind him of Rico and his brilliantly psychotic ways. Skipper swallowed hard, taking his first steps around the room since the night when it all started...

He dragged himself to the large metallic door. Kowalski's lab. Skipper pushed open the door. A breeze of cool air slipped out of the door, sending chills up Skipper's spine. He shuddered, gulping before continuing inside the room that bought back memories of the scientist and inventor who held the team together with his bright ideas, yet threatened to destroy the earth accidentally by scientific mishaps. A frown suddenly appeared on his face. A machine stood before him, one that he had never noticed before. He pulled off the note that was taped to the front of it, scanning his eyes over the words.

'Skipper, no one can stop the inevitable, therefore I created this invention in advance. I can't say I knew that Private would predict the Hunger Games, but I knew the games would happen. I knew this because I invented this as I was sure that, this time, I had perfected time travel, only to find that in my future, I was destined to die in the games. Time Travel...I can only ask that you resist using its energy to go back and slap a hippy but I'm sure you'll do what's right.'

"What's right?" Skipper asked himself out loud, "How am I meant to know what to do..." he gently pondered to himself, pacing a little, "No one can stop the inevitable... So I can't stop the games from happening...But maybe I can prevent us from ever taking place!" he suddenly realised, his eyes brightening. Skipper dropped the note and stepped into the machine. Pulling a leaver, he stood in anticipation, face suddenly filled with a sense of purpose once more.

A portal appeared and the present Skipper leaped out. As soon as he landed, he came to grips with his surroundings. Skipper realised that he was in fact back in his district, just before his past self was going to cross over to the neighbouring district where he would meet Kowalski. With a smirk, the commander dashed to the fence line, squeezing through a gap in the wires and crossing into the next district. Jumping down onto his belly, he slid into the forest, right until he got to the exact point where he would met his friend. A twig snapped behind him. This time, Skipper widened his eyes, quickly spinning around to see if it was indeed Kowalski.

"Woah, calm down Skipper!" Kowalski chuckled, holding up his flippers, "It's only me Skipper".

His words were familiar to how he remembered before.

"Kowalski!" he gasped, running to his lieutenant and throwing his flippers around him. Kowalski stumbled back, feeling a little dazed from his commander's reaction.

"Are you feeling okay Skipper?" chuckled Kowalski. Skipper pulled himself away, remembering the note.

"I know of the time machine you invented, I've come from the future" he explained.

"Y-You have?" Kowalski gaped, "My invention has worked a charm! No malfunctions!"

"I've missed you" he smirked, "And the others...It's been so long since I've seen Private and Rico..."

"I miss them too...So, you got to see them, you know...Die? But they're alive now, I'm sure they are fine, just now" Kowalski reassured, he looked at the continuing forests and mountains that covered the forbidden areas, "You know, I could live out there"

This conversation was starting to sound all to familiar to Skipper.

"We could, couldn't we? If we just got to the boarder lines, we'd be fine from there, we'd survive" he replied, different to how his past self did.

"And what about Rico and Private?" Kowalski questioned.

"We'll go collect them. Now. We leave now. Before the reaping begins" explained Skipper.

"Why so soon? What do you know? What future knowledge have you foreseen?" the analyst smiled, excited over his invention's success.

"Me, you, Private and Rico will all get chosen for this next reaping. I have promised myself that, to keep my honour, I must prevent my team from going into these psychotic games".

"Okay Skipper, you know that I'll always follow in your decisions" Kowalski smiled, "But know that you could never lose your honour, not to me, not to Rico or Private. We all look up to you".

"Thanks Kowalski, it means more to me then the present you will ever know" Skipper grinned, "Right, let's go. We'll bust out Private and Rico and then head for the boarder while they are all distracted by the reaping. When we reach the boarder line, we'll be safe. We'll eventually get back home, but all that matters is that I am with my team".

...

The End.

I hope the end wasn't too much of a twist that it wrecked it, I just didn't want to end on such a glum note. Also, I know it is left on a cliff hanger and doesn't go on into them actually getting back with the other half of the team, but I wanted to leave that to the reader's imagination, as time travel never actually happened in the Hunger Games.