Star Child

Ch 5: Ju'lien

Warning: It gets dark from here on out. Can't handle blood and gore? Probably best not to continue reading.

Kowalski dropped his eyes to the leafy crown he held tightly in his flippers. Maurice had passed it to him, saying that it was his duty as Queen to keep it safe until the victor returned. At that point, Kowalski would need to crown the current or new King. The thought of Clemson wearing Julien's crown made the penguin sick to his stomach.

{Please be safe, Julien}

(hours later)

Clemson gritted his teeth and climbed higher in the tree. Julien was nowhere to be seen, but eventually the ring-tailed lemur would give himself away. Still... the red lemur glanced at the moon which was already past the mid-way point.

{I am not giving up. I will beat that idiotic, self-proclaimed king. He does not deserve to rule. I deserve to rule!}

The red-tailed lemur licked at one of his many cuts and growled under his breath. His green eyes peered into the darkness as he tried to get his bearings. Julien might have the upper-hand, since he'd been born and raised on Madagascar, but Clemson wasn't going to let that stop him.

The crimson lemur smirked at the memory of being shipped to the island by the humans (apparently he was too much trouble, even for Hoboken) only a month before. His initial plan had been to take over the lemurs as King, but that had fallen through. However, the Rite of Queens was allowing Clemson to get his revenge on the idiot king and the penguins who had humiliated him. Yessss... after Clemson was crowned King, he'd take care of the so called Queen Kowalski and his little rookery, once and for all.

Private jerked awake, his face reddening under his feathers when he found himself leaning against Skipper's soft body. The penguin commando didn't seem to notice, as his attention was fixed on the lemur adviser sitting nearby.

The young penguin glanced up at the stars and couldn't hold in a sigh. How long were these Madagascar nights anyway?

The ring-tailed king crept along a branch, his golden eyes scanning the darkness for any signs of his crimson foe. The jungle was quiet... too quiet. Even the fossa seemed to be keeping to themselves. Perhaps the sky spirits were behind the unnatural silence.

A hiss caught the lemur king's attention moments before the other lemur's teeth scraped his shoulder, causing Julien to instinctively throw himself into a roll. Clemson let out a shriek and raced after him along the branch of the tree.

The ring-tailed lemur darted from tree to tree, hoping to lose his attacker. Unfortunately, the red lemur refused to give up the chase. In the midst of being pursued, Julien barely managed to stop at the end of a branch dangling over a steep waterfall.

'Well now, it looks like it's the end of the line,' Clemson's malicious chuckle had Julien spinning around to face his rival. Green eyes glinted from the darkness as the red lemur crept closer.

Julien bared his teeth and braced himself, waiting for the other lemur to make his move. Clemson suddenly leapt at him, attempting to shove him off the branch. Julien felt his feet lose grip, and at the last moment, grabbed the red lemur's arm, yanking him down with him.

{If we both die, then at least Kowalski will be safe. I'm sorry, my vady}

The lemurs plunged into the icy water at the bottom of the cliff.

Kowalski felt his heart clench as a sense of dread washed over him. {Nothing's wrong... It's not scientifically possible for me to sense if Julien is in trouble. My brain is trying to trick my body into thinking something is wrong, but it's not. Julien will come back to me alive. I know he will...}

Clemson dragged himself to his feet, the frigid water seeping through his fur and numbing his exhausted body. Looks like they managed to survive the waterfall jump... or at least he did. Excited green eyes narrowed on the grey-furred lemur laying slumped over a rock that was jutting out of the water. Crimson pooled around Julien's head, his golden eyes revealing that he was still alive, just dazed from the fall and the loss of blood.

The red lemur let out an eerie chuckle as he wadded closer to his fallen foe. Leaning down, he couldn't stop himself from taunting Julien one last time. 'For my first proclamation as King, I will order the execution of your lover and his friends. Fortunately for you, you won't be around to see your mate gasp for air as I tear open his throat. Perhaps we'll even have a penguin BBQ to celebrate my victory!'

Julien drew in a breath of air, his eyes widening at the sound of the other lemur's smug voice. But he was so weak... so tired. What did Clemson say? His words were getting mixed up in his head. Something about the flightless birds... something about Kowalski.

The ring-tailed lemur felt his eyes drift closed as he surrendered to the darkness. But, to his shock, he wasn't alone. A golden furred lemur with green eyes was glaring at him, mocking him.

{Don't just lay down and die, moron. He's going to kill your vady}

{I'm not strong enough. I want to save Kowalski, but I can't}

{Then I'll do it. You're obviously too weak, KING Julien}

Clemson smirked, watching Julien slip into unconsciousness. Perfect. All he had to do now was snap the former-king's neck and drag his body back to the platform. {You've won, Clemson. All your hard work and backstabbing days have paid off. You are now King of the Lemurs!}

The red lemur's internal gloating was cut off the moment Julien's eyes snapped open. No longer the familiar golden eyes of a lemur, now they were glowing an unearthly shade of green.

'What?' Clemson took a step back as his self-preservation instincts screamed at him to run away.

The lemur king pushed himself to his feet, his emotionless orbs staring directly into the red lemur's panicked eyes.

'This can't be... What are you?' Clemson found his body rooted to the spot as the deadly creature slipped through the water, closing the distance between them.

'I am... Ju'lien. And at this moment, I am your death,' the words sliced through the air as the lemur king's body began to glow.

A hush fell over the lemurs and their penguin guests. Far off in the distance, a beam of golden light was shooting up from the trees in a magnificent display.

Kowalski clutched the crown closer even as his rational mind tried to come up with an explanation for the strange beacon. For some bizarre reason, the sight of the golden beam made him feel both unnerved and protected at the same time. How very odd.

The light vanished, leaving the rest of the group stunned and disoriented. A chilling shriek filled the air, driving the lemurs into the protection of the treetops. The penguins huddled together, scanning the darkness for enemy eyes.

'You don't think Julien could be..' Kowalski trailed off as his leader's flipper covered his beak.

'Don't lose hope yet, man. Ring-tail isn't as delicate as he looks,' Skipper admonished.

The shriek died off and the jungle was silent once more. The lemurs eventually slipped out of their hiding places and filled the platform again. It surprised the penguins to see the normally energetic mammals so quiet and withdrawn. Most were huddled into small groups for comfort.

Only Mort and Maurice ventured the length of the platform to approach the birds. Together they sat in silence, waiting.

Maurice jolted out of half-sleep as the first rays of sunlight caressed the platform. A lone silhouette slipped from the shadowed leaves and stood before the gathering, head bent over the motionless body in its arms.

Kowalski gasped as the figure's face was illuminated in the morning's light. The lemur's golden fur was slowly draining away, leaving crimson stained grey in its place. Green eyes bored into his until the penguin forced himself to look away. Julien had returned victorious... but was this emerald-eyed beauty still the lemur he'd fallen in love with?

The lemurs quickly set up a make-shift altar in the center of the platform. The gathering watched in awe as their triumphant king laid his opponent on the alter, crimson dripping from Clemson's mangled body.

Maurice approached, silently offering his king the ceremonial knife. Julien's dark tipped fingers closed around the handle of the knife and the crowd held in a collective breath. Without pause, the lemur king drove the blade deep into Clemson's unmoving chest. The ceremony was so brutal and primitive that it left the penguins chilled to the core.

Kowalski found himself unable to turn away as he watched his lover's gentle fingers slip into Clemson's open chest cavity, delving through the blood-soaked mess. Crimson-soaked hands yanked the defeated lemur's heart up into the air, presenting to the crowd.

The lemurs of Madagascar went WILD, even as the penguins stood in shocked silence. Julien let out a familiar, unearthly shriek and his followers echoed him with howls of their own.

Skipper was tempted to slip away with his men. Far, far away. But he froze in his tracks as the lemur king turned his emerald gaze upon their little group.

Emotionless, Julien crossed the platform to stand before them; his cold eyes ran over each of them in turn, before focusing on Kowalski. Dropping to one knee, the lemur king presented the bloody heart to his queen.

Kowalski gulped, staring at the limp flesh in his lover's blood-drenched hands. Thankfully, Maurice had clearly foreseen his reaction and was now at his side, handing him a battered human-made thermos. Kowalski took it into his flippers and held it out, hoping that Julien would not be too offended.

Green eyes faded to earthly gold as the lemur silently dropped the heart into the metal container. Maurice was quick to exchange the thermos for the royal crown, leaving the penguin blinking at the still kneeling king in shock. The adviser gave a fake cough, jolting Kowalski from his thoughts.

'Ah yes, right. Your crown, Julien,' the scientist mumbled, reaching out with trembling flippers to place the leafy crown upon his lover's bowed head. Golden eyes raised to meet blue as the lemur pushed himself back to his feet.

Turning away from the penguin, the lemur king addressed his people, 'My queen has accepted the tribute. Prepare the feast!'

Julien fixed his eyes on Clemson's cold, unmoving body and raised his hands to the sky. 'Prepare the sacred flame, as well. The Sky Spirits shall eat well tonight!'

The penguins grimaced as they watched the lemurs chattering away as they alternated between eating and dancing around the pile of fruit on the platform. How could the mammals be keeping their food down after that bloody scene?

Skipper drew in a breath and patted his Private on the shoulder, allowing the young penguin to cuddle close. The commando refused to look away from the lemur king who was showing no signs of his fun-loving self even as he strode through his cheering people.

A sudden change in direction and the lemur king was striding toward them purposefully, eyes locked on the tall penguin who was now huddled between Skipper and Rico.

Kowalski blinked up as a dark hand took hold of his flipper, pulling him to his feet. 'Come, my vady,' Julien's voice was a cold as his eyes, but the penguin forced himself to follow his lover away from the comfort of his rookery.

'Where are they going?' Skipper turned to ask Maurice, even as Rico scooted closer to fill in the gap Kowalski had left behind.

'It is customary for the queen to bathe the winner,' the old adviser informed them.

'Oh. By the way, Maurice... that was the most primitive and sadistic thing I have ever witnessed,' Skipper commented, unable to stop a shiver at the memory.

'This is not the first time King Julien has had to defend his crown. But I have never seen a body mangled in this way. Even the fossa are not so brutal in their killings. Still, Clemson knew the risks and made the challenge,' Maurice explained, watching the lemurs building a funeral pyre next to the altar.

'Doesn't this bother you, Mort?' Private glanced down at the tiny ball of fur near his feet.

'No. Should it?' Mort looked up with wide, excited eyes.

'Yes!' Skipper yelled, gesturing wildly at the group of lemurs cleaning the blood off the platform.

'That is our way. I don't expect you to understand our customs, but please respect our right to follow them. This is Madagascar, not New York,' the older lemur stated, giving the go-ahead to the group standing near the altar.

Several lemurs hefted Clemson's dead body onto the funeral pyre and lit the holy flame. The penguins did their best to tune out the sounds of merry-making around them even as they watched the body burn. Private held in a tearful sob and huddled closer to his older teammates, drawing as much comfort from them as he could.

...tbc...

Note: Male lemurs are known to have stink fights. They rub their tails with their scent glands and wave their tales at each other. These fights can last up to an hour (according to globio . org) Naturally, I didn't feel this type of fighting was right for Julien and Clemson's big battle scene.