I present to you, the finale of the grand tale of Camaraderie.

Central Park Zoo, 0700… about three months since Skipper and Rocky's return

"I gots to pee!" Maya yelled to anyone who was listening.

"I remember when she said 'gaba 'ee'." Mikayla said, watching Maya disappear into the bushes of the otter habitat.

Marlene nodded. "I think she peed on Julien because he didn't understand what that meant." She grinned widely while Mikayla laughed.

The two of them were setting up the habitat for the birthday party later. Nat and Izzy were preparing food. The kids were helping by bringing things they needed. Briana followed Tyson around everywhere.

The penguins were busy in the HQ, cleaning and preparing so that it could be used in case the kids wanted to move around between habitats. Julien, Mort, and Maurice tidied up the lemur habitat…what ended up happening was that Mort and Maurice did the work while Julien ordered them around.

The other animals contributed their assistance here and there until opening time.

Today, the zoo was going to be open until 4:00pm because Alice wanted less work to do. Everyone was okay with that, it meant more time to spend mingling with others.

Alice sighed and opened the gates. People flooded in, hoping to catch a glimpse of Briana.

"Miss Alice, why do the habitats look so clean?" A random kid asked, eyeing the lemur habitat.

"I don't know, they do this often. I suppose it must have something to do with our youngest lemur turning five years old today. Yay, what a happy day." Alice responded monotonously.

Maya stuck her tongue out at Alice, causing several kids to giggle.

"Animals are weird." Alice said, shaking her head.

"Hey, happy birthday!" A boy said. "I love lemurs, they're my favorite animals!"

Maya smiled and waved at him.

"Maya!" Tyson called.

"What?!" Maya yelled back.

"I come your party later?!"

"Yeah!"

"Yay! WHOA!" Tyson had jumped until he fell into the water.

"Tyson!" Mikayla gasped.

"Hold on." Skipper said. "He's got this."

Tyson spiraled up and broke the surface, gasping and spluttering. He blinked and looked at his dad with a big smile.

"You see me? Daddy, you see that?! You see me?! See I did that!" He squealed happily, pulling himself up onto the ground. The crowd around the penguin habitat burst into cheers.

"Yes, I saw! You're getting better, I'm proud of you." Skipper said, scooping Tyson into a hug.

"AY!" A yell came from the otter habitat, "Tys'n!" Briana waved to them from the top of the slide. Marlene sat behind her.

"Izzy's in the pool!" Marlene said, seeing Rocky's confused expression.

"GO!" Maya and Tyson yelled.

"WHEE!" Briana yelled as they went down.

SPLASH!

"Give it a second." Kowalski said.

"YAY!" Briana's excited yell sounded. Even though the pool was too low to see from the penguin habitat, they knew Briana had a huge smile on.

Closing time came and the humans left. Maya felt thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep on the bounce house. Skipper brought Tyson over to the otter habitat. Tyson and Briana protested the idea of nap at first, but five minutes later they were out like a light.

Private and Rico were told to do some recon, they were joined by Rocky and Rikki. Rex, Candace, and Sapphire decided to take a stroll around Central Park, staying in view of their children.

"I haven't seen Mom this happy since before my dad died…that was forever ago and I was only a little kid." Rocky said as a round of laughter echoed from the park.

"Same." Rikki said. "He tried to be positive, but I know he wasn't fully happy until we were reunited with Rico."

"It must be just as hard on them too, they all lost kids at one point if you think about it." Private said. "My mum thought she lost Kowalski and then she had to be separated from me."

"My dad lost Rico and then nearly lost him again." Rikki said.

"Yeah." Rico grunted.

"And my mom…" Rocky sighed. "I miss them a lot…I feel terrible for hurting her after all these years. At least mom would have known if Skipper or I were dead, but this last time…it was too familiar for both of us. I'm okay, just external injuries…but Skipper, he almost died. We almost died…she almost lost the last part of her world…and what's even scarier is to think about what might have happened to her if we did die…"

"I think she would have survived." Rikki said. "She doesn't seem like the type who would give up, not when there are more who need her. She still had Tyson and Briana. Marlene wouldn't have let anything happen to her."

"What about me and Kowalski?" Private asked. "If we both died, then do you suppose mum would have lived?"

"Yes, she has support around her." Rikki said. "Wasn't Byron the only child of Sarah? She's still alive and she's trying to make the world a safer place. Also, we're finished with that. The battle's over and we shouldn't dwell on the 'what if' because it didn't happen. Why should we be upset over something that didn't happen?"

"True." Rico said.

"You make a good point." Rocky said.

"Thanks, Rikki. How do you think of these things?" Private said.

"I've had a lot of time on my flippers lately." Rikki answered.

"Speaking of a lot of time, Mikayla and Kowalski have been spending a lot of it together." Rocky said with a smile.

Rikki snorted. "Do you think they're-"

"Hey!" Rico said, putting his flippers over Private's ear holes.

"Alright, we won't question it!" Rocky said.

"I'll leave their business to them." Rikki said.

"What just happened?" Private asked once Rico had let go.

The girls laughed.

"Dunno." Rico said.

Private sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get any answers out of them.

Mikayla found Kowalski doing some exercises in his lab. He grunted as he lifted his leg straight into the air. He tilted his head back to see Mikayla approaching.

"You can lock the door if you want." Kowalski said.

Mikayla locked the door. "How are the exercises working for you?"

"Functioning at 98.4 percent." Kowalski said. "The bones have nearly completely healed, but muscle tissue takes a long time to heal. I am stiff." He sighed and sat up. "How's it going?"

"I'm doing well. The kids are resting before the party, so I came to spend some alone time with you." Mikayla said. She sat next to him.

"Did I tell you about my doctor's appointment?" Kowalski said.

"Yes, and I still don't care about that. I love you for you. I've been telling you since you got back, before the doctor examined you."

"They had to do a few surgeries though…one of them…well, there's a high probability that-"

"Are you listening? I am NOT worried about that, I'm focused on getting you healed and I will love you through everything."

"Even if we never have kids?"

"Yes. I am fine whether we are able to have children or not. Whatever happens, I plan on sticking with you for as long as possible. I love you because you're kind, respectful, and a whole bunch of other qualities that go above all else." Mikayla held out her flipper.

Kowalski took it. "I'm happy. I've got family and friends and I shouldn't complain too much…so, everyone's busy?"

"How long does recon last?"

"It's based on how Skipper feels. The kids will be asleep for at least another hour and forty minutes. Recon might be shorter because Skipper wanted us to get back to work at least ten to fifteen minutes before the kids wake up."

"So, we have a guaranteed hour to ourselves?"

"Yep, we should make the most of it."

"We should."

Rex, Sapphire, and Candace returned from their walk to help decorate some more around the zoo. Rico, Private, Rocky, and Rikki reported back to Skipper once they had finished recon, the leader asked them to provide entertainment for the kids.

"Mikayla can put on a puppet show; she's getting really good at those." Skipper said. "Where is she anyway?"

"Little bro, I don't think you want to bother her right now." Rocky said. "She's having some alone time with Kowalski if you know what I mean." She grinned.

"Yep, alone time. Just the two of them…together." Rikki said, trying not to laugh.

Rico rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand." Private said, genuinely confused. "I thought Kowalski was exercising? Is she helping him?"

Rocky and Rikki burst into laughter.

"Alright, that's enough out of you two." Skipper said. "Rocky, I need you to get Mom, Candace, and Rex. They're in charge of the kids for a while."

"Alright." Rocky went to find the parents.

"They're awake?" Rikki asked.

"YAY! PARTY!" Maya shouted as she raced towards the otter habitat, Julien following close behind. "Tyson! Briana!"

"Does that answer your question?" Skipper asked.

"Yes." Rikki said.

Tyson stumbled over his feet as he waddled out of the habitat, the feathers on the left side of his head stuck up in the air. Briana followed close behind, holding her brother's flipper.

"Whew! She has…been awake…for three minutes…" Julien panted.

"It's a kid thing; Tyson will be fully awake in a minute or so." Marlene said, following her kids out of the cave.

Kowalski and Mikayla joined the group a few minutes later and the party was ready to start. Mikayla, Rikki, and Rocky provided the entertainment for the kids while Nat and Izzy were making sure there was enough food for everyone.

Skipper wanted to be moving around more often, but his still injured body refused to let him. He and Kowalski had to take several breaks due to their injuries. Skipper's coughs were heard by everyone, but no one questioned it. He had already told them that it would take even longer for his lungs to heal completely.

The two of them sat on a rock, observing the party. Rico was sunbathing next to Skipper.

"Do you think we're getting back to our normal lives?" Private asked as he gave Skipper and Kowalski cups of water.

"I don't know." Kowalski said.

Skipper took a sip and nodded slowly. "Somewhat normal. I don't think we could ever be considered normal to everyone else."

"If you want to think about it this way, we're back to being our team again. There is no longer a looming threat." Kowalski said.

Rico grunted in agreement.

"What you're asking is a difficult question in some ways." Skipper said. He coughed and took another sip. "Excuse me. I feel that you are asking if everything will be the same as before, to which that answer is no. We've lost a lot in this war and we *cough* still have traumatic memories. Even though there are good things that have come out, the losses will haunt us for a long time to come. I *cough* I don't mean to sound pessimistic here, but the truth is not so pretty."

"The brighter side to this answer is that we will be happy again." Kowalski said, sparing his coughing leader. "We will move on with our lives, remembering and honoring those who fought alongside us. We can already see that the kids will have a safe and happy place to grow up in."

They watched Maya shove cake in Tyson's face. Tyson responded by taking Maya's birthday tiara and sticking it in her cake. They both glared at each other for a few seconds, and then burst into laughter. Briana was trying to catch the crumbs that were falling off the tiara as Maya shook it around.

"Friends." Rico said.

"We also have our friends and family with us." Private said.

"Yep. I'd say we're doing pretty well." Kowalski said.

"Pengy Pivate!" Maya said. "Come here!" Maya had a piece of cake in her hands.

"What is it?" Private asked, leaning over.

Maya whispered something to him. Private nodded and both of them left the otter habitat. Julien looked over at Skipper with a confused look and Skipper sent back a shrug. Rico sat up as Tyson came waddling over.

"Tyson, where did Maya go?" Skipper asked.

"Oshee." Tyson responded.

"Josie, but why?"

"She don't tell me. Daddy, I can go slide please?"

"Sure, but make sure Mommy knows."

"I tell her now!" Tyson grinned and hurried off.

Briana, who had been trying to follow both kids, let out a yawn and crawled over to Skipper. "Sweepy, Daddy." She said.

Skipper picked her up and started rocking her slowly.

Maya and Private returned to the otter habitat as Briana fell asleep. Maya ran to her dad and began talking to him about something. Private rejoined his team.

"Private, what happened?" Kowalski asked.

"She wanted to give some cake to Josie and Juliana." Private said. "She told me that they would be sad if they didn't get any cake. When we got there, she put it down and started talking as if they were there. She described her day and said she wished they were here. I was a bit worried when she sniffed a little and rubbed her eyes, but she told me that she was ready to go back to the party. I'm not sure why she chose me of everyone here, but she did say that she didn't want Julien to be sad again."

"Perhaps she remembers when he went into depression." Kowalski said. "They seem to be doing well at the moment."

Maya pulled Julien to the slide, both of them were smiling.

"We here." Rico said.

"And we're still alive." Private said. "We can carry on the legacy of those who have passed."

"This team has always stuck by each other and I don't plan on going anywhere else." Kowalski added.

"We aren't going to be one hundred percent ourselves again, but we can get pretty close." Skipper said. "We are still a team, still brothers and comrades. I'm not letting any of you go."

A/N: And so ends the tale of Camaraderie. I hope this is a satisfactory ending, I can always come back and edit if it isn't.

There is a possibility that I will have some oneshots about their lives after Camaraderie, but that depends on how the other stories go and how real life goes.

Laura: I didn't think that Mikayla would be important to the story; I kind of just had here there.

Classified: I hope this final chapter was alright!

Everyone else: Thank you so much for your comments; they really did help me out a lot.

Background stuff: I honestly can't remember the first fan fiction story I read or why I decided to join this site. This isn't my first story on this site, but in a way it was connected to the first story I ever wrote on the Penguins, which was Picking up the Pieces. I wrote that story back before I joined the site with no intention of having it published anywhere. I remember writing it post-SAT (standardized testing) back in the second semester eleventh grade. I had nothing to do and wasn't allowed to play on the computer, so I grabbed a notepad and pencil.

I suppose I watched the Skorca episode and was inspired to write a dark take on what would happen if Private had another sugar rush. In that rough draft, I included a small part of what is now Camaraderie. This part included Skipper refusing to go back to Antarctica and the reveal that he has a sister named Rocky. That idea was scrapped from PUTP and I didn't know what to do with it.

January 2012, I began writing Camaraderie. Rocky was the first OC of the story and everything else came out from there. I did write a story in November 2011 on Ponytail30527's adorable mini's that she had given me permission to write. This did inspire me to write the kids in Camaraderie.

Originally, there were a lot more kids, but there wasn't a point to them. I spoke with halfhuman123 who has collaborated with Ponytail before. I don't know if either of them still write or are on this site, but they have written amazing stories and I am very thankful for their kindness. Halfhuman 123 gave me a piece of advice that has stuck with me throughout my writing. I gave her a list of kids I wanted included and she explained that the minis all had a reason for why they were there. I realized that mine didn't have that reason so I changed it up a bit.

Again, this isn't my first story here, but it is my longest story so far and one that I have been attached to for so long. It's strange to think that this is the end of a story that has been going on for, technically, more than four years now. It's not entirely over though, I might write small oneshots here and there about their lives after Camaraderie.

I honestly don't know how to express my gratitude towards everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, followed, and even if you just looked at it once, I'm grateful that it was worth a glance. Sincerely, I am very thankful for your advice, reactions, enjoyment, and I really do hope it was enjoyable. It feels strange to say that I finally wrapped up this story. So enough of my rambling, I thank each and every one of you for your support once again and I'll see you in the next story.

-TK