"Ahh!"

Private turned the steering wheel as far right as it could go. "Whew."

He had missed the wheels of a car by centimeters. As the young penguin continued driving, he mentally slapped himself. Great job, Private, he thought. Of all the times to go, you had to go at rush hour.

A truck pulled up in front of him. "Ahh!" he screamed again.

Private tried to jump out; but his flippers were locked in a death grip on the steering, and his feet would not move from the pedal. The young penguin did the only thing he could do: he squeezed his eyes shut.

A few seconds passed. Private opened an eye. "Huh?"

He turned behind quickly and realized something: the truck was just high enough for him to drive under it. The soldier breathed out a sigh of relief. "That was a close one."

Private crunched up his face. "Why am I talking to myself?"

He answered himself. "It's a natural reaction produced by almost ending up as roadkill."

"You're starting to sound like Kowalski."

"Well, someone had to listen to the scientist's lectures."

"Is that why I always seem to zone out?"

"Correct."

"I see Skipper and Rico doing it as well. Do they have someone in their head as well?"

"Technically, we're the same person; but yes, Skipper and Rico have them too."

"Wow! Kowalski is going to explode when he tries to figure out how this works."

"Yes, perhaps so."

"Is it going to end soon?"

"What?"

"Me talking to myself?"

"If you continue your course of action, no. It's going to go on forever."

"In English please."

"It basically means that if you continue talking to me, no."

"Oh dear. How do I stop it?"

"I thought you liked me."

"Oh, I do. It's just that this might me a hindrance during missions."

"I'm a hindrance?"

"I didn't mean it that way!"

Not liking how the conversation was turning out, Private slapped himself to block out the voice. It worked. The boy shook his head. "Much better."

He turned towards the beach. Within minutes, he was there. "Now, where should I put this?"

A clutter of bushes provided the perfect cover for the penguin's vehicle. After the car was parked away from human eyes, Private walked along the sea shore.

"Help!"

Private straightened up and strained his ears. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Help!"

There it was again. Private obeyed his training and waddled towards the call as fast as he could. Although he would have liked to slide, it was virtually impossible to slide on sand. "Just keep shouting!" he yelled. "Where are you?"

"Over here!"

Private saw a turtle around his age on a rock. "What's wrong?" asked the penguin. "Are you hurt?"

"Uh, hello?" The turtle raised up a flipper, showing the ropes tied around it. "What does it look like?"

"Oh! You're trapped!"

"Well, duh! And the tide is coming in –fast!"

Private jumped into the water without hesitancy. He pulled at the rope tied around the turtle's appendage. "Why," grunted Private, "do humans throw waste and trash into the ocean with absolutely no concern for the creatures living there?"

Despite the situation he was in, the turtle shrugged good-naturally. "I'm not sure."

He brightened up. "Hey, you don't happen to have something sharp on you, do you?"

Private looked around and shook his head. "No, but-"

He cut his sentence off, having spied a piece of broken glass. "Stay here. I think I've found something."

The turtle rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like there's anywhere to go."

Private ignored him and swam back to shore. He handed the glass carefully. Swimming back was a bit of a problem, however, but Private managed it. The penguin cut the rope swiftly. "You can swim, right?"

The turtle raised a brow. "What does it look like?"

"Sorry, just making sure."

They dived in and swam to shore. "Thanks," said the turtle. "I'm Leroy, by the way."

"Private."

"Strange name. Rank?"

"Yes." Private was surprised. "How did you know?"

Leroy waved the question away. "Long story."

"Where's the rest of your group?" Private knew that turtles tended to stick in groups. "Or are you a loner?"

"Nah. I got separated from my group back there."

Private's eyes grew wide. "Oh! You're lost!"

"Well I wouldn't say that-"

He was ignored by the penguin. Private went on. "Don't worry! We'll help you get back! That's what we do, see?"

The penguin began waddling towards the spot where he had hid the car. Private turned back. "Are you coming?"

It was clear that Leroy was supposed to be following him. Leroy gave the penguin an amused glance before following.