Chapter Text
Kwazii’s POV
The colors o’ the coral reef rushed by as the Gup-E swiftly made its way through the water. Lil fishies trying to swim by scattered at the sight o’ us coming through while others watched at a distance in the safety o’ the coral. Seaweed swayed peacefully with the natural movement o’ the water and flattened under the movements o’ the Gup. A whale call echoed in the distance. It was just another average day in the Big Ol’ Blue but it was thrilling all the same. Drumming my fingertips along the steering wheel, I turn to face Peso with a grin.
“So what’re we rescuing today, me heartie? Are we bandaging a Great White’s battle wounds?! Untangling a lionfish from some toxic seaweed?! OOH OR–!!”
Peso’s amused giggle cuts me off as he chirps out his response, “Probably not, no, hahah~!! We’re just doing a broad check-up of the reef–helping out any creature that needs it!!”
My disappointment in that answer must’ve shown a bit more than I intended because he quickly added: “So, yes, we could possibly be helping a… uhm… a shark.”
I yeowl in excitement before giving Peso a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry Peso!! I’ll make sure ye can treat any dangerous beast safely!”
His shoulders relax at me words and he gives me a small smile in thanks. Soon enough we made it to the part o’ the reef we would station ourselves at. Parking the Gup-E and putting on our helmets, we plunge into the water to look for potential patients. Not even a heartbeat passes by when Peso is already bandaging an anemone. Damn he’s good. I give the area a good look over, pulling out my spyglass to give every critter I spot a good onceover glance. Soon enough I spotted a poor lil dolphinfish struggling to swim–it seemed like it hurt its tailfin–so I flag Peso over once he was done treating the anemone.
“Oh, no!! Mahi mahis don’t live this deep underwater–they stay up closer to the surface. It’s hurt tailfin must be keeping it from being able to stay afloat near the top, so it’s sunk down into the reef,” Peso exclaimed as he examined the fish.
“Huh?! What do you mean it’s a ‘mahi mahi’? I thought it was a dolphin fish!” I sputter, giving the iridescent emerald fish a puzzled look.
“You’re not wrong! It’s also a dolphinfish. Shellington told me that it has many names, such as the mahi mahi, dolphinfish, and green dolphin. Plus a handful of others. But despite the different names, it’s still the same fish! Sorry if I confused you…” Peso apologized before turning to the fish. “Don’t worry, I am a medic, I help any creature who is hurt or sick. We’ll bring you back to the Octopod to make you all better before bringing you back to your proper home.”
With that, I helped Peso carefully place the dolphinfish/mahi mahi into a travel tank and secure it in the back o’ the Gup-E. The second the fish was secure, there was a thundering boom o’ something rumbling and collapsing. Fishies big and small scattered in fright at the sound, looking for shelter. Many more came swarming through from the direction of the sound, clearly escapin’ from whatever happened. Even Peso and I startled at the commotion, staring at one another, wide-eyed.
“Flappity flippers!!” Peso yelped, “What was that!?!
“YEOW–!! I dunno, me heartie, but we should go investigate! That sounded BIG!!”
I swam off in the direction of the sound as fast as I could with Peso right beside me. Rounding a group of coral, we come face to face with the culprit of the deafening sound: a huge heap of rocks had collapsed onto the reef from the rocky ledge above. Sea critters galore were fleeing the scene at varying speeds. Me jaw dropped at the sight and I couldn’t even begin to imagine how many creatures couldn’t escape the collapse in time…
“Shiver me whiskers!! We better help out anyone who got trapped under those blasted rocks!” I exclaim, starting to swim towards the wreckage before Peso gently tugged me back.
“Oh no!! So many creatures must be so hurt and scared… but we better tell the Captain before doing anything…!!” Peso gasped, a look of horror on his face as he scanned the wreckage.
After a moment's hesitation, not really wanting to waste a single second that could be contributed to helping the sea creatures, I nod in agreement before radioing in to Capt’n Barnacles.
“Capt’n! Capt’n are ye there?”
“Yes, Kwazii, I’m here. Is something the matter?” he responds mere moments later, already sensing something was off.
“A whole bunch o’ rocks collapsed onto the reef and there’s probably a lot o’ creatures trapped under ‘em! We need some backup ‘ere and fast!!”
“I’ll be there in the Gup-D as fast as possible–just hang tight and do what you can to help until I get there,” the Capt’n states before he hangs up.
Peso had already started treating those who were hurt but not trapped by the rockfall, so I informed him that the Capt’n was on his way. I then quickly started moving any rock that I could safely lift to free the trapped fishies on the outskirts of the rubble. Obviously there had to be dozens more in the heart o’ the rocks but there was nothing I could do ‘bout it until the Capt’n got ‘ere. Growling at the thought o’ all the poor lil hurt and scared fishies having to wait their turn to be saved, I force myself to refocus on the ones I could save in the moment before I could consider doing anything rash. Peso left for just a heartbeat to grab the Gup-E and drive it closer. He swiftly treated any minorly injured creature then loaded all the seriously injured ones into the back o’ the Gup. Together we quickly got into the rhythm o’ me freeing the critters and him treating them the moment they were freed. Just as I rescued the last fish I could see, Capt’n Barnacles came speeding in with the Gup-D.
“Captain!!!” both Peso and I exclaim when we spot him, some of the tension the emergency had given us leaving our bodies at his presence.
“I got here as quickly as possible. You two better stand back as I move these rocks out of the way,” Barnacles ordered as he controlled the Gup-D to meticulously pick up a rock and place it to the side.
Peso and I swam to the Gup-E where he started to ensure all his new patients were secure while I stood on guard, waiting to grab any creature that was newly revealed. Slowly and tentatively, the Gup-D’s claws grabbed one rock at a time and set them aside. As more openings were created, more critters swiftly made their escape and I dove in to grab whoever struggled to move on their own. Things were going smoothly until the remaining rocks started to cave in due to the steady picking apart o’ the pile. Upon seeing the rocks shake, Capt’n Barnacles instantly stopped what he was doing to survey just how unstable the remaining rocks were.
“Kwazii! I don’t think I can remove anymore rocks without causing a collapse!!” he informed me, his gaze flickering over the wreckage nervously.
“Aye, Capt’n! I’ll give it one more look over to make sure I don’t see anyone else in there just to be safe!!” I call back as I start surveying every nook and cranny for any sign o’ life.
Capt’n warns me to be careful so I give him a mere thumbs up in response–which I can only assume resulted in an amused sigh and an eye roll from him if I were looking at him. Wriggling in between the rocks, I searched for any sort o’ indication that there were any other critters stuck inside. When I tried to push aside a lil pebble, the whole assembly o’ rocks gave a mighty rumble, clearly communicating that it was more than ready to topple again at the slightest mistake. I could hear the faint call of Barnacles and Peso barking out my name in concern at this, so I started slowly backing out, not in the particular mood to be squished like a flapjack. But just as I turned me back, a very faint voice called out from the darkness:
“H… Help…!!”
At that tiny lil whisper, I whipped around to see where it came from–that’s when I saw it–a young Hawksbill Turtle had poked its head out through the opening I had made by shoving that lil rock aside.
“Help me, mister…!!” she called out again, much louder this time.
“Capt’n!!!”, I yeowl, poking my head out from the rocks to look at him, “There’s a young turtle still stuck in ‘ere!! We can’t leave her behind!”
At this news, Barnacles’ brow furrowed as he instantly started to calculate a plan to save the poor lil turtle without risking any more danger than there already was.
“Using the Gup-D to free her would be too risky–I’ll come over to see how stuck she is,” he finally said after thinking for a moment.
Capt’n Barnacles gets out o’ the Gup-D and swims over to me to get a better understanding o’ what we’re dealing with. The poor lil turtle looked up at us helplessly as we muttered out possible plans, so I reassured her everything would be alright. She seemed to have believed me since a flicker o’ hope flashed in her eyes. Barnacles sucked in a sharp breath as he eyed the rock that was pinning the turtle in place and for a brief moment I thought that maybe it wasn’t gonna be possible to free her, but this is Capt’ Barnacles we’re talking about, o’course he’s gonna come up with some sort o’ plan. So I fall silent to allow him to think properly. After a moment’s pause, a soft hum escapes Capt'n's throat, indicating that he’s got something.
“Thankfully she seems to be trapped under this one rock,” he starts, pointing at the aforementioned rock, “I should be able to lift it up, but I can’t guarantee how long it’ll take for the pile to collapse after I do so…”
I nod solemnly, “Aye-aye, Capt’n, but I be willin’ to take the risk. I’m ready whenever ye be.”
With that, he nods to me before starting to carefully lift the rock up to release the hawksbill turtle. He growls a bit when the movement o’ the rock causes the rest o’ the pile to shake threateningly, making its opinion ‘bout our efforts to help loud and clear. I could hear Peso yelp from outside, and I must’ve looked a bit worried too, because Capt’n Barnacles winked at me as he tipped his head at the turtle, letting me know that it’ll be okay and that this was my cue. For some odd reason, the sight o’ him winking at me caught me off guard, making me feel like flying fish were doing somersaults in me stomach. But I stuffed down the feeling as soon as it bubbled up, grabbing the turtle and swimming away from the ferociously trembling rocks as quickly as possible. As soon as the turtle was free, Barnacles set the rock down and followed after me, but the second the rock dropped, the whole pile started collapsing. Peso yelled out our names, his voice tight with terror and the hawksbill turtle gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. I furiously whipped around, grabbing Barnacles by the wrist, narrowly pulling him clear o’ the collapse in time.
We both crashed to the seafloor, watching the second collapse with wide eyes as we tried to catch our breaths and wait for our heart rates to slow down. Peso heaved a relieved sigh that we had made it out just in the nick o’ time. No one said a thing until the rocks resettled, the three o’ us exchanged glances before we all looked at the hawksbilled turtle, who was trembling in me arms. Sighing softly, Capt’n Barnacles placed a comforting paw on me shoulder, causing all the tension that I didn’t realize was still there to fade out o’ me body. I took a few deep breaths and found myself subconsciously leaning into his comforting touch.
“It’s okay, little one…” Capt’n murmured softly to the trembling turtle, “you’re safe now. Our medic and good pal Peso will make you all better…”
“Thank you… Th-Thank you so much, you two… You risked your lives to save me!! How could I ever repay you…?” she croaked out, looking up at us wide-eyed.
“There’s no need to repay us, lil lass,” I reassured her as I handed her over to Peso, “we’re just doin’ our job.”
“Let’s get you and the others back to the Octopod so I can treat you all,” Peso informed her as he situated her into the Gup-E.
I fell back a bit to let him do this thing, glancing over at the Capt’n, silently asking him if he was okay. He noticed my worried look and gave me a reassuring nod in response to let me know he was fine before giving me the same quizzical look. I huff softly in amusement but give him a thumbs up regardless. I figured it was obvious I was fine, but I doubt that would ever stop him from worrying.
“It’s a miracle you spotted that turtle, Kwazii–fantastic work back there,” he praised, smiling warmly at me.
I paused for a moment, caught off guard when I realized just how pretty his smile was. At that realization, my brain instantly replayed the moment under the rubble. The wink. The reassuring look in his big, brown eyes. The oddly adorable tip of his head. The flex o’ his muscles as he– Surprising myself with me own thoughts, I realized I hadn't yet responded.
“Thanks, Capt’n!! Ye did good too, ye got ‘ere at just the right time,” I quickly blurted out.
Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice that I blanked out for a while there, since he just nodded in thanks, still smiling sweetly. I admire his smile for a brief moment before I flash him a cheeky grin.
“But hey. All it takes is some cat-like quickness…” I started, hoping he’d catch on.
Barnacles caught on instantly, chuckling softly before responding,
“Combinded with some polar bear strength…”
“to get the job done!!” we cheered together, fist bumping.
Is it a lil cringey? Absolutely. But we’ve been saying that catchphrase for years, so there’s no way we’re stopping anytime soon. Yet saying it just now felt a lil more special than usual and his touch felt a lot warmer. Before I could give it a second thought, Peso asked if we were ready to head back to the Octopod. We both called back to him letting him know that we were ready before I took off for the Gup-E while the Capt’n got back into the Gup-D.
“You’ve done a great job helping the injured creatures, Peso!! I’ll meet you two back at the Octopod and help carry the patients to the Sick Bay,” Capt’n praised before starting to drive off.
“Thank you so much, Captain!” Peso chirped in response as he steered the Gup-E to follow after him.
Peso and I glance at one another and sigh in relief, glad to have helped clear up that disaster. I s’pose our original mission will have to wait for another day. The steady motion o’ the Gup-E gliding through the water slowly eased the feeling o’ adrenaline out o’ me body but another feeling remained… That same fluttering feeling from earlier. I still feel like I’ve got flying fish doing all sorts of tricks and flips in my stomach. And in the back o’ me mind I was replaying those images o’ Barnacles winking and smiling at me. Not really sure what was causing this, I shook me head to shake the thoughts and feelings away. Peso must’ve noticed this but clearly interpreted my confusion as something else as he spoke up.
“Sorry we didn’t get to bandage a shark today, Kwazii,” Peso chirped, chuckling softly.
I meow out a laugh at his ‘apology’, “It’s alright, me heartie. That’s what the next adventure is for!!”
With that, we giggled together as we headed back to the Octopod, those memories o’ the Captain still looping in the back o’ me mind…