Author's note: Hello everyone! So I hope you guys have forgiven me for last chapter's cliffhanger…. Sorry I just couldn't help myself lol. Still haven't processed that this story is halfway complete (insert the mind-blown emoji.) Anyways, thank you for support and views of course! Please review your thoughts. Here's chapter 12!
The crew are all eating dinner together in the kitchen.
To the Octonauts, it seemed like a normal evening.
However, things were about to take a drastic turn.
Once they finish eating, the crew realizes that Asher and Christina never showed up for dinner.
"Where's Asher?" Peso asks worriedly.
"And Christina? Me chest of gold….." Kwazii gasps.
Barnacles's face goes white.
He realizes that the two haven't been seen since they were told the life changing news.
He wanted to give them some time to process everything, however he figured that they would have been back by now.
Barnacles knew Christina would never miss dinner.
He knew the girl loves her food and if she doesn't eat, she will become hangry and will be in the worst mood.
Barnacles didn't know Asher as well yet since he has only been here a few days.
Something was wrong.
He felt it.
"I haven't seen them all day, not since this morning." Dashi adds.
"Octonauts, Asher and Christina have not been seen since the news we told them this morning…" Barnacles reveals.
"News? What news?" Tweak asks.
The room becomes overflowing with conversation.
The room is becoming louder and louder.
Everyone was so confused on what is going on.
Something has gone down that they weren't told about.
The remaining crew members are for demanding answers.
Shellington looks around the room awkwardly.
He felt so uncomfortable and felt so guilty.
He thought that he was about to get blamed.
"The news will have to wait. I promise I will sit down and tell you all everything. The important thing right now is that we find them!" Barnacles announces.
"Sound the Octo-alert!" The Captain adds.
"Ummm… Cap…. We are all already here….." Tweak points out.
Barnacles slightly laughs.
"Yes of course… everyone spread out! Some need to check on board and some need to check in the ocean! We have to find Asher and Christina!"
Kwazii is riding along the current in the Gup B.
He was searching for their missing crew members, Christina (his chest of gold) and Asher.
He was very worried about them.
Scary thoughts are going through his mind.
Kwazii got to thinking, and he thought that it was odd for Asher and Christina to disappear together…. Due to them not getting along.
The two haven't been seen since they were in the meeting room with Barnacles, Shellington and Inkling.
Kwazii knows that something isn't right.
Something went down in that meeting room.
That has to have a connection to their disappearance.
In a matter of time, he was going find out what.
Kwazii is about to give up.
There is nowhere else that they could possibly be.
He then gets an idea.
There is one place that he hasn't checked yet.
Kwazii turns the Gup B around.
He speeds off into the opposite direction.
A few minutes later he reaches his destination.
Kwazii steers the Gup to the surface.
He parks the Gup B right by the shore in the shallow water.
Kwazii does a front-flip out of the Gup and his feet land in the ocean water.
He gets splashed.
"Ah…. There be nothing like the ocean water…." Kwazii sighs happily.
Kwazii walks along the beach looking around the area.
He knew that it was likely possible that Christina and Asher as well could be here.
Kwazii told Christina about this awesome beach spot and they have came here several times.
It was really the place to be.
It was so breathtaking; the beautiful tide pools, the white sand, the palm trees, and the ocean waves.
Kwazii loves the beach.
However, he wished he wasn't here on these circumstances.
As Kwazii walks down the beach, he notices footprints.
Not just any footprints, but Octonaut bootprints!
Kwazii knew it was Octonaut bootprints because the Octonaut logo was imprinted in the sand in the tracks.
From the looks of the tracks, it looks like they belong to two different people.
Kwazii begins to realize that he is on to something.
Asher and Christina might be here!
Kwazii sighs hoping they are here and there is nothing to worry about.
As he continues to walk down the beach, he sees something on the ground in the distance.
Kwazii runs toward it.
It was something black.
That was all he could make out of it at first, looking from the distance.
The wind was blowing Kwazii in the face as he ran.
The breeze felt so good.
Despite the circumstances, it felt good to get out and go to the beach for a hot minute.
Kwazii finally reaches for the black object.
It was a torn piece of black fabric.
It looked familiar.
He couldn't put his paw on it!
Then it hit him.
It hit him hard…
"Wait… I know what tis be from….. this is a pirate symbol… the pirate symbol of the…. Oh no….This not be looking good at all…" Kwazii gasps realizing what has taken place.
"Something terrible has happened here….."
Kwazii pulls out his phone and calls Barnacles.
"Captain, sound the Octo-alert!"
—
Asher opens his eyes.
He is leaned up against a post.
His first instinct is to look for Christina.
He looks to his right and sees her propped up against the post beside him.
She was out cold.
He looks down at his feet and he sees that he and Christina are chained together at the ankles.
A chain was locked on Asher's right foot and a chain was locked on Christina's left foot.
"Nice….." Asher sighs sarcastically.
Asher looks around and sees that they are on a pirate ship.
With real actual pirates that are various types animals.
He saw many pirates on the ship doing various jobs and they walked by staring at him.
Some of the henchmen pirates that looked just like the ones that snatched him and Christina flinch when they see that he is now awake and well aware where he is and they get the Captain's attention.
"Aye! Captain! He is awake!" A pirate that is a horse screams.
Then what Asher hears next terrifies him.
He hears stomping coming from the staircase above that goes to the steering compartment of the ship.
It got louder and louder.
Then the source of the stopping finally stops and the Captain appears from the staircase.
He walks forward.
The Captain is a bald Eagle.
"Nothing terrifying about that at all…" Asher thinks to himself.
The remaining pirates bow to him.
"Ahhh… finally…. I have been waiting for this day for a long time…" the Captain says evilly looking Asher dead in the eyes.
The Captain then eyes Christina who is still out cold.
"Ohh… I see only one is awake… okay…. That shall change then…." He adds.
"Wake her up! Don't make me do it meself!" The Captain screams in Asher's face.
Asher taps Christina on the shoulder.
She opens her eyes.
She realizes where she is and her eyes go big.
"Ummmm… where the heck are we?" Christina says startled.
"You are aboard the Fearful Diamond! The home of the biggest and baddest crew of pirates in pirate history!" The Captain cackles then the other pirates join him in the evil laugh.
Asher and Christina turn their heads and look at each other worriedly.
Orange lights are flashing everywhere on the Octopod.
The crew dashed their way to HQ as fast as they could.
Finally, everyone was gathered together.
The room goes from loud to quiet within seconds.
"Octonauts, Kwazii may have figured out where Christina and Asher might be…." Barnacles announces.
Barnacles gives the floor to Kwazii.
Kwazii breathes deeply.
"Something terrible has happened…." Kwazii says suddenly.
"What do you mean by that Kwazii?" Inkling questions.
"I went to the beach nearby the Octopod and I found evidence there that Christina and Asher were there just a few hours before. I found Octonaut bootprints in the sand. It looked like two people were there. It had to be them. Then I found this piece of fabric in the sand that can only mean one thing me hearties….."
Kwazii pulls the black torn up piece of fabric and holds it up for everyone to see.
The crew looks at the object and are still not making out what it could be.
"What is it Kwazii?" Barnacles asked.
"It's a pirate symbol. The symbol of the Fearful Diamond pirate crew….. the most dangerous and most wanted pirate crew in the seven seas….." Kwazii reveals.
The crew gasps.
Whispers go around the room.
"Does this mean…." Shellington says then gets interrupted.
"Asher and Christina have been kidnapped by the Fearful Diamond pirates…" Kwazii finally reveals.
"Aye…. The duet themselves….. finally… I have been waiting for this day for a long time… the Fearful Diamond pirate crew has been waiting centuries for this…." The Captain laughs.
"Who are you?" Christina asks angrily.
The pirate crew gasps.
The pirate captain scoffs.
"You do not know who I am?" The Captain screams in Christina's face.
"Don't scream in my sister's face or else you will have to deal with me!" Asher rages.
"Shut up!" The Captain screams.
"I guess I will have to introduce myself then…"
"Me name is Captain Drake Deranged. The most evil pirate captain that ever sailed the entire seven seas!" Captain Drake finally says revealing his identity.
The pirate crew cheers saying his name.
"What do you want from us?" Asher yells.
Captain Drake Deranged laughs.
"It's obvious really…. I mean were you even listening to what I said earlier?" Captain Drake exclaims.
The crew laughs.
"You two are the duet of course…. The twins and the only source that can unlock the Treasure of the Lost Diamonds of Hawaii! The Fearful Diamond pirates have been waiting to unlock this very treasure for centuries… finally the time has come mateys!"
The crew cheers once more.
"Seriously… do they laugh and cheer at every time that man speaks?" Christina leans in to Asher whispering into his ear.
"Seems like it…." Asher replies.
"How in the world did you figure we are the duet? We didn't know until today!" Christina says.
"Ahhh… we heard you two talking on the beach of course. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time…. We have been searching for you for twenty-one years! We didn't have to do anything at all no work….What we needed just came right to us!" Captain Drake exclaims.
The pirates cheer.
"Attention pirates! We now have the duet! Now…. We will go to Hawaii to claim the treasure! At last…. It is time! We will get the treasure that we deserve! Long live the Fearful Diamond Pirates!" Captain Drake proudly announces.
The pirates hoot and holler with pride.
HQ is filled with talk and noise.
Everyone is scared because Asher and Christina have been kidnapped by dangerous pirates.
Barnacles realizes he has to calm everyone down.
He whistles which immediately turns the room to silence.
"Octonauts, I know we are worried about Asher and Christina. I am as well. However, we have to remain calm. The first step of action is to call the coast guard and alert the authorities in the state of Hawaii. Then check to see if their location trackers are working and see where they are located." Barnacles explains.
The crew nods.
"Dashi, check their locations."
"Yes, Captain." Dashi replies.
She presses some buttons and their location appears on the main monitor.
Asher and Christina's icons appear somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
"Captain, their locations are displaying them in the middle of the ocean. Nowhere near land….However they are not underwater. It appears that they are on some type of ship….. They are moving West as I speak." Dashi says.
"They are going straight for Hawaii!" Shellington exclaims pointing at the monitor.
"Octonauts, we will leave for Hawaii tonight in just a few hours." Barnacles reveals.
"Captain… now will you tell us what in the seven seas is going on? I know there be something that you haven't told us." Kwazii exclaims.
"I know something happened in the meeting room….." Kwazii says deeply.
The Octonauts turn their heads to Barnacles in confusion.
"Captain, what is Kwazii talking about?" Tweak asks.
Barnacles breathes deeply looking guilty.
Shellington does the same.
The two give each other looks.
"Captain…. what is Kwazii talking about?" Peso asks confused.
Everyone stares at Barnacles.
The room goes silent.
The room feels awkward.
"Technically, I was not the one who discovered this astonishing secret… however something has happened that no one saw coming…." Barnacles admits.
Shellington steps forward taking the floor.
Shellington knew that he has to be the one to tell the crew because it was all him who discovered the secret in the first place.
It was all his doing.
"Almost immediately after Asher boarded the Octopod, I began to have thoughts. I had a theory. My instincts began to kick in. At first I thought I was crazy. The idea was beyond bizarre. I questioned myself many times if I was correct or it was just a coincidence…." Shellington begins.
"A theory?" Tweak says.
"So I decided that I had to get some answers. I had to go to Los Angeles to do get a DNA test performed. That was the only way to know the truth… to see if my instincts are correct. I brought two DNA samples. I had to take their toothbrushes because that was the best option for a DNA sample…." Shellington explains then gets interrupted.
"You stole who's toothbrushes?" Peso asks.
"You stole toothbrushes?" Dashi says astonished.
"Yes, I stole Asher and Christina's toothbrushes." Shellington admitted.
"Cheapa chirpa?" Tunip chirps.
"Wait…." Dashi gasps.
"Anyways…. I waited all day for the test results. While I waited for the test results. I called an Adoption Agency in Hawaii to get more answers. I got all the answers that I needed…. To back up my instincts and my theory. Then finally… I got the test results. However, I didn't open them until I got back this morning around 1am….." Shellington goes on.
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Shellington takes a deep breath.
He was sweating so much.
What he was about to tell the entire crew was going to change everything….
The way they looked at two people, the outlook of the crew itself and the treasure hunt.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Shellington has never been so stressed in his entire life….these past few days have been a lot… he knew if his instincts was correct that he would have to tell Asher and Christina the truth and then the crew as well.
He knew that it was coming.
He knew it would be extremely difficult.
He dreaded for these moments to arrive….
He knew that it was time.
They had to know the truth…
No turning back.
Shellington takes a deep breath.
The crew members are staring at him with serious expressions on their faces.
"The test results were positive. What me and Barnacles read together…. came as quite as a shock….We both knew everything was about to change…forever." Shellington says.
Shellington closes his eyes and takes another deep breath.
"It turns out…. Our own fellow crew members…. Christina Morris and Asher Smith are long lost fraternal twins….." Shellington finally says revealing the secret.
The Octonauts gasp (minus Barnacles and Inkling.)
"Oh me oh my!" Tweak says with her mouth wide open.
"Flappity flippers…. Asher and Christina are… twins?" Peso gasps holding his flippers in front of his mouth.
Dashi gasps, "Now…. It all makes sense…."
Tunip faints and falls to the ground.
The remaining Vegimals rush over to check on him.
"What are you talking about Dashi?" Tweak asks.
"When I was putting all of Asher's information into the computer systems, I saw his birthday and icon on the screen with everyone else's and I saw that he and Christina have the exact same birthday….." Dashi replies.
"I honestly didn't think much of it…. When I used to work at a hotel before I joined the Octonauts, I saw ID's all of the time. I saw many ID's with people who have the same birthdays… I never considered…" Dashi added.
"And that is not all. You thought that was mind blowing? Listen to this…..they are also the duet. They are the duet described in the story that Calico Jack told us. They are the only ones who can unlock the treasure of The Lost Diamonds of Hawaii…." Shellington also reveals.
The crew gasps once more.
*TO BE CONTINUED*