SHATTERED IN SECONDS
"It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've made, and there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to."
- Kazuo Ishiguro
CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE SELMA CONTINUES TO THREATEN BAJA CALIFORNIA AND CALIFORNIA COASTS WITH HIGH STORM SURGE…
On the surface, this storm didn’t seem like a big threat. You’d just have to stay close to shore, so as to not get swept away.
Easy, wasn’t it?
Well yes, but we’re not talking about the surface.
We’re talking about the OCTOPOD. What else would it have been?
Oh right. There was also outside the Octopod. The sea.
A few hours had passed now. The winds were starting to pick up now, as Selma’s outer bands rolled in.
From the HQ, Kwazii kept watching as day gradually turned to night. To him, it looked fantastic. The darkening of the sea’s colors, while painting everything into dullness, was still majestic in a way.
"Avast, if Dashi wasn’t sleeping this out, she’d get some fantastic shots." The cat smiled at Shellington, whipping out his pathetically old BlackBerry Bold 9900. "But at least I’ve gotten this old thing from who knows where!"
Only recently had the sea otter noticed Kwazii’s liking for 2000s technology like this. The other day, when he walked into the cat’s room, he noticed a PlayStation 2 on his dresser.
It was an interesting quirk. Maybe the term "piracy", as in downloading episodes of Velma from a sketchy website full of steamed hams in your area brought Kwazii back to his pirate days. And from there he discovered how cool the 2000s really were.
He was a little confused, but he got the spirit. So, yay for him.
"Shellington? Kwazii? If I were y’all, I’d get away from the windows. Y’know it’s only gonna get worse." Tweak spoke up from behind them. "There’s gotta be some debris coming from somewhere… Rocks and the like!"
"Nyaw, it’s not like it’s gotten anywhere yet! We’ve got time!" The cat laughed it off. "After all, we just gotta wait!"
The bunny facepalmed. She knew he couldn’t risk it forever. Especially not in the wake of a hurricane. A CATEGORY 5 hurricane.
But, of course, Kwazii couldn’t listen. And neither could Shellington. They were just too… disconnected, if anything.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Barnacles made an announcement.
"Octonauts, I advise that all of you stay inside the main area of the Octopod for the rest of tonight. Remember that we are going through an extremely violent hurricane, and it’s moving fast. Should anything happen, we should stick together."
Kwazii stopped smiling.
Shellington stopped smiling, too.
The true scale of what was yet to come, finally came into full view. And it was not good at all.
"Jumping jellyfish. I almost forgot… again." The sea otter was now wide awake, which was rare to see as he tended to be a sleepyhead. But now here he was, in horrific realization.
And not just that, but he knew Dashi was deep asleep in her room. Yet, he couldn’t speak up. Not yet.
Barnacles didn’t know either.
But Kwazii did.
"Captain, I think we’re missing someone… HEY! Any of ye seen-"
And just when you thought things were shit, they were about to become the diarrhea you got after eating one too many breadsticks from the school cafeteria.
The Octopod slowly rumbled, as Selma’s winds picked up once again. For a few seconds, it calmly get steadily rocked back and fourth. Again and again.
"…jumping jellyfish. I gotta go." Shellington rushed to his lab. Kwazii went down his trail, deep into his refuge.
~~~~
Shellington walked around his lab, and he was starting to panic.
"What do we do? What do we do? What… do we do? The Octopod is shaking, the hurricane is already here, and Dashi isn’t in the main area." He kept talking to himself, before bumping into Kwazii.
"C’mon, now! I clearly helped Captain anchor the Octopod! We can’t be that plundered!" He tried to comfort the sea otter. But it wasn’t any use.
"Kwazii, you and I need to get to the launch bay RIGHT NOW. I might have an idea of why things aren’t going well."
A few minutes later, the two had snuck past Tweak, and were tethered to the Octopod by an old iPhone charging cable. Selma kept throwing the currents around and around, and it was becoming increasingly hard to swim.
Fortunately, Kwazii easily noticed what was wrong with the Octopod.
"Nothing?!"
"Fascinating! There’s no marks at all!"
The two shook their heads. Clearly something was playing with them. A sea creature? Most likely. But that couldn’t be. Not in a hurricane!
"…avast! Your free antivirus, this isn’t right!" The cat and otter swam back inside, in panic. The cause was obvious, but the anchor had been set about 3 hours ago! And during that time, clearly many fish were finding shelter…
The anchor simply came loose. Which it had never done before.
It was a sign.
A sign that their time was almost up.
"Kwazii?! Shellington?! What were you two doin’ out there?!" Tweak immediately noticed them, dripping water. "Y'all could’ve gotten real hurt!"
"That’s for Peso to figure out. Me and Kwazii had to find out why the Octopod was shaking. And there’s no marks on the anchor… Meaning that what’s merely happening is that…" Shellington stopped, and immediately turned to Kwazii. "It’s loose."
He went went empty for a moment. "But Shellington, I didn’t do it! I was just guiding the captain and…"
The otter tightly hugged him, shaking his head. "I never said you did it. You were only trying to help… What I’m saying is… Your captain is at fault."
Tweak gasped. "Oh me, oh my, oh WHAT THE HECK?! So… Cap failed to anchor the Octopod deep enough? You’re tellin’ me he left us for dead?!"
"I mean… I DON’T KNOW!" Shellington screamed. "I might just be losing my mind! What I’m more concerned is… how much time do we have left until the anchor is loose enough to completely free the Octopod from the ground?"
The bunny just looked at the otter, horrified as he was. And the answer? Just as obvious.
"Faster than you can say 'WE'RE FUCKED FOR REAL!' WE HAVE TO GET HIS ATTENTION!" Tweak ran upstairs in a panic, something she had never really done before, until now.
By sheer coincidence, she crashed head-on into Barnacles, and it hurt like hell. But her fears numbed out her pain, as she fell back down the stairs. The captain ran for her, trying to catch.
In the end, it ended up in a two-Octonaut stampede. Two likely injuries. But those didn’t matter, when Tweak knew she was about to die in absolute panic from potential disaster.
She wished she didn’t have to say the same about the others. And while she was disappointed in Barnacles, she was just as sorry for him. To know you were in extreme danger during a hurricane, was to be a nightmare. And that? The bunny understood.
It was his fault, and at the same time, it wasn’t.
"Cap…! I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry… I should’ve been more careful…" Tweak was tearing up. "I just wanted to tell you the bad news… before it’s too late…" she covered her eyes in regret.
"Bad news? Then there’s not a time to waste. Tell me."
Tweak wanted to throw up. The whole thought of this was getting to her HARD. But she had to say something.
"The anchor is loose. It’s not functioning as it should. Cap, you know what this means? You know what this FUCKING MEANS?!" Tweak angrily grabbed the captain by the ears.
"Tweak, let go- Wait… the anchor? Loose? Not functioning as it should? You’re telling me…"
Shellington and Kwazii were gone, and Barnacles only caught sight of Tweak’s leg, as she ran upstairs.
That was the code to make a run for it.
~~~~
Barnacles ran as fast as he could to the HQ, and almost IMMEDIATELY did he SMASH his fist into the Octo-Alert. So hard, that it became louder and higher-pitched than before… and there was no way anyone could ignore.
"OCTONAUTS, TO THE HQ, RIGHT NOW! THIS IS A LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATION, AND I NEED ALL OF US TO ACT FAST FOR OUR SURVIVAL! WASTE NO TIME OR WE WILL MOST-CERTAINLY DIE."
That was the scariest announcement Barnacles would ever say. And sadder, was that it could be his last.
Almost immediately, Peso ran through the HQ. But he didn’t stop. In fact, he was running for downstairs. He was looking for some certain patients.
"Flappity flippers! They can’t be gone like that! They have to be somewhere!" He was the most anxious he’d have been since 2010, and had his headphones on full volume. He couldn’t hear his own screams either, because all he could hear was Jvne’s hardest album ever. Its title, he screamed to himself.
"STARVING SLVTS… ALWAYS GET THEIR FIX!"
Sorry, what’s that?
Vicki? What about… Oh.
What, have we forgotten Inkling?
"No… I haven’t…" he sighed, looking at Tunip. The Vegimals had all rushed for his library, looking for Shellington as usual. "I would advise you stay with me… Oh, my, The Octo-Alarm is going off and I don’t like the sound of it…!"
He rolled up in his chair, confused about the sound. It never sounded this urgent, but now? It was nightmare fuel.
~~~~
Shellington had never cried so hard before, and now he kept raging in his laboratory, and all that Kwazii could do was watch.
"LOOK AT THIS! I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING! SOMETHING TO SAVE US ALL! AND YET? I DIDN’T, KWAZII! I DIDN’T!!!" He kept shouting, clutching his face in front of the cat.
"I FAILED YOU! I… FAILED YOU!"
Kwazii was trying to get him to stop crying, but it wasn’t any use. The only thing in life Kwazii feared was spiders, and now Shellington bawling his eyes out.
Not that he hatefully feared it. If anything, it was something he wished to never witness. The otter he spent so much time with. Inches away from heart failure, if anything.
"Nyaw… Who am I to leave him here?… I have to go to the HQ… But Shellington is screaming, and crying… Avast, I can’t go up there. I have to do something!"
The ex-pirate looked at the scientific otter, and knew that, with all that was happening, comfort him.
But this was impossible. With Barnacles’ making these announcements over the Octo-Alarm, his warm hugs were nothing.
"JUST MINUTES AGO, I WAS MADE AWARE OF GRIM NEWS. THE ANCHOR HAS FAILED TO CHAIN THE OCTOPOD, AND IS YET TO COME OFF AT ANY MOMENT. THE OCTOPOD IS STARTING TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY, AND HAS A VERY HIGH CHANCE TO CRASH WITH A VIOLENT IMPACT. WITH THAT, WE CAN ONLY DO ONE THING FOR AN ATTEMPT OF SURVIVAL."
Kwazii could feel himself going more and more deaf, as the screams of Barnacles and Shellington echoed around him, exceeding what he felt was over 175 decibels. Enough to kill him… if this crash didn’t.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Barnacles shouted so loudly, like he was angry at everyone. Like an actual polar bear…
Kwazii had enough of him. All he wanted to do was just hug Shellington. If this was gonna keep on going, the last thing he’d do… was rebel. And so, he did.
"Captain…. SHUT UP!" He shouted back, possibly rupturing a lung. But those didn’t matter anymore. "GET OFF MY BACK AND YE BUZZ RIGHT OFF, UNDERSTOOD?!"
Not that he heard that. But the cat wanted to scream at him.
The cat tightly hugged the otter, trying to talk to him. To know he was not alone. To know he was NEVER alone. He dragged him into his bed, head on the front end.
Kwazii’s idea was to seek shelter inside here. To stay upstairs was too dangerous. And he knew others were likely listening to Barnacles.
If anything, he was hoping Dashi was still asleep.
~~~~
"Listen to me.. Inkling.. I can’t find them anywhere. They’re missing, and I can’t be bothered anymore…" Peso cried in a raspy voice. "I bet you are just as hurt as I am, but please… Save the Vegimals. Get them out of here… and save yourself."
The squid smiled at the penguin, noticing how pale his eyes were. "Goodness me, you look very ill yourself… I promise I’ll look after them."
Peso felt as if he could collapse at any moment, but he still managed to shake his flipper with Inkling. "I’m sorry… I didn’t act faster… I'm gonna miss you…"
"Good luck out there," Inkling nodded. "You're in for one wild ride." Suddenly, the Octopod violently shook, throwing Peso to the ceiling and knocking him out instantly, but not killing him, thankfully. The impact had also caused many books to fly around, some crashing into the window, which left it cracked.
"My books! Peso! Just… what a tragedy! We HAVE to evacuate… Tunip, are you ready?" He looked at the broken window, knowing it was a perfect escape.
"Cheepa… wala… Shellybo." The Vegimal looked back from the door, knowing that otter was still in there.
"…I promise we'll find him once the sand settles. I guarantee that everything has a chance." Inkling held him by one tentacle, and watched as the glass, stressed by the harsh movements of the Octopod, as it continued to glide through the sea’s insane currents, cracked one more time.
And like that, it shattered into thousands of pieces, all which made way for GALLONS upon GALLONS of sea water.
Inkling took one final look at Peso's body, knowing there was no time left. He had to go, go, go.
The other Vegimals followed him, as he charged towards the escape, knowing he was leaving behind everything. Him, Inkling, being the founder… now leaving it all as it went to waste.
At first, the Octonauts were merely a collection of simulations that Inkling had worked on with two humans in LA and Vancouver. Michael and Vicki. To each one another, it didn’t feel like a whole lot, but it was the greatest thing they’d have ever done. None of them knew the impact those simulations from 2006 had. At the time, it was all just for fun.
They decided to cherish it with the other stuff they’d have been doing at the time. All under the studio’s name.
Meomi. A little creative studio dedicated to play, delight and good-liness.
That was how it started.
And now, it was a whole new world that he had made with those two humans. None of them really knew how big this whole thing would become, until it became clear, that it was more than that little… creative… studio.
2010. The Octonauts were real.
And now, they weren’t.
As the squid swam out, hauling the Vegimals, he knew what was going to be left from this.
A lost legacy, eternal regret, and an angry call at 4AM from Vicki.
All because of a broken anchor.
It continued to shred away in the currents. Panel by panel, piece by piece.
The Octopod was slowly falling apart.
But at least Barnacles stopped shouting. At least not on the intercom.
"…S-Shellington?" Kwazii whispered to the otter, both trapped inside his folded-up bed. "Are ye okay now?"
Sea otter couldn’t see for a moment, but then realized what had happened. "Kwazii, is that you? Hi. Why are the lights turned off?"
"Just wanted to help you sleep. I know you’re awake now, so I figured we’d… talk."
Neither really knew what they were referring to. They were just in this… coffin, unaware of their impending doom.
"…Of course. I should have thought about that. What’s on your mind, Kwazii?" Shellington awkwardly giggled. "You seem pretty bored."
For a moment, the cat was thinking. Now, when you’re inside a folded up (Michael) Murphy bed, you think you’re in danger. But not here. If anything, the two were simply enjoying each other’s company.
"Well… I do wanna confess something." Kwazii giggled back. "Ye approve~?"
Shellington let out an "mhmm", which made the cat blush a little.
"Good, matey. Now, I’m pretty sure ye know that we’ve been spending more time than usual lately. And honestly, I myself don’t really know why… But, Shellington, the thing is… and I’m being more genuine than a PlayStation 5 from a shady arcade, and I’ve wanted to say this for months now…
"Go on," said Shellington. "What's up?" He was becoming more intrigued, and Kwazii knew it was truly time to tell him.
"I always did love you. For REAL."
Shellington blushed heavily from those 5 words. With all the time he had spend with the cat, he knew he felt the same way. He went for it as well, smiling bright.
"…I love you too, Kwazii."
But right after that, came a massive…
BANG!
…and everything went darker than ever.
Dashi was still asleep.
Tweak ducked in the launch bay.
Peso, unconscious, was thrown out of the window.
Shellington was hiding in his bed.
Kwazii was with him.
But none of those sounded as terrifying as what Captain Barnacles Bear suffered through.
He was still in the HQ. Where all the glass was.
The Octopod fell flat on its front.
All the glass was smashed, and shards of it were sent flying towards him at an insanely fast speed. And all that Barnacles could do was block his face.
But now, it was too late.
Too late to cry.
Too late to brace.
Too late to scream.
Everything, even hopes and dreams, was shattered in seconds.
16 notes
·
View notes
CALM BEFORE THE STORM
When Captain Barnacles first woke up on October 4, 2023, the last thing he expected was a hurricane on the radar.
Of course, this was not the first time for him. He’d have been through many, as did the rest of his team. In fact, it had been only a year and a month since Hurricane Iris, the biggest one he’d have been in since this whole Octonauts thing began.
"That was a low-end Category 4, captain." Peso sighed a little. "This storm looks even worse, and we’ve only got tonight to finish preparations!"
Barnacles nodded rapidly. He’d have been looking at this storm for a while now. In fact, it was all that had been on his mind. In fact, Peso had noted how Barnacles would keep vocalizing the storm’s name—Selma—in his sleep.
Poor Barnacles only got a few hours of sleep last night trying to find a good area to stop in. And he still wasn’t there yet.
Those two weren’t the only ones preparing for this hurricane. Tweak had been doing routine inspections on the Gups, in the event that they could be needed for evacuation, or if they were damaged, and Dashi was insanely busy checking satellite imagery of Selma, which was not looking very good. If anything, the eye of the storm was just looking back. At least, that’s how it felt. Eerie, it was. And it was coming towards her, and the other Octonauts.
~~~~
However, Shellington and Kwazii were not as bothered. If anything, the latter was confident that this wouldn’t be a migraine for anyone. Maybe too confident, but Kwazii knew the Octopod super well, and he knew what to do if things went rotten.
As the seas grew darker and darker, the cat sat in the otter’s laboratory, looking at The Weather Channel on his BlackBerry Bold 9900. He seemed a bit mesmerized. When Iris struck, this was much more sudden. But now, here was Selma.
"Jumping jellyfish… it’s not looking good out there, is it?" Shellington looked at him, curious as he was. "I’ll have to close all this in a moment… Dashi’s told me all about how strong this storm really is and the captain’s going to be sick."
Kwazii didn’t respond. He kept sitting there with a smile on his face. Again, he wasn’t too bothered.
"I oughta head out and check if we’re anchored. Can’t go without a double check… maybe a triple check!" The cat looked back, blinking slowly. "Up to join?”
Shellington went quiet for a second, tilting his head a bit. A little sorrow in his eyes, too. A look that said yes, but also no.
"I have work to do, but thank you…"
Those words made Kwazii’s ears droop a little. But the otter had a point. This could be an awful storm for real. They knew this was no laughing matter.
Like that, the two walked out of the lab, off to get their things done. The sea was getting dark much earlier than normal, and that meant one thing and one thing only: Selma was closing in.
"Of course. We’re running out of time." The otter groaned.
~~~~
While Shellington and Dashi were busy getting data on the hurricane, Kwazii was below the Octopod. Staying in communication with Barnacles, he kept scanning the seabed for any debris. They both knew they were getting somewhere safe, but they’d have to act fast.
"Last time we were here, there were definitely less rocks… WAY LESS THAN what my grandad had to dodge, back in HIS pirate days, ya-har! Ye know that? It was wild!" Kwazii laughed, followed by a gasp. "Avast! We’ve got a clearing nearby. Captain, check you maps! We’re headed for our spot!"
Just as he was about to do so, Barnacles was interrupted by Dashi tapping his shoulder. She looked like she had never seen anything, quite so horrible, in all her life.
And yes, that’s a Michael Rosen reference.
"We’ve got a Category 5 behind us." She huskily groaned, looking at the screen. "Found a safe space?"
"You bet I did!" Kwazii showed up on the screen above, waving to her and Barnacles.
"Righty, captain… WEIGH ANCHOR!"
~~~~
Shellington just stood in the back of the HQ, watching this unfold. As the anchor dropped, he looked down and sighed. Remembering that he was in the path of a hurricane, stronger than ever.
And not just him, but the rest of the Octonauts. In the Octopod. Nowhere to swim. Nowhere to hide. Just wait out the storm.
Ever since Hurricane Iris, Shellington knew something like it was bound to happen again. After all, he was working a LOT underwater.
And now here he was. Standing behind the satellite imagery of Selma. Hoping she would weaken a little before hitting the Octopod.
The thoughts were combating. Whether things would go well or not, was something Shellington couldn’t figure out. Either way, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Between those thoughts, thoughts of the Vegimals, and of Kwazii, the sea otter was deep in thought. Like, seriously. The sounds of outside were drowned out completely by his worries, and his… feelings.
"Shellington! You’ve been spacing out for 4 minutes now. I need you. It’s about Tunip and the others." Peso stood in front of him.
The simple mention of a Vegimal voiced by no other than the dormant half of Meomi immediately got the sea otter’s attention.
"Jumping jellyfish! How could I forget?" The sea otter shook his head. "I can’t, that’s what! Please don’t be anything I’d fear…!" He immediately ran for the Sick Bay, worried about what could’ve happened. Did there have to be another incident just before a hurricane?
Shellington, in panic, rapidly went in, to find nothing wild. It was just the Vegimals standing around, still seeming happy, especially when the otter came in.
"Peso? What’s going on? Why’d you sound so urgent, if…" the sea otter turned to face the penguin, an awkward look in his eyes. "Your mind isn’t existing everywhere in Cyberia again, is it?"
The penguin realized how stupid he went. "Guess you could say I’m a sewer slut." He sighed, now in peace. "Must be my fucked up head… which it’s not…"
You, like Shellington, would think someone was dying a slow death, but it’s just an overreaction. Ultradespair? Hopelessness? Restlessness? Psychosis? Lexapro delirium? Maybe. But hey, things don’t have to leave you in inertia status when Jvnko loves you, even when things have gone down the drain.
Those weren’t good Sewerslvt jokes, were they? Whatever, I figured. Something of value less than that would work way better. I AM Mr. Kill Myself anyways. I might as well die alone.
"I need to think my tone of voice better, if anything… Right. I just wanted to tell you that we’ve moved the Vegimals to the Sick Bay for the time being. Nothing big, sorry… How are the preparations going?"
Shellington shook his head, still a bit unnerved from the false alarm. "Well, I do suppose we’ve reached our stop. We’re gonna be here for a little while, so get cozy."
Peso was still happy to hear this news. "Right-o! The Gups have all been parked, the Octopod has been anchored… We’re getting an idea of just how strong Selma is… I think Phase 1 of this protocol is complete! Now what?"
It already seemed obvious, of course. Shellington knew. Peso knew. Kwazii knew. Dashi knew. Tweak knew.
Everyone knew.
Wait it out.
Wait it out.
Wait it out.
This was the calm, before the storm.
18 notes
·
View notes