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clover-midori · 1 year ago

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PICKING UP PIECES

In the name of our lord and savior Terry Crews I deeply apologize for how long this chapter will be. Enjoy.

"Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward."

- Fredrik Backman

"Flappity flippers! Captain! You’re… YOU'RE ALIVE!" Peso tightly hugged the polar bear, his orca flukes waving slowly. "You were out for hours. Had I not noticed you, I’d think we were all on our own!"

Barnacles smiled, still unaware of his transformation. "Well, it IS good to be back," he said. "That crash was faster than I expected!"

"We may or may not have made the right choice to NOT go to the HQ. If anything, I should’ve come back for you." Shellington’s ears drooped. "I should’ve stopped crying."

"Yar, don’t say that! I know you were in pain, and I could totally understand… Everybody needs to cry sometimes, Shellie." Kwazii patted the otter on the dorsal fin.

That last word echoed in his mind. Shellie? As in… Shellington? Cute nickname, he thought. Made him blush a little. Fluttered his pectorals too.

He felt MUCH better knowing he was the reason why everyone was STILL here.

"So, you all got turned into mermaids, huh?" Barnacles kept looking at the leopard shark merotter, then at the lemon shark merkitten. "That’s interesting… seems like I’ve gotten myself into it as well!" He looked down and realized he too was like this, now hauling the tail of a beluga whale. "Seems to fit me very well." He didn’t mind how it was rather small compared to the rest of his crew, who all gained oversized tails bigger than their waists. “It’s not hard to swim in those, is it?" he asked, to which he got a bunch of head shakes and nopes.

"So, Captain, now what? The Octopod is flooded, the only thing that isn’t is Kwazii's room, and we likely don’t have any way to contact any of the Octo-Agents." Dashi raised her paw.

"Oh, that’s not a problem! Here’s your Octo-Compass, Captain! I was holding onto it this whole time. Didn’t want to lose it either, I bet!" Peso swam next to him and took the device out from under his hat. "I assume everyone’s looking for us as of now, so do try to call back… even if they haven’t, it’s still good to inform them of what happened to us! Bet they’ll be surprised, too!"

Tweak kept watching from behind the shattered window, still pissed but not as much as she was earlier. The bunny was starting to question just how bad this REALLY was. Maybe it wasn’t that awful, but perhaps that was only because of Barnacles.

She ducked down, hoping nobody could see her. Not that she was going to attack again, but she needed some time for herself. Maybe she’d go explore the surroundings.

"Yeah, that’ll help take things off my mind. To be surrounded by so many things without needing any gear? Perfect."

~~~~

Barnacles had been looking through the lower floors of the main area with his crew. To him, it felt… quite saddening. This thing he’d have piloted for 13 years? Lost for real this time.

Sure, the last time it crashed in Namibia, Tweak modified it to walk on land, and was usable again, but this time it was destroyed and uncontrollable. And now it was left to rot away.

Hopefully this thing went to good use, as well as all the GUPs. Maybe an artificial reef like last time.

With no way to get on land with these tails, the Octonauts were merely nomads once again. If anything, they pretty much didn’t exist anymore. At least that’s how it felt. Being confined to the sea without the Octopod was virtually a nightmare. And that nightmare was becoming real.

"Well, can’t stay silent forever. That’ll only make matters worse. What do you say, Peso?" Barnacles curved his tail towards the penguin.

Peso nodded, looking around in dread. "You might as well. I’m surprised I only became a mermaid. Would’ve expected myself to become a WHOLE orca…" he looked back on his flukes, and chuckled a little.

"Unless there’s many more mythical things and beings out there!" Dashi chimed in. Why else was it specifically this, Captain? Why else do Kwazii and Shellington spend so much time together? It all makes sense now! There’s probably a world we STILL haven’t discovered out there, and it’s RIGHT here on Earth, down HERE!"

"Father" and "Son" stopped swimming and just looked at the dachshund in disbelief. What was she going on about again?

Another world down here? Kwazii and Shellington? What about them? The two were kinda lost in her words, especially Peso.

Dashi had then realized how odd that truly sounded. As excited as she was, she did realize her words. Seemed like those two got to her fast, and now they were in her mind.

"Uhh… Hey, anyone seen Tweak? I’m gonna go look for her." She swam off.

"You know what, Captain? Call everybody."

"My thoughts exactly. Leaving them in silence is NOT OKAY."

~~~~

"No, no Paani, you do not just lose contact with the Octonauts, EVEN when I’m in Hokkaido and they’re in California. Or something like that. Since when did this happen anyway? Last night?"

5,400 miles away, in Sapporo, Japan, another Dachshund was sitting inside a 7-Eleven, chatting with a few Octo-Agents on his netbook.

"Last night, Yeshi. Last night. They were trapped in hurricane Selma. I fear they’ve either lost power or even crashed… AGAIN." Paani responded. "Now, just making sure… to whoever else is here, please say your names!"

"Koshi!"

"Professor Natquik."

"Min here."

"Pearl. Hiya."

As everyone announced themselves, Yeshi he started to think about what happened particularly to his sister, Dashi. Knowing she was on there when signal was lost made him deathly scared. He couldn’t believe this kind of shit had to happen only a few months after reuniting with her and meeting the other Octonauts, too.

Before joining the Octo-Agents, Yeshi was the singer for a local band in Hokkaido, DE LEET. A dacschund among humans, it was a little awkward, but he managed to make things work. If anything, the people didn’t mind much. They might as well have liked that more, which they DID.

"I knew I shouldn’t have been away for so much," he groaned. He was in heavy grief just like his youngest sister, Koshi, who was calling from Australia.

"Everything okay, Yeshi? You’ve stayed silent for a little while now." Paani tried to get his attention. The dog immediately looked at his laptop. "Yeah… I mean, I might be grieving right now. I feel like throwing up, you know?" He rushed off, and went for the restroom.

Pearl had felt his pain just as much. Her brother, Shellington, whose back she always had, was in the same predicament. No one in the group call was aware of what had truly happened, and were left in mystery and misery.

But the most damaged was probably Koshi. "A Junior Agent doesn’t deserve to be involved in a disaster of this scale, especially when their relative is potentially lost," Natquik told Paani. "I say we should let her stay at her sta-"

"N-no, no, I’m okay! I… I can go!" The pup interrupted. "Sis might be waiting for me! Right, bro?"

Yeshi had just returned from the restroom, a grieving look in his eyes. "Yes… yes Koshi. She’s waiting for us… I hope." He looked right at her, then navigated for an image of Dashi. "I promise."

"It’s what all of us would’ve wanted. Inkling's there," Pearl looked at Min.

"Barnacles' is there too." She looked at Natquik.

"As are Dashi and Kwazii…" Yeshi and Paani too.

"And then…"

The sea otter couldn’t keep talking. All the thinking of her brother got to her, and likely Periwinkle next to her. The thought of his uncle, possibly gone.

Yeshi just sat there, unable to throw up again. He didn’t want to bother anymore. That would be a pain for the janitor here. But thinking about all this was gonna make him suffer an anorexic feeling.

"What are you waiting for, you dumb stupid fuck?" He cried to his laptop screen. "Koshi's right, you know. Koshi's RIGHT. They gotta be waiting for us."

Natquik nodded, ignoring the profanity. "Like my friend Barnacles says, there’s no time to waste. Yeshi? Paani? Koshi? Min? Pearl? All of you, get ready. The Octonauts are out there and need help themselves. I’ll be headed for the Octoray in just a few minutes. Pack everything we need because this is an EMERGENCY."

Yeshi slammed his laptop shut. He was NOT wasting a MINUTE, even if it meant waiting a whole day for this thing. He grabbed it and his instant ramen, then rushed home to his base in the mountains west of Sapporo.

"Someone's acting fast. I like that…" Natquik watched as the dachshund hung up.

"Now, I should mention that I AM bringing a special guest with us for help on this mission… you’ll have to wait and see who it is."

~~~~

"Tweak?" Dashi swam to the cave where the bunny was curled up in. "You feel any better?"

The green mermaid looked up, opened her eyes, and saw Dashi floating over her, with that iridescent dolphin tail in full view. The bunny did crack a small smile at the sight of her.

"…I think I’m okay. Starting to reconsider some stuff." Tweak sighed with a crackle of electricity. "Y’know, what I did to y’all, and… Well, I don’t think I can talk to Cap just yet."

The dachshund swam down, sitting next to her. The two figured it wouldn’t hurt to make a little company for each other.

"You know, I think I’ve been… thinking a little different. Like, you know how Kwazii is?" Dashi asked, rabbit nodding in response. "Those tales he tells about myths almost every night that delve into lengthy informational conversations with Shellington and scare Peso into his breakcore mixtapes? Well, seeing how we’re mermaids, do you… think any more of his stories are real?"

Tweak just sat there, thinking of them. "Kwaz? His 'spooky pirate stories'? Well, yes… I mean, no- I mean… Well, Dash, it might just be a sheer coincidence. But then again, Shellington was responsible for our transformations, and he’s really close to Kwaz, so…"

The two went silent again. "We’re just overthinking. I should get some more rest… You could use some too." The bunny closed her eyes, and shook her tail until she felt comfy enough.

The merdog figured she had a point too, and turned on her side.

"Well, see you in a few hours. Zap me if you… need anything."

~~~~

A polar bear watched as the Octoray slowly landed on the south tip of Mackenzie King Island. She’d have only heard about these folks for a while from her brother, who she was still completely unaware of lately.

"Don’t worry, you two. These are your uncle’s friends. They need us for a special meeting, so please stay calm."

Natquik disembarked the ship, approaching the three. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bianca. I assume you have everything ready by now, so I advise you get on board immediately." He turned around and went back inside the Octoray, the three polar bears following.

Once all four were inside and with seatbelts on, Natquik slowly but immediately took off. "Next stop is Campania Island, then onto Sapporo, I suppose…"

"Odd how Paani hasn’t shared a location yet. He best hurry." The fox pondered under his breath.

~~~~

It had been about an hour now. Barnacles and Peso sat on the edge of the HQ, looking through the former's Octo-Compass. "Natquik's contact should be in here. I’m hoping he’s available right now." He kept looking around in the list. "You know, Peso, I’m glad you and I could do this together." The polar bear looked at him, twitching his whale flukes. "These last few hours have been… out of focus, and being with someone I know makes me feel safer."

Peso smiled, giving his flukes a twitch as well. It really was nice spending time with the boss, now that he had the chance to. "Thanks, Captain. For that, and finding my xylophone in the wreckage. It still sounds great, too!"

Barnacles wrapped an arm around his assistant, just as he finally caught sight of Natquik's image. "There it is."

"Now to just speak up."

~~~~

Above the Northwest Territories, Natquik noticed his Octo-Watch was ringing. He stopped the Octoray mid-air for just a moment and answered.

*HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY, HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY- boop!* "Still can’t believe I have a Bill Wurtz ringtone. Who’s he anyway?" The fox sighed, as he noticed the caller.

"Wha- I-I don’t believe it! Barnacles?! You’re alive? So, did everything go well?"

The polar bear laughed a little. "Well, I am and so is everyone else here. As for the Octopod… yeah, it’s gone."

Natquik freaked out. "WHAT?! Gone? Like… destroyed?"

"In a way, yes. It’s unusable. Everything's flooded, it’s down in the sand. Abandoned for good, if anything. The Namibia incident was merely a close call but this is IT."

The Arctic fox was worried. "Oh dear. Did you make it to dry land?"

"Nope! We’re still down here!" Peso sounded in. Natquik was quite shocked. "You two STILL have air?"

"Of course, Nat! Turned out we all got turned into mermaids, so now we’re just… waiting here."

Like many others, the Arctic fox just… stopped working, and fainted. Bianca made sure Orson and Ursa were okay, then looked at the fox worrisomely and took control. "Natquik, is everything okay?" She held onto his arm, noticing his Octo-Watch. "Barnacles? Is that you?"

The captain on the other side was excited to hear his sister. "Bianca! I haven’t seen you in forever. Did Natquik pick you up on the Octoray? Sounds like it."

"If that’s what it is, then yeah. Me, Orson and Ursa are the only passengers, I guess. What’s happened over there? What did you say that made Natquik… fall like this?"

Barnacles felt insanely awkward. To explain this to his sister was gonna be difficult. So, to combat those fears, he told her without a hitch.

"I’m a mermaid, that’s all."

Bianca found that a little hard to believe. Her brother? A mermaid? How? And why? She asked, getting the "crash and chemical spill" response that many others did. She quickly jotted it down, completely unaware of where she was at this point.

Although, I do guarantee you the people of Yellowknife and Hay River won’t forget seeing a big-ass manta ray in the sky. That’s the stuff of urban legends on old online forums. Maybe something of actual mythology. Who knows?

"So, is that why Nat needed me? To meet up with you and the others? That’s great! I mean, I know you’re like this probably forever… but it’ll still be nice to visit again!" Bianca chuckled, before getting a tap on her shoulder. Natquik had recovered from fainting, and was now holding the polar bear's note.

"What’s this about?" The fox looked at the paper, regarding what had happened. It was signed with Bianca's name in the corner. "You wrote this? Let me see here…"

The polar bear held onto Natquik's watch. "Sorry… he’s back up. I’ll have to get going now, Barnacles. See you soon."

At that, she hung up and handed it back to the Arctic fox, who seemed just as worried. A little annoyed by the sudden hijack Bianca did, too.

"I didn’t want to leave this thing on autopilot. Orson and Ursa were a little scared when you passed out, you know. Now, let’s keep going."

Natquik sighed. What he read was making complete sense now. He knew he’d have to speed up now.

All for Bianca.

~~~~

*Ker-zap!*

Dashi immediately got up. Tweak was sitting at the edge of the cave, looking towards what was left of the Octopod.

"Hm? Tweak? You called?" The dachshund swam over to her, and sat down again. The green bunny was spaced out, still contemplating her actions.

"Might as well‘ve. If anything, I just need somebuddy to come with me… y’know, back to the Octopod. Everyone still remembers me, don’t they?" Tweak sighed. "They hate me too, I know that for a fact."

Dashi did feel a bit wrong for supporting her rabbit, but at the same time she knew it was right to stay with her while she recovered. Otherwise it was likely she’d only get worse. And nobody would want that.

"Can we go now? I don’t want the bad feelings to roll back in, gotcha?" Tweak got up and slowly swam forwards. Dashi nodded and hugged her from behind, only to keep getting shocked again and again.

"Owwwww… Yeah, we can… owwww… we can go." Dashi shook her tail again and again to numb out the pain.

"You’ll get used to it, Dash. It’s gonna hurt but it’ll be worth it in the long run."

~~~~

Peso didn’t even know it was possible to play his xylophone underwater. But he was giving it a shot, and while it was quieter than before, it WAS making noise.

"I’d hit harder but that’s only gonna break it… at least I fear that’s the case. Sorry, Captain."

Barnacles had no issue. On the bright side, they could both breathe air, so playing on the surface was no issue. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to try again at the accordion, too.

"Uh, hi…" suddenly came a voice in front of them. "Can we… all talk? All 4 of us?" It was Tweak and Dashi, having returned.

Peso was a little surprised by the bunny’s appearance, but he wasn’t as scared right now.

"I wondered where you went. Yes, we can talk…" Barnacles moved a little bit. "Here good?"

Tweak pointed down, signaling for a more private area. The other mermaids followed, until they reached the FUCKING SHATTERED launch bay. "Right, this looks good." The merbunny sat down in the sand. "Mind the tail."

Dashi sat a little closer to Tweak, giving her a hug. Her green ears drooped a little in comfort, before she spoke up.

"So, I doubt any of you are aware of what I did, but I think I should explain. And if you DO know, trust me when I say I’m sorry."

"So, I went berserk earlier. Peso, you were busy with medic stuff, and I attacked you and Kwazii. Y’know, I saw Cap as the culprit for this crash, but a little while back I realized things may not be what I thought. Like, it’s not just Cap's fault… we’re ALL at fault!" The bunny happily laughed, before stopping once again. "Which is kinda disappointing. Everybody, we can’t mess up like this again. We were doing so well and now…?"

She gave off a few crackles of electricity, just looking at them.

"Octonauts, the best we can do is learn from it, and move on." Barnacles spoke up. "This may be our lives now, and while it may be difficult to keep going, this is NOT the end of it all. As long as we stay together, I promise that things will go swimmingly. Now, are there any questions?"

Dashi, Peso and Tweak all just sat there, as was Shellington in hiding. Barnacles nodded in understanding. Everything was feeling more surreal. Maybe that nightmare last night, but he couldn’t even recall it so it didn’t matter.

"Okay, so are we just gonna wait here, or what?" Tweak tilted her head.

The captain then remembered. "I almost forgot. Professor Natquik is likely headed here soon. I’ve sent him the location of the nearest landmass: Isla Guadalupe."

Inside her mind, the bunny couldn’t figure out what the point was. To get him turned as well? That didn’t make sense at all, but oh well. If that was what they both wanted, so be it.

Just don’t say she didn’t warn anyone, she thought.

~~~~

Bianca had fully understood everything about the situation. Whoever Natquik was heading for was, apparently, also investigating this. As of now, however, the polar bear was the only one made aware so far.

The Octoray slowly descended towards Campania Island, where two sea otters were standing.

"Don’t let Yeshi touch your Octo-Watch, unless you want an existential crisis." Natquik scoffed, as he touched down. "Now, Bianca, try not to bring this up until we reach Sapporo. I need everyone to know at once, for simplicity."

The polar bear nodded, as Pearl and her son slowly walked in. The mother was clearly distressed, but Periwinkle was still unaware.

Bianca had a bad feeling about her. She and Natquik knew Barnacles and the others were fine, but others didn’t. And seeing how glum this sea otter was, it was clear she was not liking this at all.

Pearl immediately sat next to her, sulking in despair. For a moment, the polar bear felt like talking to her, even for one second. Yet, it looked like she wasn’t even interested.

Orson, Ursa and Periwinkle didn’t seem too bothered. If anything, they were just busy with themselves, having little conversations on their own. It was helping the otter pup too.

To Bianca, it was cute. Just seeing them talking about how nice the weather was getting and how there were more fish swimming around than before made her feel warm.

But to Pearl, it just kept her cold. She couldn’t bear to see herself and Periwinkle alone like this. Sure, her brother WAS away most of the time, but knowing he was doing well was what mattered most to her.

The more Bianca looked at the otter, she was only feeling worse and worse for her. Right now, they were merely strangers, but she knew she couldn’t just leave her in the dark.

After all, they were in this together.

“Uhh… hi.” The polar bear tapped Pearl’s shoulder. “You seem really down. Wanna talk?”

The sea otter looked at her with her tired eyes. As much as she wanted to be left alone, she DID want to be heard at the same time. So, she nodded, shedding a tear.

“It’s my younger brother,” Pearl sniffled. “Shellington was his name. He was on the Octopod when it went offline. And, like, it hit me so hard because… we always had each others backs. Like, when he kept getting teased, I…” She was breaking down once again, and everyone was watching her, except for Natquik who was still focused towards taking the red eye to Australia.

The 3 younglings were clearly concerned, especially Peri. He’d have never seen his mother so sad.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m okay.” Pearl rubbed her eyes and clinged to Bianca. “I just… need a break.” The two walked to the back of the ship, near the cargo bay.

“I knew I shouldn’t have put Paani in charge.” Natquik groaned in unrelation.

Now in privacy, the two were just sitting there. Pearl was still crying, and Bianca kept trying to comfort her. The polar bear knew she had to speak up again.

“Hey, it’s okay. Everybody needs to cry sometimes. I know how you feel. I lost my brother too…” Bianca took a deep breath. “Or, at least I thought I did.” She held her paw. “I know Natquik told me not to tell anyone… but this is for the good of both of us.”

At that, the otter’s ears perked up. “You thought? As in… he’s still alive?” She stopped crying for a moment, as Bianca smiled at her.

“That’s right. He managed to make contact with Nat, and he told him all about what happened. If he’s alive, the same could go for your brother… Oh! And another thing~?”

Pearl was trembling in worry, but at the same time ambition.

“My brother is a MERMAID!”

“M-mermaid~? He got turned into one? Does that mean…?” Before the otter could ask, she noticed her Octo-Watch.

It was Barnacles. Pearl was surprised. The polar bear was most certainly right. She quickly answered.

“H-hiya? Is this Barnacles?”

“Ah, Pearl! Is this a bad time?” On the other side, Captain Barnacles was sitting with another sea otter.

“What? No, not at all. I’m on the Octoray with somebody who looks like you. Is she related or some-” The other bear tugged her on the arm. “Wait, excuse me…”

“…sorry, I just…” Bianca blushed a little out of embarrassment. “You know, I think we should introduce ourselves. My name’s Bianca. That’s my twin brother you’re talking to, by the way!”

The otter giggled. “Ah! That’s wonderful! I’m Pearl, by the way! I’m glad we could meet like this…” She patted Bianca on the back, then got back to her other conversation. “Anyways, Captain, is it true you became a mermaid? Your sister’s with me and she told me all about it!”

“Well, I have been quiet for too long, but I can confirm… All of us got turned into mermaids. And I mean ALL of us.”

Pearl’s jaw kept dropping lower and lower as she heard all of this. “Does that mean… Shellington…?”

And as she stood there in the most worry ever, she got her answer.

“Pearl, when Captain says everyone, he means everyone.”

Shellington’s voice. The one thing his sister wanted to hear this whole time.

He really was okay.

Bianca really was right.

And now, she meant everything to Pearl.

Neither of the two mothers thought they’d get into a situation like this. Ever. But on the bright side, it brought them together, from the deep darkness, back into the warm light. Knowing things were gonna get better.

The sea otter had never been so happy before. She was finally at peace. And it was all thanks to Bianca.

HER Bianca.

These next 15 hours were gonna be totally worth it.

~~~~

Paani walked through the cold sands of Coronado. Beyond the sea was the weakening Hurricane Selma, now just a category 1 at this point. He was likely losing track of time, but he was aware of how close he was to the Octopod.

“It’s gonna take them forever, but at least I have a whole sea to look at while I wait!” Paani laughed. “Brilliant! Just look at all of that… not a single worry, as I just… OH… WAIT…”

His happiness vanished quickly as he realized why he was here. “Right… The Octonauts. I’m the one in charge of… Operation No Signal. I HAVE to be serious…”

The macaque sat down in anger. He was thinking of telling Natquik where he really was, but it was definitely too late now. He checked the radar and now the Octoray was over southwest Oregon. Pearl had already been picked up, the monkey never said a word, and it was either headed for China or Australia.

“Shit. I’m on my own, it seems.” Paani facepalmed. “Might as well do my own thing, even if it means being considered incompetent…”

He stood up again. Was anyone behind him? No. Good. He could think for as long as he wanted.

Paani started at the vast ocean. He knew the Octonauts had to be out there. Dead? Likely. But at least he knew they were there at some point.

He had no equipment with him at all, but that wasn’t stopping him from… anything at this point.

“Kwazii, Shellington… I’m coming!” He got back onto his paddle board, parked on the sand, and went off to sea, southbound. To go straight to the west would put him in Selma’s storm surge, and now possibly Todd’s, so no way.

It seemed hard to figure out exactly WHERE the Octopod went missing, so Paani took a quick glance at the radar archives on his Octo-Watch. The last time the Octopod was online was around 10:00 PM PDT, October 4, 2023. Turned out it was really close to Selma’s eye as well. Now all the monkey had to do was get to the coordinates, then swim. Or something like that.

“I’m doing this on my paddle board, alone in the Pacific Ocean… and I’ve likely already figured everything out!” Paani couldn’t figure out why Natquik needed so many of the Octo-Agents. Sounded like a lot of hoopla if anything.

Maybe he needed to calm down for a moment. That Arctic fox probably did have a reason and he was just throwing it away.

Paani stopped paddling. He sat down, looking at the fading skyline of San Diego. The ambition was just killing him, he realized. And maybe it was too late. Getting back to dry land was NOT gonna happen at this point.

All he could do was wait.

This was quite peaceful anyways. Or at least when he realized it was.

He should’ve also realized how bad of an idea it was to just book it into the open ocean.

But hey, at least they’ll hopefully find him as well.

~~~~

Tweak was brooding a little bit. Like yeah, now she was getting used to her new tail, and she wasn’t hating Barnacles as much, and it DID make sense that he wanted Natquik over, to confirm their existence, but in the end it was just gonna lead to him being lost as well.

All that lesirena was getting over the ocean, and it still looked transformative as ever, even though it was a little overshadowed by the seawater.

She wondered how far that was gonna go. Hopefully not too far north. That’s where all the humans were. Would suck for them to get turned.

Hopefully these currents would keep it away. The only ones getting turned were the Octonauts. Maybe these humans had some kind of resistance. No one could really tell. Not even Shellington.

This was the greatest thing ever. And yet it wasn’t.

“Cap, I’m getting worried.” Tweak swam over to him, who was picking away broken glass over the HQ.

“Something wrong?” Barnacles stopped, and turned around and looked at the bunny, flicking her tail around in concern.

“Well, all this lesirena… I feel like it’s becoming too widespread. Like, it’s gonna reach the coasts, y’know?”

That made total sense. The Captain looked around him and shook his head in disbelief. He’d have never seen water so pink before… except for all that jellyfish once.

It didn’t help that most of the GUPs were still in the launch bay and most certainly needed repair. Tweak had to figure out how she and the others were gonna clear that out.

Maybe THAT was why Cap had invited Natquik. Maybe he never had a reason until now. Maybe… he was aware the whole time. Whatever.

She just couldn’t let humanity go down like this, even if it did suck.

~~~~

“So you decided to just abandon us like this? When I made YOU in charge? You think you’re funny, Paani?” Natquik scolded the monkey. “You leave me dead worried for you and all you’re doing is doing this alone! My, you just DISGUST me in every single way possible!”

Paani tried to reason with him but he was just too angry. “Sir, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to just leave you out like this! I should’ve just-”

“I’ll make sure Barnacles hears about this. You’re DONE for.”

####

Paani quickly woke up in fear. He had taken a nap on his paddle board, waiting for the current to keep carrying him. But that only made him have that nightmare.

He realized the consequences were WORSE than he thought. Being fired from being an Octo-Agent would SUCK.

The macaque got his Octo-Watch and figured it was better to tell Natquik now than never.

~~~~

OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN, NORTHEAST OF HAWAII

Pearl was resting her head on Bianca’s shoulder, feeling much better than before. Neither of them couldn’t wait to head to Isla Guadalupe, to finally see how things went for their brothers.

Natquik was getting a little bored. Turbo mode was switched off for the sake of avoiding an overheating problem. So now he and the others were just waiting endlessly here. But at least they WERE getting somewhere.

“…Hm. I’ve never thought about how this music actually sounds. Still don’t get why Yeshi did this, but it can’t be THAT bad…”

He went through his Octo-Watch and into the music player. Sure enough, there were lots of things in it, but the first thing was this shit called “alphabet shuffle”.

Natquik facepalmed. This was not gonna be good, he thought.

As the voice of some guy he didn’t know sang out on his earbuds, the Arctic fox sat down in slight regret. But the more he was listening, he was starting to realize… No, this wasn’t as bad as he thought.

Natquik laughed a little. “I’ve only known Yeshi for a week and I must say, his music taste is interestingly nice.” He took a look at the rest of the songs, in which there were a LOT of them. Most of them were made by this one guy named Bill Wurtz or whatever.

He kept listening along, watching the clouds above him and Hawaii below. The fox was starting to resonate with these lyrics, even if they were utter nonsense. He concretely remembered that Barnacles was safe, as were the others. They were waiting.

“And I’m alright, and it’s just fine… and I’m going to make things right.”

For 45 seconds, Natquik felt total bliss.

Well, up until his Octo-Watch received a call.

Unfortunately, Paani finally woke up.

“H-hi Professor! Sorry I went silent! Just preparing a bunch of stuff! Where are you?” He eagerly asked.

Natquik sighed. Took this guy long enough. And yes, he was in charge. What an idiot. Who decided he’d do this? Those kinds of thoughts ran through the fox’s mind.

“We’re over Hawaii right now, headed for Australia to pick up Koshi. Where are YOU?”

Paani felt super awkward but he didn’t want to make matters worse, so he straight up admitted everything. “Off the coast of San Diego. I’ve got the last known coordinates of the Octopod, so no worries!”

Natquik would have spared no mercy for him, but remembering that the Octonauts WERE safe calmed him down. But of course, he couldn’t tell anyone.

“…Paani, if you can get back to land, please do so. I’d rather we all be together.” The Arctic fox slowly facepalmed. The macaque monkey looked back at where the shore was and figured he had a point.

“Well, I’ll see you by tomorrow morning. I’m headed for Imperial Beach now. BYE!” Paani quickly hung up.

That call had a better outcome than he thought. But did he have to really go back? Like, he knew he was getting close. He knew he couldn’t just… turn back outta nowhere. He had to paddle for even one more minute. Isla Guadalupe was 275 miles away. Seemed quite far, but the monkey didn’t mind. He just had to stay focused. Selma and Todd weren't in the way anymore, so that was a good thing.

“Isla Coronado is up ahead… maybe I should call it a day and stop there for tonight.” Paani sighed. A few more paddles, and that was it. Not like the others were gonna be here for some time anyways.

He could wait, and so could they.

~~~~

Early the next morning, about 3 AM, Tweak managed to make a document regarding what to do with the lesirena.

Her idea? Send everyone to absorb it—everyone being the OctoMers. As much as they could. The rest would be all contained and handed over to Natquik, or whoever was coming here. It sounded easy, yet difficult. But like Cap said, as long as we stay together.

“If only this thing hadn’t happened in the first place. What the fucking shit…” she muttered under her breath, as she handed it over to the beluga bear. “Put this in a safe place, got it?”

As Barnacles read the paper, his Octo-Compass was getting another signal. An Octo-Watch nearby.

“Cap, is that Nat?” Tweak swam over next to him. The polar bear shook his head, noticing the name.

“It’s Paani. All this time he was here and I didn’t even notice. He’s off the coast of Ensenada, apparently.”

The bunny shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. If anything he’s gotta be on his paddle board… We should be on standby.”

Tweak swam up to the surface and looked for any lights, but she was only met with the vast night sky. There was nothing out here but that.

Paani tried again. He'd been going at this for half an hour now. And for trying so hard, he made little to no progress throughout those 30 minutes.

The trouble was, he had a heavy feeling that they were out there. The Octonauts. Alive? Most likely now. So, why forget all about this?

“Speed up,” the voices in his head called out, again and again. “You have to find them.”

All Paani could do was listen. It was killing him from the inside, but at the same time, he was fulfilling a goal, and now he wasn’t gonna stop.

The more he kept going at it, he felt himself becoming increasingly tired and frustrated. He shook his head and realized what he was doing.

He stopped. He let the waves carry his board. He was ashamed. This was becoming an addiction and it was NOT okay.

The monkey would’ve gone back to land, but that meant more paddling, and that would make matters worse.

And so, he jumped off.

Like Tweak, Paani just… floated there. Watching the night sky. They both had their own issues, too. Tweak still felt bad about her mental breakdown yesterday, and Paani let everyone, and his guard, down, by not following the rules.

Both were hoping things were truly gonna get better, but those hopes seemed distant.

Paani decided it was time to truly take action.

Almost immediately, he took off, swimming. He’d have never done this much, as he was an Octo-Agent, but this seemed more practical than the paddle board. And even if it was the dead of night, nothing was getting in Paani’s way.

But as he kept going, he started to feel VERY uncomfortable, to the point where he didn’t feel like swimming. He felt like something… or someone, was after him.

His fur got warmer and warmer, in a sea of iciness, and he could’ve sworn there were shadows surrounding him again and again.

The macaque monkey finally relished up the courage to look back, flashlight his Octo-Watch, and what he saw was nightmare fuel.

“Hey, Paani! We missed you!”

A kitten, and a sea otter. Both with shark tails. Both surrounded him. In utter darkness, lit up only by that watch’s screen.

The only way Paani could respond was through the loudest he’d have ever screamed, in all his life.

~~~~

Roughly 4 hours later, 10PM in Shanghai, 7AM in LA, Natquik prepared for takeoff from China, now with Min and Koshi on board, he decided to give Paani a call, making sure he DID listen.

He just stood there, looking at his Octo-Watch, waiting for a response. Nothing. He tried calling him a second time.

STILL nothing.

“I’m pretty sure he’s still asleep. What do you think?” Min looked at the Arctic Fox. “He’s gotta be tired from all that paddling earli-”

Natquik knew exactly what happened. “No, no, NO. You know where he stopped? Middle of the ocean.” He showed the other Octo-Agents where Paani’s last location was. “Sure, he is a little… stupid… but he wouldn’t do that!”

The red panda tilted her head. “Maybe he was knocked over and swept away by a wave. We shouldn’t be waiting here, if that’s the case… Get Yeshi and go, go, GO!”

Bianca wasn’t even aware of what happened to Paani, but she was still happy to be meeting all these new folks.

“So much commotion, so much conversation… Pearl, what’s all this about~?” She curiously asked the sea otter, who kept watching this unfold.

Ironically, the other mother had been sitting with Periwinkle in the corner, and really didn’t pay any mind to Paani’s disappearance either. The two moms just looked at each other, blushing with no reaction to Min yanking Natquik by the ears for calling that macaque monkey stupid.

“Well, all I can say is… Welcome to being an Octo-Agent, Bianca. I’ll be your guide!” Pearl leaned over, and nuzzled up against the polar bear, met with a warm hug from her. None of the surrounding brawls could pull them from each other’s love, stronger with every hour on board.

“This is where it ALL begins~!”

In a world where others thought everything was falling apart, the couple knew this whole thing was just an opportunity for PICKING UP PIECES.

Yet, nobody knew where Paani was. To be continued…

#mermaid #mermaid au #alternate universe #octonauts au #octonauts #octonauts mermaid au #reclaimed by nature

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