Chapter 1: It's Just a Freezing Memory
Summary:
Silver reflects on the blackout over a cup of tea...
Notes:
Now Playing: The Caretaker - It's just a burning memory
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
November 20th, 2012
Cold.
Club Penguin has (almost) always been cold, but…
…never this cold.
…
Silver turned the stove off, wincing at the sound of the kettle letting her know the water was boiling. She took the kettle and poured the burning hot liquid into a mug that had a bag of blueberry tea in it; her favorite. Putting the kettle back down, she slowly waddled over to the living room.
A gramophone sat on a table near the fireplace, playing an old-sounding, somber piece of music that perfected the current atmosphere of Silver’s igloo. She put her cup of tea on a plate that was on another table and slumped down in the nearby armchair in front of the fireplace, pulling a blanket over herself. Her puffles snoozed in their beds that had been moved in front of the fire in an attempt to protect them from the onslaught of the blackout-induced low temperatures.
The blackout.
Silver had been thinking about the blackout a lot recently. How could she not? As one of Club Penguin’s top EPF agents, she was tasked with breaking into Herbert’s base, shutting down the machine that was stealing all the sunlight, and freeing the other agents that had been captured by Herbert. She, with the help of some other agents, easily managed to bypass Security Terminals 1-3 in Herbert’s fortress over the past few days, but bypassing the fourth one earlier that day had been difficult for her.
“I shouldn’t have let you go home alone yesterday, Rookie, I’m so sorry.”
A single tear leaked from one of Silver’s eyes as she thought out loud, remembering the announcement the EPF got this morning:
Herbert has Rookie.
A chill ran down her spine, ruffling her feathers. She wanted to kill that bastard for even daring to put his grubby paws on the penguin she called her best friend and the love of her life. She glanced at her pistol that was on the table alongside her cup of tea, her EPF phone, and her personal phone.
Grimacing, she knew that she shouldn’t blame herself for Rookie’s capture. If she was with him at the time, they probably would’ve both been kidnapped because Silver wouldn’t have been able to use her gun anyway. The Director had ordered all the agents authorized to use lethal weapons to not kill Herbert, as the EPF was still trying to arrest him instead.
Silver scoffed to herself at the thought. She couldn’t believe that, even after Herbert had indirectly gotten several penguins and puffles killed at this point due to the dropping temperatures, the Director still wanted to just arrest him. He’d almost drowned everyone when he melted a hole through the island once, for crying out loud!
After calming down, Silver felt that the tea had been steeping for long enough; she never liked it that strong anyway. She took the teabag out and placed it on the plate before taking the mug and holding it against herself. She blew on the liquid and lifted the mug to her beak, taking a well needed sip and savoring the sweet and tart flavor of blueberries. The warmth of the fire and the tea made her feel safe, but something in the back of her mind nagged at her.
This was only temporary.
Whether that was meant to be a good thing or a bad thing, well… Silver wasn’t feeling very optimistic. Turning her head, she gazed out the window at the cause of all her current problems looming in the distance: Herbert’s fortress. It was a constant reminder of the state of the island, all the kidnapping, fear, and death around her… she felt insulted that it was pretty much right in the center of her window’s view. She almost thought Herbert did that on purpose.
Another sip of tea.. and then a gulp. Silver was becoming tired and she wanted to finish her drink so she could sleep. Another gulp, almost too hot this time, and the mug was empty. She stared into it before setting it back on the table and taking her personal phone. She opened a certain picture, tears forming in her eyes.
The image was of her and Rookie sitting in the cavern of the Hidden Lake. They each had a wing around each other, Rookie sporting a sheepish smile and a blush through his feathers on his face while Silver kissed his cheek and took the photo.
“It’s all just a burning- well, I guess freezing, memory, now.” Silver muttered to herself, starting to laugh at the ridiculousness of the pun in her statement before the dam finally broke. She shut off her phone and placed it back on the table, putting her face in her flippers. Her body shook with each sob she let out and the snowstorm outside seemed to grow a little harsher.
A few minutes later, she fell silent. She took her flippers off her face and slowly opened her now bloodshot eyes, realizing how truly exhausted she was. Getting more comfortable in the armchair and adjusting the blanket on her, she closed her eyes again and let sleep overtake her.
As she drifted off, the gramophone’s needle reached the middle of the record and the music stopped. All that could be heard were a few seconds of quiet static before the needle parked itself, the crackling of the fire, and the howling of the wind outside.
Notes:
Did I get too self-indulgent with the SilverXRookie stuff? Mayhaps, but he's my favorite character in Club Penguin (alongside Jet Pack Guy), so I don't care lol. I had a crush on him when I was like 8 years old and I'm not afraid to admit it.
Chapter 2: We Don't Have Many Days Left
Summary:
It's hard to provide hope to others when everything around you is crashing down...
Notes:
Now Playing: The Caretaker - We don't have many days
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
November 22nd, 2012
Agents are dropping like flies.
Temperature is plummeting.
We have very little time to save the island.
The Director’s words from two days ago repeat themselves in my mind, over and over again.
They’re right, though.
With Jet Pack Guy being the most recent agent to be captured…
…we don’t have many days left.
…
“Good evening, everyone,” Silver said into the microphone in the Pizza Parlor, grabbing the attention of a few penguins having dinner, “um, with everything happening on the island, I wanted to play something for you all.” Needless to say, interests were piqued.
“I know you’re all probably hoping for something happy to lift your spirits, but…” she continued, “I’m going to be real, that’s not something I’m able to do right now, I’m sorry.” Sad murmurs were heard among the other penguins, but none of them objected to the prospect of music.
“Thank you for understanding, I hope you enjoy this piece regardless.” she finished before turning around and sitting on the stool in front of the piano. She began to play something gloomy, yet.. oddly comforting. The tune was only a twenty second loop, but it still held a lot of power. She played it for several minutes while the other penguins in the building ate and tried to stay warm.
The music eventually came to an end and Silver stood up from the stool, making her way to the counter without another word. The other penguins in the building quietly clapped, briefly earning a sad smile from her, but her eyes were downcast. After ordering a spicy seaweed pizza to bring home for her own dinner, she put the hood of her jacket up and left the Pizza Parlor.
She began shivering the moment she stepped outside and she knew it wasn’t safe to stick around for too long. Barely a moment passed before she used her EPF phone to teleport to her igloo, hoping one of the crabs patrolling the island for Herbert didn’t see her.
…
An empty pizza box was haphazardly tossed onto the floor, crumbs and some bits of seaweed surrounding it after falling out.
An empty bottle of alcoholic cream soda replaced the spot on the table where a mug of tea used to be located days prior.
Silver lay, curled up on her armchair, the hood of her hoodie covering her head and a blanket over her body. Her puffles had left their beds near the active fireplace, choosing to snuggle up with her instead so they could share each other’s body heat. The gramophone played the same tune she played in the Pizza Parlor earlier that evening, filling her igloo with the same gloomy, yet comforting, atmosphere.
She wasn’t asleep yet. She tilted her head to the side slightly so she could look out the window, a wry smile appearing on her beak as she realized she couldn’t see through it because of the snow.
At least she wasn’t forced to look at Herbert’s base while at home anymore.
The alcohol coursing through her veins made her eyes swim in their sockets and it made her head feel fuzzy. Sighing, she looked away from the window and resumed resting her head on the back of the armchair. Muddled thoughts drifted throughout her mind as she closed her eyes, the music slowly lulling her to sleep, but one stuck out to her.
Bypassing the fifth terminal in Herbert’s fortress that day was even harder than the last few, but she and the remaining EPF agents only had one more to get through before they could save the island. It would take some time, time they admittedly didn’t have much of, but there was still hope.
Right?
A minute or so later, she relaxed into a dreamless slumber, the gramophone going silent shortly after.
Notes:
Phew, that was kinda depressing and a bit shorter than the last chapter. The next chapter is the reason why the rating is what it is, so watch out.
Chapter 3: Bewildered by our Numbered Days
Summary:
Silver snaps.
Notes:
So.. I really wanted to post this on the last day of Operation: Blackout's anniversary (December 6th), but that day I ended up having to walk for two hours in 36F (2C) weather that felt like 28F (-2C). I even injured myself carrying a really heavy bag on my shoulders during said walk. After all of that, I got pretty busy. Is this my first instance of the "AO3 writer curse"? Regardless, I don't care how late I am, I'm still posting this.
This chapter contains vomiting, graphic crab eating and descriptions of Herbert statue vandalization, so feel free to skip to the 4th chapter once it's out if you don't want to read about that. You did read the rating/archive warning/tags, right?
Now Playing: The Caretaker - We don’t have many days (reversed)
Up Next: The Caretaker - Bewildered in other eyes
(You’ll know when the second track is relevant... probably.)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
November 24th, 2012
It’s so cold…
I’LL BURN HERBERT ALIVE FOR WHAT HE’S DONE!!
…
No one thought things could get any worse, but they did.
Herbert captured the Director.
The worst case scenario, or at least one of them, had officially come to light, but the strangest part was how.. calm they seemed about the whole situation, if what they said in their last message was anything to go off of. They apparently let themselves get captured.
Why? This was the Director, of all penguins, surely they were able to hide themselves better than that, right?
It was all just so.. bewildering.
Morale in the EPF had gone down significantly due to this development. Some agents wanted to give up entirely. With the Director out of commission, no one was safe anymore. Not like anyone ever really was when the blackout began, but still.
The atmosphere of the whole island seemed to be shifting and even the general public noticed.
More crabs than before patrolled the island, looking for a certain EPF agent, and someone had started vandalizing the Herbert statues in the Town and Plaza. Both of them had been pelted with snowballs and sprayed with hot sauce, shattered bottles of alcoholic cream soda surrounded them while the liquid originally inside said bottles turned parts of them pink, and they’d also been vomited on. It was quite a mess and it was pretty gross, but it was honestly deserved at this point.
However, what was even more shocking was the one other substance that had been painted onto the statues.
Crab blood.
Sometime after the Director’s final announcement, penguins started reporting sightings of crab blood and various butchered body parts all over the island, staining the snow a sickening blue-grey. There were also entire piles of dead crabs, particularly around the Herbert statues, with broken shells and bite marks. They’d been ripped to pieces, most likely by flipper and with teeth.
Eating crabs wasn’t completely unheard of within penguin society, especially with all the trouble they tended to cause, but it wasn’t common either. Most penguins didn’t have a taste for crab meat, but clearly some did. However, they weren’t eaten raw for safety reasons, so this was even more unusual and worrying.
It wasn’t hard for the remaining EPF agents to figure out who was the cause of the vandalization and bloodshed. They knew it was Silver, the last agent the crabs were looking for. She was always very loud and enthusiastic with how much she hated Herbert, much to the slightly quieter, yet still enthusiastic, agreement of everyone else. Not only that, but she’d begun to spiral ever since the blackout caused the island to become dangerously cold and even more so after Rookie was captured.
Although they didn’t fully disagree with what she was doing because of the circumstances, as dangerous and violent as it was…
…they were still worried about her.
…
There wasn’t any activity in the Town, the only signs of life being the lights shining through the doors to the Coffee Shop and the Gift Shop. The Herbert statue stood ominously in the center, still a mess as a result of Silver’s rampage, and the giant thermometer constantly reminded everyone of their impending doom.
Suddenly, there was movement. The door to the Coffee Shop opened and a penguin came outside, carrying a thermos and looking around cautiously. They were bundled up in a thick coat and wore heavy boots to protect themselves from the unforgiving cold, but they still shivered and held the thermos close.
This penguin wasn’t just any penguin, though. They were one of the EPF agents that hadn’t gone into full hiding or given up. They took out their phone, ready to teleport home, when they noticed something in the corner of their eye that hadn’t been there before: a trail of crab blood leading to the Dock.
Something told them they should investigate, but the rational part of them screamed at them that it wasn’t safe and to just go home. Deciding to take the risk, admittedly not having much left to lose, they waddled over to the blood trail and entered the snow tunnel that led to the Dock.
The Puffle Care Center tent came into view as the penguin exited the tunnel, following the trail of blood more than the actual path and preparing for the worst. However, when they reached the sign pointing back to the Town, they saw a sight that shocked them and made them stumble backwards.
The entire Dock was stained in a concerning amount of blue-grey blood, broken crab claws and legs strewn all over the ground. The smell that floated in the air was.. unpleasant, to say the least, and it looked like a straight up massacre had occurred not too long ago. Thankfully, the tent for the puffles and everything under it looked untouched.
What got the penguin’s attention the most, though, was what, or rather who, they saw sitting in the middle of the Dock.
It was Silver.
T̵̨̧̘͔̼͙̜̱̬͉̜͕̰͍̬̙͔̞̭̫̜̃̂̅͋̿̀̌̈́̉̿́̔̓̈́͂̀͘͘͠ͅO̷̡͓̜̖̫̻͕͓͍̳͚̩͚̱̭͐̇̉͒̀̓̀̂̀̒͊͑͆͑͊̎̀̇̑̆͆̄̆͝Ơ̶̧̧̫̙̘̖͉̥̼̤̥̩̟̝̱͖͔̍͋̔́͐̓̌̽̌̾͘̚͠͝ ̵̧̥̘̭̤̞̖͇̘̗̫̥̖̭͍̼̱͖͙͓̜͓̯͍̖͛̽͌̓̅͜͜ͅͅČ̴̡̢̨̛̛͓̪̳̼̻̖̥̻͎̜̙̦͎̯͇̜̳̰͖̻̯͍͕̹̼̫̦͒̉̐̀͆̈́͑̽͌̊̉͊̈́́͌̔͋̀́̄̐͘͜͜͝͝͝͝Ŏ̷̡̨̞̣̰̝̱̖̱̳̝̗̰̣͉̩͚̘̲̍̃͋̇ͅL̶̢̧̛̮̳̗̺̫̥̼͇̈͊̊̈́̇̽̌͒͗̈́̂̈́̔͛̊̇͒̃͆͋͘̚͝͝͠ͅḐ̴͈̞̥̬͓̣͈̦̺̯̝̺̽͐̑̕͝
Just like the rest of the Dock, she was also covered in that same sickly colored blood. Her hoodie almost looked soaked in it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t even the worst part. It was what she was doing that made the other penguin’s breath catch in their throat and made them drop their thermos in horror.
A disgusting crunch filled the air, louder than the bitter wind that the island had become accustomed to, as Silver crushed a crab in her mouth. She sank her teeth into the tender raw meat, tearing off pieces and eating them as well as causing more blood to splatter onto her beak and face, making it look like most of the color had drained from them. The puffles in the care center didn’t react to this display, either being asleep or too sick from the cold to care.
After eating the now desecrated crab, Silver tossed it onto a surprisingly large pile of already eaten ones and grabbed an uneaten one from an even larger pile to repeat the process. This is when the other penguin realized something: she wasn’t making use of the fire, much less sitting anywhere near it. While it was already assumed that she was eating the crabs raw, as none of the dead ones they found were cooked, this officially confirmed it.
Suddenly, mid-chew, Silver slowly turned her head to the other penguin, causing them to flinch. As she stared at them blankly, they were able to get a good look at her.
Blood wasn’t the only thing that stained her beak, vomit covered the outlines of her mouth as well. The look in her eyes also suggested that she just.. wasn’t all there. She wasn’t even really looking at the other penguin as much as she was looking through them.
She swallowed the meat she was eating and an unsettling smile stretched across her beak, showing off her teeth that were also stained with that now familiar blue-grey. She grabbed a bottle of what was assumed to be alcoholic cream soda that was next to one of the crab piles before chugging the entire thing and thoughtlessly tossing it away from her. The other penguin noted that she was probably drunk.
“We don’t have many days left?” she asked, almost unable to be heard over the wind. She then began to giggle just as quietly, but it quickly escalated to full-blown maniacal laughter. She unexpectedly stood up, fully facing the other penguin, and aggressively knocked one of the piles of crabs over with a single flipper.
“HERBERT IS THE ONE WHO DOESN’T HAVE MANY DAYS LEFT!”
She felt her stomach lurch and she immediately went silent and looked away, her expression turning horrified as she put a flipper to her beak. An overwhelming sense of nausea crashed down upon her, triggered by everything that had happened up until this point, and just as she noticed a familiar penguin out of the corner of her eye coming from the Beach…
...she threw up.
Everything went dark after that.
Notes:
Damn, that was probably more violent than my Halloween crackfic. I wanted a darker and more mature take on the Operation: Blackout event (and Club Penguin as a whole, tbh) as you could already see from the first two chapters (mentions of guns, alcohol, etc.) because the event itself and its implications are already pretty disturbing imo. Obviously, because Club Penguin is/was meant for kids, they couldn't show anything too nitty gritty (some things in the game/canon lore make me raise my eyebrows a little, though). When I came up with my whole fanon lore or whatever you want to call it, I made it a little more.. realistic, I think? Maybe? I also like writing edgier stuff sometimes. Sorry if you don't like that, it's just the direction I wanted to take this story.
Also, the thing about penguins being able to eat crabs is based on a canon source where Rookie genuinely considers it. Take that as you will...
Anyway, the last chapter won't have any gore or violence (just one brief mention of vomit), so stay tuned for when I eventually post it. It won't be posted until next year's Operation: Blackout anniversary, but I'll try to write and post other things in the meantime if anyone is even interested in that lmao. PH will also finally make her appearance, I probably should've waited to add her in the tags. Then again, maybe she showed up somewhere in this chapter? ;)
By the way, the zalgo text is kinda meant to be like, if this was an animation instead of a fanfiction, static with the words "TOO COLD" briefly flashing on the screen when the other penguin saw Silver. That's how I saw it in my head, at least.
naomi (Guest) on Chapter 2 Tue 03 Dec 2024 05:26AM UTC
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SilverFengo on Chapter 2 Tue 03 Dec 2024 06:09AM UTC
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Rhythm (Guest) on Chapter 3 Thu 13 Mar 2025 12:07AM UTC
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