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pantpisser9000 · 4 months

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Combined together, Chapter 7: One mark, then another.

“C’mon, Tweak!” Kwazii begged, “Just for a test drive, matey!” Tweak, hands on her hips, reluctantly shook her head. “Last time y’ took ‘er out on a test drive I had to spend a whole day repairin’ er.”

“I be careful this time, I swear, matey!”

“Mhm. And that’s what y’ said last time, Kwazii.”

“Twwwwwwwwwwweakkkkkkkkkkkkkk please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please ple-”

Tweak threw her hands in the air, “Fine, fine.” she relented, but as she walked over to the lever –Kwazii already jumping in the GUP by this point–she whipped out her pointer finger. “Don’t wreck her completely, please. Thanks.” she says, and Kwazii holds up a thumbs-up, and Tweak pulls the lever.

The GUP B, with Kwazii inside it, obviously, rocketed out of the Octopod. Tweak let out a heavy sigh, leaning against the panel. “He’s gonna crash.” she muttered.

Kwazii, hands on the wheel, sped around the bright ocean, sunlight filtering through the salty water he was currently stirring up with his fast, bright orange, shark-like GUP. His GUP. He grinned at the thought–it was nice to have something that was his, and that he knew could be repaired (even if it was to Tweak’s dismay). Making loop-de-loops and doing flips and narrowly avoiding rocks, Kwazii was having a grand ol’ time steering the GUP B through every twist and turn, doing any and every trick he could think of. He was having so much fun he didn’t realize how far away from the Octopod he’d gotten. Coming up on what looked like a small island, Kwazii decided a narrow turn would be a good challenge, a sudden jolt to the left. And that was what he did as he sped towards the island, making a sudden turn to the left. His eyes widened when he saw was right in his path now–a whale. He couldn’t just ram into it, so in the spur of the moment, he made a sudden turn again. Just upwards this time, launching him out of the water backwards, and Kwazii’s head thunked against the glass of the GUP B’s top window.

“Yeow..” he muttered, twisting himself so that he was now upright, sitting on the glass. He was surrounded by wet sand. He grit his teeth. Pressing the button on his helmet’s collar, he spoke. “Kwazii to Octonauts, Kwazii t’ Octonauts,” he said, though he was only met with static. He was too far away. Leaning back, he looked up at the GUP B’s controls. Pressing the radio button, he spoke again. “Kwazii t’ Octonauts, Kwazii t’ Octonauts?” he asked. Just more static. He groaned, leaning back against the cool glass. He honestly had no idea on how to get out of this predicament he was now in. He knew he had to make some sort of plan, though. Even if that was usually up to the Captain, not him. Kwazii just did the dangerous stunts and did things that needed to be done quickly. Still, he thought. He wasn’t sure how long it’d take for the Octonauts to find him, and… he was a little thirsty. His first thought was to try to open up the bottom, but he figured that might not be the best idea. Because, first of all, Tweak’d be pissed, and second of all, he didn’t know if he could, anyways. Especially without the help of Barnacle’s strength. Until, he remembered–the window could open. Maybe not the best idea, but… he was already getting restless, and he doubted he was lodged too deep. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the button on his helmet and the bubble like glass formed over his head. And then, he pressed the button for the windshield, and the sand only moved a little. He honestly had expected it to pour in–but he supposed since it was wet, it stayed in place (besides the slow inching that it was doing) better for some reason. He didn’t question for long, though. He wasn’t the type to do so, honestly. So, he dived into the sand, and he was never more thankful for his helmet. Swimming (?) upwards (hopefully) through the sand, it was hard to do so given how thick it was, but he managed to burst out. He glanced behind him. The GUP B, flipped over onto its front, was lodged in the sand behind him. That was good, it wasn’t buried or anything. And, it somehow didn’t seem too damaged, which he was glad about. He didn’t want Tweak to ban him from driving his favorite GUP, after all.

Still, he was stranded on an island. Trying his radio again, he was met with static. He supposed that it wasn’t just the sand stopping the signal–it was the distance, too. His first thought was to try to get the GUP B out of the sand and try there, but especially given how it might not work, he decided against it for now. It was getting late, the sun was beginning to set. What did he need to survive again? Oh, right.

Food, shelter, water, and fire. He knew there was some emergency supplies in the GUP B–some water, a glow stick… Matches too, probably. No food, to his knowledge, though. He groaned. He knew he should’ve brought some fish biscuits! But, he needed to figure out how to get the GUP B out of its place, lodged in the wet sand of this (seemingly deserted) island. He’d need a shovel or something, obviously. He looked around–the leaves on the trees were kinda.. Cup-shaped.. Though it wouldn’t be able to scoop sand, especially not wet sand. There were some coconuts. He could try throwing one against a rock and see if it cracks open. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea that totally wouldn’t go badly. He flicked his claws out, shimmying off his octo-boots so those claws could be released too. Walking over to one of the many palm trees, he grinned, and sunk his fingernail-claws into the trunk. And then he sunk the next one in, but higher. And he propelled himself upward with the grip from one of his feet, grabbing onto a higher spot on the tree. He continued with this little cycle until he was near to the top, leaves just barely not clouding his vision. Steadying himself, breathing in, and then he jumped, grabbing onto one of the coconuts–it only took a moment for it to rip off from its growing place and plummet to the ground along with Kwazii himself. He groaned, laying in the warm sand. He grasped his head, moaning, and he got up shakily. The coconut hadn’t broken from the fall, unfortunately. Of course, Kwazii didn’t give up.

He yoinked the ball off the ground and sauntered over to a particularly sharp rock, and then he raised his hand, coconut in his grip, above his head. “Arr!” he yelled as he chucked it against the thing. It was at that moment that he learned the fault in his plan as the coconut hit him smack-dab in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and fall back into the grainy sand. He mewled. “Yow..” rubbing his temples and sitting up, he looked at the coconut–or rather, the two halves of the coconut. “Well I’ll be a sea monkey’s uncle..” he muttered, looking at the split coconut. He grasped one half, and looked around. “Now me just need a stick…” he muttered to himself, standing up.

He put back on his Octo-boots off the ground, and taking a glance around, it wasn’t hard for him to find a washed up piece of driftwood, and he grabbed it, attached it with some kelp and other suspicious methods, and he had his own (albeit crappy) little shovel. And now it was time to start digging.

He scooped up heaps of sand, forming a rather large pile, until he could successfully unlodge his beloved GUP, and flip it back over into its rightful position–upwards. Reaching inside, pressing on one of the panels, he grabbed the emergency supplies. Sitting down on the sand criss-crossed, he opened it, and it had what he expected. Clean water, glowsticks, matches, and a seaweed snack bar. He was kinda hungry, so he ripped open the seaweed snack’s biodegradable packaging and chomped. He figured the Octonauts would find him soon, right? Either way, after finishing his snack, he looked back at the sky. The sun was getting closer to going to sleep–and Kwazii didn’t have shelter. Besides the GUP B itself. He could just hide out in the GUP, but he didn’t really want to risk sinking back into the sand. Taking a quick glance around, he decided to head into the brush, GUP B in tow. Stringing together some kelp or seaweed or something, which he tied around his most beloved GUP, he tugged it along with him through the palm forest. He wasn’t really sure if it could be considered a forest, actually? He shrugged to himself, towing it along, before he noticed something. He grinned, canine teeth as prominent as ever. He lucked out this time–a cave. He let go of his seaweed leash and rushed in, taking a glance. It looked empty, at least from his first observation. Going back for the GUP, he dragged it into the cave, (and grimaced at the noise of metal against the rock–Tweak would be really annoyed when he got back from the scratchings) and he sat down, tired out. Just in time, too. The sun had set, and he was tired. One night couldn’t hurt.

***

He groaned when he got up–his back hurt from sleeping on the hard, pebble-littered ground of the cave he was residing in. Yawning as he got up, doing some stretches, (not unlike the ones that like. Actual cats do) and eventually standing up, just a little light shone through the cave. Kwazii sighed. The Octonauts hadn’t found him yet? That was… odd. He figured they’d come faster, but maybe they were choked up with an unfortunate circumstance. A thought or two of worry pierced through, thinking things like what if they don’t want to find me? But he shook those away. He was pretty useful, most of the time. Though, he knew not to trust that they would come at the same time–he knew he couldn’t trust them because of things like this.

Shaking those thoughts of doubt away, he decided to focus on surviving. He’d already eaten his only food, and he was hungry for some breakfast. He debated having some coconut juice, but given his lack of luck when getting the first fruit and the fact it wouldn’t be all that filling, he decided against it. He couldn’t eat fish, obviously. Partially because he didn’t have a fishing rod and mostly because it would be incredibly immoral (and a bit ironic considering his job). No coconuts, no fish… seaweed was on the table, wasn’t it? He knew there was a lot of it. He’d eaten seaweed salad before when he was traveling with the Blackclaw pirates, and it wasn’t the best (in his (that he considered completely correct) opinion), though it would satiate his hunger.

Thinking about it, he was fairly certain he could just munch on it straight off the beach, actually. If seaweed salad was just seaweed cut up and put into a bowl basically, couldn’t he just…chomp? No harm in trying… he thought to himself. Giving his GUP a loving pat, he walked out of the cave, and back onto the beach.

There was quite a bit of seaweed, unsurprisingly, lying washed up on the beach. He walked over, picking up one of the slippery greens, and dropped it into his gaping mouth. He immediately spit it out as soon as he crunched. “Eugh,” he muttered, dusting off his tongue, “Damned sand…” he looked at the piece of seaweed he just spit out. He wasn’t going to go baby-bird style and just try again with that piece, and instead walked to another part of the beach. He squatted down, picking up a piece of seaweed. Sand was stuck to it. He tried dusting it off, but that didn’t really work. Looking at the briny sea, he figured that he could just… wash it… in there.

Wading into the water, slimy seaweed in hand, he got up to about his knees when he bended down, washing off the seaweed. Lifting the now sopping seaweed out of the water, he held it stretched out with his hands, not unlike how you would hold a piece of cloth you’re squeezing the water out of (He wasn’t doing that, though his hands were in a similar position ). And he bit, right in the middle, and he chewed. It didn’t taste all that great, and he dropped the remainder of the seaweed that was still in his grasp back into its watery home. Trying his best to chew, he squeezed his eyes shut.

Ew ew ew ew ew ew-

He eventually swallowed it down. It was gross, grosser than the salad that one time. It didn’t fill him up completely, though he’d lost his appetite at that point. That was one problem solved, at least. Walking out of the salty sea, he heard the smashing of sand under his blue octo-boots. He figured that since seaweed wasn’t exactly the tastiest, (nor the most filling) he could try looking for different food? Or water, actually. He had fresh water with him, though he knew it wasn’t a lot. Just two bottles. And, if he wasn’t able to find any other food, that’d make it worse–the salt ingrained within the seaweed just made him thirstier.

Wandering back into the brush, he glanced around. And suddenly, he heard something new. His cat ears twitched, listening in. He cupped his ear with his hand, and he grinned. “Rushing water!” he exclaimed. Trying to keep in his excitement, he shut his mouth and listened in. It took a little of wandering, but he eventually pinpointed where the sound was coming from, and after a little of careful listening, he got closer and closer until–

A beautiful lake–or pond? Honestly, Kwazii didn’t know all of those terms. Whatever it was, there was a waterfall gushing water into it. Kwazii leaned down, looking at the crystal-clear water. He bended down, lying himself across the muddy ground. He didn’t care much about getting the wet dirt lathered on his shirt, he just wasn’t the type. Sticking his tongue out, he lapped the water. Not bad. He thought to himself, standing up and attempting to dust off his muddy shirt, to no avail.

He wiped off his mouth, and glanced around. He didn’t notice any food. Until, some small little berries caught his eye–he didn’t know what type, but they looked familiar, for some reason. A normal person would be nervous about them being poisonous, but Kwazii? He was daring enough to take that damn risk, and honestly none of his fellow crew members would. Peso would likely not even try, or even just end up recognizing them, and eat/not eat them accordingly. The Captain might try it if it looked okay, but only if desperate enough, and would only let the other members try when he was sure it was safe. Tweak might try, actually. Though, only if she truly, really, had to–plus, she usually had at least four or five extra carrots on her. It was less likely to come to fruition for her. Shellington wouldn’t even try or, like Peso, might recognize it and eat/not eat accordingly. The Professor would probably pull a book out or just remember and know whatever type of berry it was, and would act accordingly.

The point was, Kwazii was the only one out of the octonauts who was actually daring enough to dive right damn into it, and go ahead and eat those berries without a second thought. And that was exactly what he would do–as soon as he got across this pond. Stepping back, getting into a running pose, and gritting his teeth, Kwazii ran. And he flew across the pond, (his cat-bits certainly helped) and his momentum ended just at the ridge, and his chin hit right there. His body was plunged into the water, and he squirmed in the liquid, splashing about and gripping onto the muddy banks desperately. His fingernails, that now were claws, gripping on the bank. He managed to shimmy himself up on the banks, scooching across the ground. He was, surely, coated in mud by now. He pushed himself up, standing up. He looked over at the berries. Walking over, he plucked one off the bush. Popping it into his mouth, he chewed. Kinda sour, though bearable. Plus, it was certainly better than seaweed.

So, he popped a few in, chewing up berry after berry as he sat on the ground. He looked down at himself, covered in mud, and he just shrugged to himself. If the Octonauts came, he’d get new clothes. And if not, this wouldn’t be the only time he had lived in dirty clothes. He was… full enough, now. So, he picked off another bit of berries, took off his hat, put the berries in, and held it in a way that his hand was covering it. Walking further back this time, he made a mad dash and jumped across, this time just barely making it over, but still tripping and face-planting into the mud. Fortunately, the berries were safe, though.

Standing up from the mud again, he took a deep breath, and walked back to the cave, sauntering on. He snacked on a couple of the berries while he walked, and when he got back, he was tired. He placed his cap down in the compartment of the GUP B. Then, he looked at the side. Since the rest of the Octonauts weren’t probably coming, he figured he should at least track time. And since it was basically the end of the day… he flicked out the claw on his pointer finger, and pressed it against the metal side of the shark-like mini-submarine. And he scratched, his ears pressed down to the side of his head. It wasn’t an enjoyable noise, though. Claw against metal. One tally mark.

Hopping into the GUP, he curled up inside. He was tired, after all. Just a sleepy guy. And so, he and his sopping wet, muddy clothes, sat inside of the orange GUP and Kwazii promptly fell asleep.

***

The Captain was worried. Kwazii left around 12ish hours ago. His helmet’s tracking seemed to be out of range, and the GUP B’S either broken or somehow also out of range. Tweak hadn’t really been paying attention to where Kwazii was going, and the routes didn’t save, (A feature Tweak promised to implement later) so they had practically no way of knowing where he went. And knowing how unpredictable the ginger was, it would be hard to guess. Barnacles knew he had a history of running away, but the last time he’d done that, it’d been with his previous pirate crew. Who were bad people. He knew for a fact that the Octonauts, Kwazii included, were not bad people. They’d all joined for one reason or another, but all they’d done so far was some exploring, rescuing, and protecting. Plus, Kwazii enjoyed it. Barnacles had pretended not to notice when he grinned at the food and how quickly he scarfed it down because he was used to having to fight for his food and get it as speedily as possible because otherwise he might not get much food at all, and now he didn’t have to worry about that. The vegimals always cooked an overabundance, anyways (which was useful as everyone always had a fish biscuit or two on hand, or at least in the GUPS). Barnacles noticed how happy Kwazii was when he learned he had his own room and not just sleeping on a likely falling apart hammock. He noticed that Kwazii was so reckless with the GUP B because he knew it’d just get fixed up again, (despite Tweak’s annoyance to the fact) and that he seemed protective over it already. The Captain was observant;it was part of his job, so he’d noticed all these things.

He noticed things about all of his crew. Peso, for example; really cared about his family and just others in general, was very passionate about his job, was nervous all the time but was easily encouraged by Barnacles (or just anyone, though he noticed he tended to be the most motivated when it came to him. Maybe it was the Captain status, maybe it was something else,) and he got spooked easily. He hid behind Barnacles (or Kwazii on occasion) when he got scared.

Barnacles had a slight suspicion that Peso might have some father-related issues, though that was just a guess. Either way, the point was, Barnacles was observant. And he knew Kwazii well enough by this point to know that he wouldn’t just leave, especially not in the way he did. Making it known to Tweak that he was leaving? Odd. The fact that most of Kwazii’s belongings (besides his spyglass and the clothes he’d been wearing) were still in his room, even his rum and catnip? (Barnacles knew he would’ve brought those if he was trying to ‘escape’ for whatever reason, he’d mentioned that he had brought those when running away from his old crew). Plus, even if Kwazii was stupid, he was smart enough to bring more food and water than what was just in the emergency supplies.

So, because of all of this, Barnacles knew Kwazii wasn’t intentionally leaving them behind. He was probably stranded somewhere, if anything. He just hoped he was alright.

That morning, right when he woke up earlier than usual, (before becoming a Octonaut he had survived off five or six hours of sleep, and now he got around eight to twelve, but today he was going back to his old schedule) he got changed, walked into the kitchen, quickly ate some fish biscuits, (as well as tucking some into his pocket) and walked down into the launch bay. He’d asked Tweak to prepare the GUP A for him, so he didn’t have to wake her up early. When he glanced over into her room, he chuckled. She was passed out on the floor, game controller in her hand while text saying “WASTED” was on her screen. He peeked back over at the GUP A, and suddenly, he saw Peso, launching out of one of the tubes. “H-hey, Captain!” he said, and Barnacles was mildly confused, before remembering he’d announced this yesterday. They’d been looking for a little while, and when he couldn't find Kwazii after a hot minute, Peso had practically demanded he get some sleep (“Captain, I’m a medic, I know what’s best f-for you. You have to get some slee-” “Peso, I appreciate it, but-” “No, Captain,” and Peso had tugged on his sleeve, and Barnacles reluctantly turned the GUP around. Sure, he could easily overpower Peso, but he was right. He needed sleep). He’d told everyone he’d be getting up early to search, and he didn’t expect anyone else to, though they were welcome to join. Seemed like Peso was the only one to take up his offer.

“If- No, when, we find Kwazii, he might be hurt.” Peso explained, though it wasn’t necessary. Barnacles knew that was certainly part of the reason, though he also knew it was because he genuinely cared about Kwazii and wanted to help with the search as well. So, Barnacles let Peso into the GUP, and pulled the lever. Peso (very reluctantly and surprisingly steadily, though the Captain knew he shouldn’t be surprised. Peso had literally done surgery–of course he was steady) drove the GUP A through, and then Barnacles turned on his helmet, swam down through the launch bay, pressed the big red ‘close/open’ button right inside of the mouth, and quickly swam out before it closed. He climbed into the GUP A, taking over driving. It was still early, so it was a little dark. Barnacles noticed how scared Peso was–it didn’t surprise him that he didn’t like the dark. Made sense with the information he’d gathered about the penguin-hybrid. Either way, the Captain decided to go in the complete opposite direction that he had gone the day before–sure, it was possible he hadn’t noticed the GUP lodged somewhere, but he didn’t see a bright orange shark-like metal submarine anywhere, so he figured that covering more ground would be better. He was driving relatively fast, surveying the area. Peso was looking out one of the back windows, looking. Barnacles just hoped that Kwazii was on land, or a air pocket, or something.. And that he hadn’t already..

He shook his head. Something told him Kwazii was too daring and motivated to just… give up. It wasn’t in his nature. While he didn’t believe in the supernatural, he still felt as if.. Well, he didn’t think Kwazii was a ghost. He chuckled. Kwazii’d somehow break that and become a ghost despite the odds, just to spook people. Be a little prankster. And Barnacles hadn’t come across any random pranks. So, therefore, Kwazii couldn’t be dead. He cruised through the salty seas, until he saw a glimpse of orange. Stopping the GUP A in its tracks, he let the helmet incase his helmet, putting on a air tank. Peso looked at him in confusion. “I believe I saw something orange,” he explained, and Peso nodded. “I-I’ll come with. Incase he’s hurt.” Peso said, and the Captain let him tow behind him as he splashed into the water. He waited a moment for Peso to dip into the water, and once Peso had made the plunge, they swam downwards.

The bottom of this part of the sea was rocky, some urchins. The Captain lifted up some bigger rocks, and Peso just scanned the area. Barnacles figured that maybe Kwazii was in radio distance, now. Pressing the button on his collar, “Captain Barnacles to Lieutenant Kwazii, Barnacles to Kwazii, are you in the area?” he asked. He was met with static. He took his hand off the button and shook his head. “Let’s go back into the GUP, Peso,” he said, and Peso nodded. They swam up, clamored into the GUP A, and began to drive along again. Peso, looking out the side windows, Barnacles looking out the front one, scanning the entire area. Neither of them saw anything in the murky water. Eventually, they stopped for a quick lunch break. Barnacles sat on the ground beside Peso. He was criss-crossed, Peso sitting on his own knees. Barnacles pulled out the bag of fish biscuits, and laid them out. He heard the static of the radio picking up, then. Glancing back, he ran over. “This is Captain Barnacles,” he said through the GUP A’s microphone. “Heya Cap, this is Tweak. Just lettin’ ya know that Shellington and Dashi are going out too–they’ll be goin’ in a separate direction t’ cover more ground, though.” she said. “How is it goin’ for y’all?” Tweak asked.

“Unfortunately, not all that well. I thought we had found him, but we didn’t. Must’ve been a fish, I suppose.” the Captain said. “That ain’t good. I hope y’all find him,” Tweak said, and Barnacles could hear her crunch on a carrot. “Good luck. Over ‘n out, Cap,” she continued. Barnacles sighed. “Over and out.” and the transmission ended. Barnacles then came to a realization. He pressed the radio button. “This is Captain Barnacles to Octopod, specifically Dashi,” he said, and he heard Tweak’s voice. “Huh? Oh, uh- They haven’t gone in the GUP E yet, Cap’n.” she said. “Excellent. Can you get Dashi for me?” he asked, and was silent for a moment, and then agreed. “S…sure, Captain.” she said, and he could hear her shouting.

“This is Dashi, Captain. What do you need?” she asked. “Tweak, do we know how much time Kwazii was… driving around?” he asked. “Um, no. But, I know the GUP B would’ve ran out of battery in at least three hours after the fact. Why?” she asked. “How fast can the GUP B go?” he asked. “Pretty fast. I’m sure I have it written down somewhere, why, Cap?” she asked again. “Dashi, do you think –after Tweak gets how fast it can go–get a radius of where he could possibly be?” he asked. “Oh- of course, Captain. I don’t know how I didn’t think about that. I’ll get right on it,” she said. Barnacles nodded. “Excellent. Thank you, Dashi and Tweak,” and he finished, “Over and out.”

“Over ‘n out, Cap!” and the transmission ended once more. Barnacles walked back over to Peso, picking up a fish biscuit and tossing it into his mouth. “I hope he isn’t hurt,” Peso muttered, nibbling at a biscuit. “I’m sure he’s just alright, Peso. Kwazii’s… He’s good at worming his way out of bad situations.” Barnacles said, and Peso nodded. “Still. If h-he, uh, crashed, he could have a broken bone or a concussion or-” he was stopped by Barnacles. “It’s okay, Peso. I’m sure he’s fine,” Barnacles said, and Peso meekly nodded. “And, even if he isn’t, you’re a fantastic medic. The best of the best, I’m sure,” and Peso tried to interrupt but the Captain simply did not let him. “So, if he is hurt, you’ll be able to patch him up in a jiffy.” he said. Peso nodded, with a little more confidence this time, and finished his fish biscuit.

Barnacles gobbled down a couple more before returning to steering the ship, letting Peso clean up the remainder. Dashi sent them the radius, and they were getting to the edge of it, and Barnacles started going along the rim. Unfortunately, when it was getting late enough for the lights of the GUP A to be required, they still hadn’t found Kwazii. Barnacles looked at the barely-awake Peso in the back of the GUP, and took a glance at the battery. It wasn’t low by any means, but they would need to start heading back.

As they were driving back, Peso fell asleep, leaning against the wall. Barnacles was obviously disappointed that they hadn’t found Kwazii yet, but he knew they would. They had to. As he cruised into the mouth of the Octopod, Tweak greeted them. “No luck?” she asked. Barnacles nodded. “Not a sign of him.” Tweak frowned, “I hope he’s alright,” she said. The Captain agreed. He scooped Peso up in his arms, and Tweak giggled. It was a little funny, with the size difference and all. This huge, towering man, carrying a ridiculously small adult man. Barnacles carried him to Peso’s bedroom, and laid him in his bed, tucking him in and switching out his usual hat for his nightcap. It was just to be polite, really.

He clicked off the lights as he left, mumbling, “Goodnight, Peso,” and he heard a little muttering back that he presumed was just sleep talking. He sighed as he exited–he was really hoping they’d find Kwazii. Deciding to go straight to bed as well, he did his nightly routine, (ate a couple fish biscuits in place of dinner, though) which was a schedule he liked sticking to when there wasn’t something going on:

1: Eat dinner (Fish biscuits, today)

2: Do a small workout

3: Take a ridiculously quick, freezing cold shower

4: Brush teeth

5: Change

6: Sleep

So, his fish biscuits were finished. He didn’t go all out, instead just opting for some sit ups, some push ups, and some pull ups. He did about 30 of each before deciding to take his nightly shower, finishing up in record time: four minutes and twenty-three seconds. After he finished, he speedily brushed his teeth, set his alarm for earlier then the usual one once more, and changed into his pajamas, putting on his nightcap, and tucked himself into bed after flicking off the lights.

Kwazii woke up again. He remembered where he was–curled up in the GUP B, stranded on an island. It was the second day–the others still hadn’t found him yet. He straightened his back, cracking it with his hands running down it. He pulled out his cap from the area in the GUP–the berries were still inside. He popped a few into his mouth in place of breakfast. He was still kinda hungry, but he decided instead of eating the rest of the berries he’d search for more food. That way, even if he came back empty-handed, he’d still have some food.

Securing his hat and his only food inside, he got up. He looked down at himself. His shirt was still lathered in mud, and his pants weren’t the cleanest either. He pulled some of his hair closer to him–it wasn’t the cleanest either. It was quite dirty, actually. Not surprising, though he wasn’t looking forward to taking a shower, especially not being so thorough. He took showers almost every day, though he forgot a lot. And they were usually as short as possible while still making him cleaner–instead, he opted to use hefty amounts of deodorant most of the time instead of showering more thoroughly. Wandering around the island, he didn’t see much. Rocks. Palm trees with coconuts he couldn’t crack without his skull cracking along with them. Shells. Bushes. Grass. Nothing interesting, (at least by Kwazii’s standards) and certainly not anything he could reasonably consume. He figured to go back to that water–try to clean off a little bit, try to scrounge around for more food.

So, he trudged over to that area, (a branch smacked him in the face while he was walking more than once, but that was irrelevant) and he walked over to the bank of the pond or lake or whatever. Leaning down, his hands gripping onto it, he leaned down. And he supposed that wasn’t the best idea as his arms weren’t as spread out that time, and he ended up plunging into the clear, cool depths of the water. Coughing as he emerged from the liquid, he looked around. A little fish-girl (mermaid, basically) popped out from the water’s surface, though quickly dived back down. I wonder if there be food in the water, Kwazii thought to himself. He didn’t have his air tank with him, so he decided to revisit that later if he had to. Instead opting to climb out of the water, and searching for food on land. He shimmeyed his way onto the bank, breathing heavily. He walked over to the berry bush. He only could find one or two–the rest had been taken by himself or by presumably other creatures.

After a little more scrounging, he found some nuts. Not the best food, but he supposed it’d do for lunch. He figured he was in an area that was warm all year-round, so he wouldn’t have to worry about winter, (he, at this point, had figured the Octonauts had abandoned him–he lied to himself about not being sad about this fact, and how he expected it) at least hopefully. He was pretty sure he was in what the pirates called the ‘warm zone’, (apparently it was called the.. Egg-waiter or something? He didn’t care) and he figured food would be growing year-round. He ate the nuts, and it wasn’t very filling, though he figured it was good for now. It would be fine to satisfy him for the moment.

He also was itching to leave, though. This was part of preparations to do so–get as much food as he could, then figure out how to charge the GUP B, bring some other stuff, and leave. Surely, it was a good idea. He’d be able to live out his pirate dreams once more! (He ignored the thoughts at the back of his head thinking about how much he’d miss his crew and how he still loved being an Octonaut and-) and he continued to gather things. He wasn’t going to leave all that soon, (and totally not because he was waiting, still, because he was hoping so badly that the others would come back for him-) likely in a week or so. Or at least he’d start building a raft of some sorts in a week. He was really just wandering this island, and he only managed to find some more nuts which he just ate immediately. The place was barren of actual… food. He might have to go back to seaweed, and he almost barfed at the thought.

…though he supposed if he cooked it, it likely wouldn’t be so horrible. He wasn’t the best chef, but he knew how to make a fire and he was sure he could figure out making seaweed all crunchy and nice, like how that seaweed bar was or the seaweed chips were! He raced back to the cave, grabbing his lighter and his makeshift shovel he’d made prior. Walking over, he used the shovel to dig a hole in the sand, gathered some rocks to put around it. He took the coconut off the stick and scooped up some water, just in case. Getting some kindling, (dried grass and twigs, mainly) he threw it into his makeshift fire pit. Grabbing a few bigger steps and using the ti-pi method, he (albeit badly) made his starter. He also found three other sticks–two Y shaped ones to stick in the ground, and one more to put over. It took a minute, but he yoinked some seaweed (and washed it to make sure there wasn’t any sand) and then he lit his fire with the flick of the lighter. The fire crackled, and Kwazii grinned in accomplishment. Sure, it was kinda hard to screw this up, given the lighter, but he was still proud of himself! Lying the seaweed over the stick on the fire, he watched it crispin and cook. It actually smelled decent.

Eventually, after a little bit of waiting, he figured it was good enough. He touched a piece, and immediately slinked away- “YEOW!” Obviously, it burnt him. Most things that are hot do, after all. He dumped the coconut water on the fire, and then when that didn’t entirely put it out, he scooped some sand onto it. It was gone within a flash after that. He waited, impatiently so, (tapping his thighs, pacing around, doing a few backflips, stretching, humming a tune, ect.) and he eventually waited long enough to eat the seaweed.

It was crunchy, which was what he wanted, but still tasted off. Certainly not like that bar or usual seaweed snacks, at least. Still, it worked. He ate a few pieces, then he was done with a surprisingly hefty amount of leftovers. He washed out the coconut, and put the remaining crunch-ified seaweed into the coconut, and the lighter back into his pocket. He looked up at the sky. The sun was already setting, and he walked back to his cave (he was thinking of it as ‘his’ cave now, given how nobody else had claimed it, to his knowledge) and ducked under the shelter of the rocky hole. He swung out his claw, and made another tally on his GUP. He wondered how many he’d end up making.

***

Tweak leaned against the wall, crunching a carrot. The Captain was talking about searching for Kwazii some more. Of course, she was worried, but at the back of her mind, she wondered if Kwazii wanted to leave? Kwazii always seemed like he was holding something back, like he was hiding something. What was he hiding? Tweak didn’t know. She knew one of his deepest secrets, being that he was trans, (even if he didn’t know that–it was a complicated situation) though he didn’t seem to care all that much about hiding that. And, she could only assume, his whole pirate past thing. He didn’t seem to like talking about it besides those stupid monster stories, and that didn’t really give much info.

Maybe someone had found out something horrible he’d done and he’d ran off out of fear? It didn’t sound like him, (nor did Tweak think he was the type to do something that bad) but she supposed it was an unlikely possibility. He also could’ve just wrecked the GUP B and was stranded somewhere–that was the more likely possibility. He was pretty good at driving when he wasn’t been all bonkers, though Tweak had seen how excited he was to get in that GUP. He was just a little too excitable, and boom, ended up stranded on an island or something (or at least Tweak hoped it was an island, and not the bottom of the damn sea). The Captain then said something that perked her interest. “Since we haven’t found Kwazii for um.. Almost five whole days now, everyone is required to go out and search, besides Inkling and the Vegimals.” He looked to Tweak. “Can you prepare the GUPS, Tweak?” he asked, and she nodded, tossing the green bits of her carrot into her mouth. “Sure thing, Cap. Faster than you can say buncha munchy crunchy carrots–I just needa know which ones, is all.”

The Captain cleared his throat. “I’ll be taking the GUP C,” he then looked to Peso. “I-I’ll go in the GUP E, Captain,” he said. Dashi spoke up, then. “Me and Shellington will go in the GUP A.” she said. Tweak nodded. “I’ll take the GUP D, then.” she launched herself down the Octo-chute, and re-entered into the launch bay. She got the GUPS prepared quickly, and of course the Captain and Peso were first down. Dashi and Shellington followed soon after, along with Tunip. Tweak left herself in the GUP D a little after those three exited.

All of the other team members had established where they were going, so Tweak went in a direction nobody was. And, nobody had gone that way yet, either. As she cruised through the salty sea, she caught a glimpse of something orange near the bottom. She quickly stopped the GUP D, and jumped out. She swam down to the ocean floor, looked around. “Nothin…” she muttered to herself, sighing. Part of her was glad that wasn’t Kwazii, though. Because if he had been stuck there that entire time… his air would’ve ran out long ago. Tweak hopped back in the yellow, crab-like GUP, and decided to move a couple bigger rocks with its ‘arms’, just for good measure. Once again, there was nothing, so she decided to keep going forward. The water was empty besides a few fish hybrids swimming by–just nothing. She decided to take a little snack break, driving the GUP D up to the surface of the water and retracting the glass shield. She leaned back, ran her hand through her hair. Yoinking a carrot, she took a bite and looked out over the horizon. She saw nothing but water stretching on for miles–as far as she could tell, at least. Taking a bit out of her carrot again and tossing the greens in too, as she chewed she got a little sad. Where the hell was Kwazii?

Sure, he was reckless and stupid, but they should’ve found him by now, right? A thought crossed her mind, what if he’s buried underneath the rubble and y’all are too lat- but she shook that away. That was absolutely NOT the way to think at the moment–she knew she had to keep up hope. For the crew, too. She mumbled, “Kwazii, wherever y’ are…” and she leaned back. “Just… get back ‘ere. Give a sign, or somethin.” just as she said that, she saw a spurt of water. Raising a brow, she wondered. She wasn’t really religious or superstitious, though….maybe that wish had come true? She quickly resealed the GUP D, and dove back under the water.

She gasped–a giant whale hybrid. She didn’t know the type, (Shellington certainly would, but Tweak did not) though she throttled full speed ahead. Luckily, the whale didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry, as she swam pretty slowly. Tweak stopped right in front of the whale, turning on the microphone. “Heya there–” she said into the mic, and the whale slowed. She tilted her head to the side. “Hello, there,” she replied. Tweak looked at the whale–very gorgeous. She had barnacles on her back, short flowy hair, and was a dark grey-blue ish color with a light ombre near her torso. “What do you need, small one?” she asked. Tweak gulped, pressing the microphone button again. “I uh, was just wonderin’, have you seen…a orange GUP?” she asked. The whale looked confused. “GUP?’ she asked. Tweak blinked. “Sorry, submarine. Looks like a shark.”

“Ah, that sounds more … familiar. Yes, I saw a small orange creature almost crash into me.” she said. Tweak blinked. “D-did he- uh, crash on the bottom?” she asked. The whale shook her massive head. “I don’t believe so. It went up and I did not see it come back down.” she said. Tweak furrowed her brow. “... did he go up in this area?” she asked, and the whale woman shook her head once more. “He did not. It was..” she pointed with her giant flipper-arm. “Somewhere in that direction, I believe. I think there was a island nearby.” she said, and Tweak grinned. Kwazii was hopefully on that island, and hopefully fine. “Thank ya!” she said, and the whale just nodded. Tweak pressed the radio button. “Tweak t’ Captain Barnacles, Tweak t’ Cap.” she said, noticing the whale swimming away. The Captain came through quickly. “Barnacles here, what is it Tweak?” he asked. She smiled as she spoke, “I might have an idea of where Kwazii could be, Cap.” she said. “Can you send me the coordinates, Tweak?” he asked. “Yup, in a minute.” she responded. “Good work, Tweak. Ending transmission,” and the Captain cut off the connection. Tweak pressed on the map in the GUP, and she zoomed out. An island was just a little ways away, so she pressed on it and sent it out to everyone. She just hoped Kwazii was actually there.

***

Kwazii had laid down on the sandy sea shore, (tongue twister moment) looking at the sky. There wasn’t much else to do. He had food and water. He was just tired. And the Sun was as nice and warm as ever, and the sand wasn’t too hot on his skin. He’d taken off his boots at this point. He just closed his eyes, wondering if the Octonauts were searching for him. Because surely they would’ve found him by now, right? He sighed.

He was getting hungry. He slipped back on his Octo-boots and walked back to his cave, grabbing some of the dried seaweed and dropping it in his mouth. He still had a lot left–he’d made an unholy amount the night before out of pure boredom, so he had food for a while. Even if it was kinda gross. He looked at the GUP B, and since he figured that the Octonauts probably weren’t coming for him at this point, he’d make another tally. Grating his claw on the metal, the fifth tally was added. Honestly, it made the GUP B look pretty damn cool. And, now, he realized he should start coming up with ways to leave.

He’d been waiting long enough. He knew how to make a simple raft, though he knew that likely wouldn’t hold the GUP B’S weight. He still wanted to take that with him–he couldn’t just abandon her! It’d be rude at the best. He remembered an old pirate tale;

The Tale of the Shocking Serpent.

It was one of his few memories from before the Blackclaw pirates. His grandfather, Calico Jack, had told him it at least two decades before. He must’ve been five or six, maybe seven? Though, Kwazii honestly wasn’t entirely sure of his own age. Either way, he remembered the memory decently well.

“Grandad, one more story, please Grandad!” a young Kwazii had begged. “Alright, alright. Calm down, matey,” Calico Jack had said, chuckling. “Hm,” he put a hand to his chin. “What about I tell you the tale of the Shocking Serpent?” he asked. A little Kwazii practically jumped out of “her” bed. “Yes, yes!” Kwazii had agreed, excited. “A long time ago,” Calico had started. “When I was just startin’ on me pirate journey,” he continued, “I made a rest stop at a coast. In South America, I believe. When me an’ Pete were strollin’ around,” (the Pete in question was currently maintaining the ship–he was a parrot-hybrid, though they were sometimes just called avians) “I found a murky stream. I beheld the knowledge of cleaning water, of course, so I decided t’ get some of it.” Kwazii was leaning forward, listening intently to this story.

“Just then, when I be collecting water in me container, a giant, slimy, snake burst out of th’ water, hissing! She be huge!” Kwazii gasped. “I be backin’ away, and yet she still hissed, and suddenly, she stirred up some electricity, somehow, and shocked me right out of me boots!” he said, and Kwazii was –ironically enough–shocked.

The Shocking Serpent. He wasn’t really sure where he was, but he figured that he was probably at least near or in South America. So, if he found a murky enough pond–not like the beautifully clear one he’d found before–he might be able to harness the beast’s power, somehow. It was a possibility. So, taking some seaweed and stuffing it in his pockets, he started his search. If he couldn’t find it, then he’d have to come up with something else, but he was determined to find the beast. Deciding to head in the opposite direction of the crystal-clear pool, he sauntered his way to finding a murky enough body of water that the slimy thing could be hiding in.

So, he walked out of the cave, and began the search.

***

It didn’t take long for Tweak to arrive at the island. It was further then she thought it would be, though it certainly existed–and was bigger than what she was hoping. She scoped around the water of the island, first, just in case if he didn’t land on the island, and she didn’t find anything. So, deciding to go up on the shore, she went into “crab mode”, releasing the GUP D’S ‘legs’ and ‘arms’. She walked around in it clunkily along the shore. She didn’t see the pirate cat, but she did see something that was interesting, so she hopped out of the yellow submarine. Looking closer, she realized–it was a fire pit. A cooking place, even. Tweak knew Kwazii was definitely on his own for a while, so it certainly wasn’t entirely bonkers for him to know how to make one of those. She inspected the stick that would’ve been roasting something over the fire, holding it up to her face. Licking it, she realized–it tasted like…sea salt. Seaweed, even. She put the stick back in its place. She knew the others were coming, but she didn’t see them yet. They were on opposite sides of the radius, though, so she figured it might take them a bit.

Deciding to look around a little more, her eyes widened in happiness. Foot prints. And ones that looked like they were made by the standard Octo-boots all of them wore. The boots were pretty smooth at the bottom, so they didn’t leave a design in the sand. There wasn’t any semblance of a design, so she was almost completely sure—Kwazii was here, or had been here. The main thing she was concerned about, though, was that she didn’t see the GUP B anywhere. No trace of it. Sighing, she decided to follow the footprints. They must’ve been pretty recent, she reasoned. Otherwise they’d likely be swept away by the wind by now. Following them, she only got to the beginning of the forest area–the footprints were obscured by grass and plants. She walked back to the GUP D, jumped in, and went back over to the footprints. The GUP D trotted on through the forest, and Tweak searched for any semblance of her friend and crewmate. She sighed. Nothing. Then she remembered–the GUP B had to be near by. Activating the GUP tracker, she grinned. Bingo. Drove the GUP D on over there and she came across a cave. She assumed it was a shallow one, so she hopped out of the GUP D, flashlight in hand.

She flicked it on, walking inside and looking around. A grin crept onto her face—the GUP B! But, alas, no Kwazii in sight. She jumped back into the GUP D, activating the radio. “Tweak to Captain Barnacles,” she said, and was almost immediately met with the Captain’s voice. “Captain Barnacles here–we’re cruising to your location.” “I’ve got good ‘n bad news, Cap’n,” Tweak said, munching on a carrot.

“What is it?” he inquired. “Good news, I found th’ GUP B, and it seems to be in… okay condition. A little scratched up and the front is a bit banged up, but other than that it’s decent.” she replied, leaning back and taking another bite. “That’s wonderful news, Tweak! What’s the bad news?” he asked. “No Kwazii in sight. I’ll look around a little more over here, but I haven’t even caught a glimpse.” she said. She could hear the frown in the Captain's voice. “That’s unfortunate. But there’s no sign he left the island, right?” he asked. “None. Actually, I found a firepit–that was pretty recently cooked on.” “That’s fantastic, Tweak,” the Captain exclaimed, “I’ll be there shortly.” he said, and Tweak clicked her tongue, “Right on, Cap,” she tightened her headband-goggles a little. “Over and out!” and she pressed the end radio transmission button. Deciding to search around the cave a little more, she hopped back out of the GUP D, and she wandered into the cave. Squeezing her eyes shut,she let her bnnuny ears come out and pressed one against the cold metal of the GUP B. Balling up her fist, she knocked against the orange submarine. Sounded the same as usual. Bending down, she ran her fingers over the surface–and was surprised to feel some tally marks engraved in the metal. Five marks. She groaned. “Seriously? That’ll be an annoyin’ fix..” she grumbled. She circled back around, and there was only a bump and a dent near the back, and the front was a little more banged up. Surprisingly, it wasn’t anything too bad though. She looked inside, opening up the panel. Her face scrunched up a little, and she took something out. Dried seaweed.

She took a cautionary bite. Wasn’t the best, but it was alright. She put it back immediately. The seaweed chips were a lot better, to say the very least. She took a few more cursory glances around, and Kwazii was nowhere in sight. She sighed, and decided to head back to the beach and wait for the Captain–he’d come up with some sort of brilliant plan, she was sure of it. So, she hopped back into the GUP D, and sauntered her way back to the shore, where the GUP C emerged, and the Captain jumped out. “Tweak,” “Cap,” “Any sign of him?” he asked.

Tweak pointed behind her with her thumb. “The GUP B’s dragged into a cave back there. No idea where Kwaz went, though,” she said. The Captain only nodded. “I see.” another GUP, the GUP E with Peso inside, surfaced. He hopped out. Barnacles faced him and then Tweak. “Tweak, do you think the GUP C’s towline can reach the GUP B?” he asked, and Tweak put a finger to her chin, thumping her foot in thought. “I think so. I’ll give it a shot,” she said, and the Captain nodded. “Excellent.” he faced towards Peso. “Peso, you and me, and when Dashi and Shellington get here–will search for Kwazii all separately. Knowing him…” he sighed. “We should try to find him fast, is what I’m saying.” Both Tweak and Peso sharply nodded. Tweak walked over to the GUP C, grasping onto the towline and securing it in her grip. Peso and the Captain had already headed off into the underbrush. She yanked, and dragged it with her all the way to the GUP B’s resting place–it was just barely long enough to reach the orange submarine. She hooked it on the ‘tail’ of the GUP B, and ran back to the GUP C, and began retracting the tow line–usually this would be a job for two, but currently the others had to work on finding Kwazii. Which, Tweak would resume to, once she did this. She heard the sloshing of water, and glanced over. The GUP A, with Shellington and Dashi inside. They both hopped out, Shellington stumbling a bit as he did. “Hiya Dashi,” Tweak said, waving, “Hi Shellington,” and the both of them waved back at her. “What are you doing, Tweak?” Dashi asked, polite as ever. “Just haulin’ the GUP B back in. It’s in a cave.” she said, and Dashi looked a little surprised. “I’ll help with that.” Tweak lit up. “Thanks, Dashi.” Shellington stood awkwardly, before speaking up. “I’ll just uh- I’ll just go search in the forest,” he said, waving and walking away. Dashi hopped in the GUP C. “I’ll control from here, and you tell me what’s going on where the GUP B actually is,” she said, and Tweak nodded, jumping out. She sauntered over to the GUP B, and hit her radio button. “Tweak t’ Dashi,” she said. “Dashi here. Should I start retracting the tow line?” she asked, and Tweak made a little nod. “Yup.” the towline started retracting, pulling the GUP B back, albeit somewhat slowly. The grating of the GUP B’s metal against the rocky floor of the cave made Tweak cringe. A little bit of pulling, Tweak told Dashi to stop, she repositioned, pulled once more, rinse, repeat. A very simple cycle, that after a little bit, managed to get the GUP B back on the sandy shore. Dashi hopped out of the GUP C. She and Tweak high fived. “Well, on with the search now, yeah?” Tweak said, and Dashi nodded. “Yes, I’ll see you in a little,” Dashi said. Both Tweak and Dashi wandered into the forest in different directions–which Tweak was a little disappointed by. She enjoyed spending time with Dashi, but oh well. She supposed that could wait for later–they had a ginger cat to find. She, in the GUP D of course, searched through the forest, clearing the branches obstructing her view. Eventually, after a little bit of scrounging around, she came across a murky stream. Deciding to head up it, she saw something familiarly orange. Turning on the microphone, she spoke, “Kwazii?” she asked. Suddenly, it turned towards her–the cat she’d known for a while now.

“Tweak, matey!” he cried, and Tweak un-encased the glass on the GUP D. “Kwaz, hey! Glad yer alright!” she said, and Kwazii immediately jumped up on top of the GUP D, sitting on it. “Be careful,” she warned, and he grinned. “I always be careful, me heartie,” he said, proudly displaying his canines. Tweak playfully rolled her eyes, clicking the radio button on the GUP D. “Tweak to Octonauts,” she said into the intercom, “Barnacles to Tweak. What is it?”

“Guess who I just found,” she said.

***

Of course, everyone was grateful that Tweak’d found Kwazii. Tweak also ended up not removing the tally marks on the GUP B, with Kwazii’s insistence. It would’ve been annoying, so that ended up being a good thing for her anyways. Kwazii didn’t seem like, permanently traumatized from the whole thing, which was also pretty good.

Kwazii had been overjoyed when eating actual food again for the first time–and even more overjoyed with the seaweed chips instead of the horrid dried seaweed he’d had to endure eating on that wretched deserted island.

#octonauts #octonauts kwazii #octonauts peso #captain barnacles #octonauts dashi #octonauts tweak #octonauts barnacles #fanfic #fanfiction #octonauts fanart #art #yes this is literally just a 10k word explanation for the tally marks on the GUP B #first chapter that isnt on ao3! woo!!#sorry this took so damn long LMAO #also im making a carrd for this fic! so yeah #next chapter shouldnt take nearly as long #honestly might release on christmas just as a little 'gift'

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