Hi again, sorry if my spelling is terrible, i didn't have much time to check. this will be the last chapter of this particular story, but its part of a series, so i will be writing other similar stories focusing on other penguins tomorrow.

"Well... um..." Kowalski wrote frantically on his clipboard, "Theres only two: we can allow Hans to escape, or we can go for a long range attack, which would probably result in the hostage... you know."

"Well the choice is obvious, we let Hans escape." Skipper replied.

"Wait, Skipper. Hans obviously wanted that plasma disintegrator for a specific reason, namely, to complete the destructorizor!"

"Whats that?" Asked Skipper.

"Its a really really big death ray." Kowalski replied matter-of-factly.

"Are there any other options," Skipper asked disparately, "Can't we just attack him from behind or something like that?"

"I'm afraid not. If you look behind us you'll see a store selling mirrors, some of which are displayed outside. Hans can see everything we're doing. If one of us disappeared, he'd shoot."

"Why hasn't he already run away while we've spent all this time talking?" Asked Private.

"Because the street he's on is a dead end. He's waiting for us to back up so he can pass." Kowalski replied. As if on cue, Hans shouted, "Skipper! I can't wait all day. I will give you five minutes before I do something unplesant!"

The four penguins stood motionless for one of those precious minutes, considering the implications of either decision. Finally, Private spoke, "We save the hostage. We don't actually know if he is going to kill anyone."

"Well I don't think he's going to use the plasma disintegrator to fix his coffee machine, which so happens to be a freeze ray. Hans is Hans. Of course he is going to kill people." Skipper replied sarcastically.

"Its still wrong! I won't do it!"

"Private," Skipper looked the younger penguin in the eye after regaining his calm, "Sometimes innocent people have to be sacrificed for the greater good."

"ave ra kitty." Rico demanded, glaring at the leader. Skipper looked down at his feet. Two of his men didn't agree with him. Was he making the right decision? While Skipper was thinking, Kowalski had continued to make calculations on his clipboard. "Skipper," The tallest penguin reported, "There is a 8% chance that if three of us were to stand in front of Rico, blocking Hans' view for a few seconds, Rico could regurgitate a long range weapon and shoot him before he can shoot the hostage. It's risky because Hans will probably shoot and take his chances dodging us as soon as he sees we're up to something" Skipper considered this. "8% will have to be enough. On my mark."

"Well, you know what happened after that. Hans shot the hostage as soon as we stepped in front of Rico. We failed Skipper. I failed. We didn't even manage to catch Hans." Kowalski finished his story, "if there's any way I can bring that hostage back, I will spend the rest of my life trying."

"Kowalski, even science cant bring her back, at least not sane or in particularly good physical shape. You know I'm right because you told me the same think about Johnson, when we tried to re-animate him. I'll always remember what you said, Kowalski. "Sometimes, you just have to let go.""

Kowalski exited the lab. Skipper was right. But he had to do something. He couldn't just sit there. Skipper seemed to know what was going through his head. "Kowalski, This isnt the first time i've made a decisioin like this. I know it hurts, but if you really want to honor them, don't spend the rest of your life trying to bring them back." Skipper was right, deep down Kowalski knew it.

Private and Rico returned with snow cones. Kowalski looked at the icy desserts. Private handed one to him. For a split second he hesitated, then he took one. He had to remember to live.

Ten years later

It was a different team, but the same mission. Skipper had sacrificed himself for the team ten years ago. Private had gotten married, and moved to that dream cottage in Nova Scotia. Kowalski had to say, he was happy for the kid. Kid? Private had just turned thirty! There was only him and Rico left, and he was the commander. Headquarters had tried sending replacement members, but eventually gave up. Nobody could replace Skipper and Private.

Kowalski stared at the fort below him the rain beating down on his feathers. They had been scouting the fort for about an hour. It was swarming with Blowhole's lobster army. They had been fighting Blowhole for far too long. They had lost too may friends, and in Skipper's case, family, to that maniacal dolphin. Kowalski had to finish him once and for all, if it that was the last thing he did. However, in the part of his mind that wasn't a soldier, the part that was just Kowalski. the part that cried over Doris when she dumped him, the part that giggled with excitement whenever he finished some kind of invention, protested. If they were to completely annihilate Blowhole, he would have to destroy his army too, in order to prevent his followers from carrying on his work. Could he be so ruthless as to do that, even if it was for the greater good? But he knew he had to, because one day, they would slip up. One day, Blowhole would succeed in his evil scheme. Could he sacrifice hundreds of people who had made their choice, informed or not, to work with Blowhole, to save possibly thousands of innocents? It was the same decision Skipper had made years ago that he had hated Skipper for making all these years, but now that he was faced with the problem, he knew there was only one option.

"Kowalski?" Rico asked, waiting for his orders. Kowalski said nothing. Skipper was gone. He was the one who had to make the decisions. Think, Kowalski, Think! What would Skipper do?

"Kowalski?" Rico grunted, snapping his leader back to reality. Kowalski looked down at the fort, his eyes as cold as steel."Take no prisoners."