Chapter 2

'Looks like the storms finally passed Captain.' Dashi exclaimed as she watched the radar. 'That was a big one.'

'I'll say. Me here whiskers are still shaking.' Kwazii added, looking out into the ocean. 'Some storm that one was me hearties, reminds me of one back in me Pirate days-'

'Not now Kwazii.' Captain Barnacles interrupted. 'We better go out and make sure that all the sea creatures are safe after that storm.'

'Right.'

'There's an island not far from here that was right in the path of the storm-' Dashi zoomed out on the radar. 'About fifteen miles South. There's something big on the radar too, about seven miles.'

'Any idea what it might be?'

'No clue.'

'We'll check it on the way.' He looked around, Peso coming over to join them. 'Alright, Octonauts, to the launch bay.'

'We're coming up to the location now Dashi' Barnacles spoke over the radio a little while later. 'Any idea yet on what it might be?'

'No idea Captain. I've been picking up some activity on the microphone though-'

'It kind of sounds like a feeding frenzy Captain.' Shellington interjected. 'A big feeding frenzy. You guys better take care, you don't want to get in the middle if it is.'

'Alright, understood. Barnacles out.' He glanced back out the windscreen, looking around. 'Can you guys see anything?'

'Nothing yet.'

'Ah, nothing here either.' Kwazii looked around again with his spyglass, going over something then back to it. 'Ahoy maties, over there.'

Barnacles looked where the cat was pointing and nodded. In the distance they could make out something on the ocean floor. He drove the Gup down deeper. 'See anything?'

'A fish, a fish, shark, shark, sh-' He pulled his spyglass away. 'Sharks everywhere Captain.'

Peso gulped, looking through the binoculars. 'There are a lot of sharks.'

'Let me have a look-' He stopped the Gup and Peso handed him the binoculars. Glancing around he could see they were right, there were sharks everywhere down near the ocean floor. Sharks and a- ship wreak? He handed the binoculars back. 'Let's take a closer look.'

'Not too close I hope.'

Kwazii kept looking as they got closer, watching the sharks fighting over something that looked like-a cat? 'Yeow! Those scurvy beasts!'

'What's wrong Kwazii?'

'They're having a feeding frenzy on corpses.' He exclaimed. 'That shipwreck just went down-'

'Oh no.' Peso uttered quietly.

'It must have been the storm.' Barnacles sighed, stopping the Gup again. Peso handed him the binoculars again and he looked around. Kwazii was right. He looked away, unable to watch any longer and called the Octopod. 'Come in Octopod.'

'Here Captain.'

'There's been a shipwreck, must have gone down during the storm. There's nothing we can do here, we're going to continue on to the island.'

'Right Captain. Dashi out.'

The Octonauts inside the Gup were silent as they drove away, leaving the sharks to their feeding frenzy. Barnacles sighed as he steered the Cup towards the island. Even with all the creatures they had helped it still was hard when there was nothing they could do. He glanced over at Peso, the medic sadly looking out the window. Peso was always the one to take things hard but as he glanced at Kwazii he could see the sober look on the cats face. The usually talkative Lieutenant had nothing to say.

Kwazii stared blankly out the window as the Gup drove away from the shipwreck, an image stuck in his mind. Not only of the crash but of the two huge gaping holes in the ship's side. The twitch in his tail was telling him the ship going down wasn't caused by just a storm…

'Ashima-' Remi begged, rubbing the filly's neck with her paw. 'Ashima, please wake up. Wake up.' The filly didn't move and the kitten whimpered, still nudging her with her paw. 'Ashima, please. Please wake up.'

The filly heard someone calling her name, the hold the darkness had on her slowly releasing it's grip. With it came pain- The filly's scream echoed through the cave as she struggled to stand in a panic then laid on the ground again gasping for air.

'Oh Ashima-'

'I'm. Alright.' She replied through gritted teeth, trying not to scare the kitten any further. She could only guess how she looked. Terrible. But there was nothing she could do about it. Trying to get to her hooves again she managed to get her front legs underneath her but that was it. 'Aaarghh!'

'Don't move.' The kitten whimpered. 'Don't move. I'll look after you. Don't move Ashima.'

'I'll. Be fine. Remi-'

'You're hurt Ashima.' The kitten wiped her paw across the blood stained sand the filly had been lying on and held it up to her. 'See?'

'I. Get. It.'

'Tell me what I need to do to look after you.'

'Must... Stop... Bleeding...' Her front legs finally gave out and she collapsed on her side again. 'Seaweed.'

'Seaweed?' She questioned then looked at the filly. Her eyes were closed again, her breathing labored. Somehow she knew she wouldn't get more answers. She stood up, looking around then was abruptly interrupted by another coughing fit. She sat down again, catching her breath then headed out to search for seaweed….

'Look at all that rubbish.' Peso sighed as they looked at the island. 'Dashi was right, this was the hardest hit area.'

'Let's get out and have a look.' Barnacles put his helmet on as did the other two. They got out into the water and started swimming to the beach. 'We'll take a look around, make sure there aren't any hurt creatures first then we'll clean up the rubbish.'

'Righto Captain. Yeow!'

'Kwazii-' He sighed as the cat reached the beach, running into the island. 'Ready Peso?'

'Ready Captain.'

They reached the island and started looking around, splitting up to make the search easier. So far, nothing. Barnacles kept walking along the beach as the other two started in the other direction. He frowned, looking ahead and quickened his pace. There was kind of a trench dug in the sand, it had been rather heavily washed away but it was still clear to see that something had dragged itself onto the island. A dark patch of red caught his attention and he looked at it for a moment. Blood. Whatever it was that had dragged itself onto the beach might be hurt. 'Peso, Kwazii, come in.'

'Here me hearty.'

'Here Captain.'

'I've found some tracks that lead inland, I'm going to go follow them and see what creature made it and if they need help. I'll let you know what I find. Have you two found anything yet?'

'No Captain.'

'Not a fur or whisker Captain.'

'Alright. Barnacles out.' He started following the tracks inland, a distinct trail of blood alongside that of the drag marks. The drag marks turned into actual tracks on the edge of the beach where it met the land and he frowned. Grabbing his octo-compass he called the Octopod. 'Captain Barnacles to Octopod. Do you read me?'

'Right here Captain.' Dashi replied. 'Found anything?'

'Maybe. Is Shellington there?'

'Yes Captain.'

'What do you make of these?' He turned the Octo-compass around and showed them the tracks. ' Any idea what creature made these?'

'No idea but give me five minutes Captain.'

'Alright, thank you Shellington. Barnacles out.' He placed the compass back on his belt again and continued following the tracks further inland. He looked up ahead, the tracks were leading to a rocky cliff and he saw the entrance to a cave. Whatever it is must have been looking for shelter. He grabbed his torch from his belt, flicking it on as he reached the cave. 'Hello? Is anyone here?' There was no reply and he started into the cave after a moment, following the tracks. It looked like the creature fell again, there was dried blood on the sandy floor of the cave and more tracks like those outside. Due to the rain though, the ones outside weren't as good as these ones and he quickly sent Dashi through a picture through his Octo-Compass.

Continuing on, he spotted something lying on the floor and shone the light on it. 'Hello? Hello?' The creature didn't move and cautiously he walked closer. Red streaks shone on the creatures fur and as he got closer he could see it was blood. The creatures eyes were closed, it's breathing labored as he knelt down beside it. 'Hello, hello?'

Ashima heard someone and managed to fight the darkness off to open her eyes. She looked up into the face of a big polar bear, trying to get up in her panic. She tried to get up, thrashing frantically but she couldn't move, the polar bear was holding her down. She stopped fighting after a slight struggle whimpering softly in fear. 'Please, please... Don't hurt... Me.'

'It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you.' Barnacles consoled softly. 'I'm Captain Barnacles of the Octonauts, my crew and I help any creature who is ill or injured.' He went to touch the creature again but it shrank back in fear. 'You don't have to be scared, I'm not going to hurt you.'

'Please... Don't... Hurt me.'

'I'm not going to hurt you.' He repeated, this time the creature let him lay his paw on it. 'What's your name?'

'Ashima.'

'Come in Captain.' The creature flinched at the sound and he got up to take the call from the Octopod. 'Go ahead Shellington.'

'You've found an Equus caballus Captain.'

'A what?' It never made sense when the scientist spoke in Latin.

'A horse Captain. Those tracks were made by a horse which doesn't make any sense. What is a horse doing in the middle of the ocean?'

'I don't know Shellington but I've found the horse.' He glanced over at the horse. 'But it's smaller than a horse.'

'It might be from a breed of pony then Captain. Basically still a horse, just smaller but as equally unique.'

'Alright, thank you Shellington.'

'No problem Captain. Shellington out.'

Barnacles walked back to the horse, kneeling down beside it. 'Ashima-' It opened its eyes again and he could see the fear in it's eyes. 'I'm going to call our medic to come take care of you, if that's alright.'

'No... Please. I don't... Want any... Trouble.'

'It's no trouble at all, it's our job.' He assured gently, placing his paw on her again. He was no medic but he could feel she was burning up. It's wounds didn't look good either, there was a really deep one just behind the shoulder that looked particularly bad. 'What kind of creature are you?'

'I'm a Welsh... Pony... Filly.' She managed to get out, her body suddenly convulsing in spasms again. She whimpered in pain, there was nothing she could do to stop herself from moving and it hurt.

'It's okay, it's okay.' He assured the filly and waited until her spasm had stopped then he called Peso and Kwazzi. 'Peso, Kwazzi. Come in. I've found an injured Welsh Pony in a cave in the middle of the island and I need help.'

'Right away Captain.'

He waited but there was no reply from Kwazzi. 'Kwazii?'

'Lil busy right now Captain.' He replied, chasing after a grey fury form. 'Be there as soon as I can.'

'Right.' He replied then turned back to the filly. There wasn't anything he could do until Peso arrived except keep her calm until help arrived. The filly's fur was stained with blood, her body covered in wounds. 'What happened Ashima?'

The filly didn't reply and he looked back at her face, guessing her to have fainted from the pain. It wasn't any surprise either, there was hardly an inch on her that wasn't either a wound or covered in blood. Gently he flicked the blood soaked forelock from the pony's face. She looked so young and she had called herself a filly-

'Alright, I'm here.'

'Thanks Peso.' Barnacles glanced back at the medic, Peso kneeling down beside him. 'How does she look?'

'Looks bad Captain. We need to get her back to the Octopod.' He listened to the fillies heart and lungs, shaking his head as he looked her over. 'She's very weak Captain, we're going to have to be careful.'

'Right. What do you want me to do?'

'We need to get her into the Gup-' He looked back towards the ocean. 'And quickly.'

Remi looked around the beach, trying to find what Ashima had asked. There was a lot of stuff on the beach but what was she looking for? She didn't know.

Another coughing fit took control, the kitten gasping for a breath as she coughed. Finally her coughing stopped and she kept walking through the rubbish trying to figure out what she was looking for.

'Avast Matey.'

The kitten looked around, a shiver running up her spine. An orange tabby cat wearing an eye patch was walking towards her. Pirate. 'Reow!' In fright and panic the kitten took off back towards the cave.

Kwazii ran after the kitten, trying to catch up to it. 'Stop! Wait! I just want to talk to you.' His radio crackled into life, ignoring the Captain speaking as he chased the kitten through the trees. The Captain called again, this time he quickly answered. 'Lil busy right now Captain.' He replied, chasing after a grey fury form. 'Be there as soon as I can.'

Remi looked back, the pirate was still gaining on her. 'Reow!' She hissed, running faster than leapt over a long. She had to get away, she couldn't let him catch her. Ashima. Ashima would protect her.

She ran on, the pirate still on her tail. The cave loomed up ahead and she bolted in, crashing into a white and blue furry creature. She looked up in fright, her body quivering as she saw she was trapped. These creatures in front of her, the pirate behind her- The white creature was saying something but she didn't hear it, bolting past him to the filly. 'Ashima, Ashima! You've got to get up! There's a pirate chasing me.' The filly didn't move. 'Ashima-'

'Excuse me-'

'Stay back!' The kitten hissed, turning around to face the three creatures with her teeth barred, her fur raised. 'I've got teeth and claws and I'm not scared to use them.'

'Oh come on.' Kwazii rolled his eyes at the kittens hissing. 'Your not scaring me at all.'

'Kwazii-' The polar bear interrupted then turned back to the kitten. 'We're not going to hurt you or Ashima, you can trust us. We're the Octonauts-'

'I don't care what you are. No one touches Ashima.' She spat, hissing then looked at the cat. 'Not after the pirates yesterday.'

'Pirates?' Kwazzi questioned. 'What pirates?'

'The pirates that did this to Ashima. She was trying to protect us-'

'Captain-' Peso spoke low to the polar bear as the kitten was occupied trying to scare Kwazii off. 'That filly is badly hurt, time is of the essence-'

'We need to get her back to the Octopod.' The medic nodded and he turned back to the kitten, the kittens sentence cut off by a severe coughing fit that left her gasping for air.

Peso ran to her side, rubbing her back and tried to help her catch her breath. 'Are you okay?'

Remi shook her head, finally catching her breath again then looked at the penguin and hissed. 'Get away from me.'

'You don't have to be scared. I'm Peso, I'm a medic. I help any creature who is sick or hurt-'

'Back away.'

Barnacles stepped up beside Peso. 'Is Ashima here your friend?' The kitten nodded. 'Well, she's very sick and she needs our help-'

'She's got me.'

'We're not doubting that.' Peso replied. 'But she needs a medic. Please, let us help her.'

Remi thought for a moment, looking back at the filly. Ashima's breathing was louder, more labored and she wouldn't wake up. She knew deep down there wasn't anything she could do and she turned back to them after a moment. 'Alright, you can help her. But-' She hissed, looking at the pirate. 'You keep him away from us.'

Barnacles knew there was no point pushing it. The kitten was small but there was no denying how protective she was of the filly. 'Understood.' He could see the pain and hurt in Kwazii's eyes as the cat took a back row to the proceedings. He made a note to apologize to him later for that. 'Kwazii, it might be best if you head back to the Gup for the moment. Radio the Octopod and let them know we'll be bringing in an injured pony.'

'Aye Captain.'

The kitten eyed the pirate warily, the tip of her tail flicking cautiously as she watched him leave. She didn't trust them, oh no she didn't but she didn't really have much of a choice. Ashima was all she had left.

'I don't think you've told us your name.'

The polar bear interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. 'I'm Remi.' She looked back down at the filly as the penguin worked on her. 'She's going to be okay, isn't she?'

'I'll do my best.' Peso promised, the fillies eyes opening again. 'Oh, hello.'

Ashima started to panic, seeing another creature and she tried to get to her feet, kicking and fighting but she couldn't get up-

'Easy, easy. He's not going to hurt you.' Barnacles consoled softly, holding the filly down so she didn't injure herself further. Ashima stopped struggling after a moment, puffing and panting as he calmed her down. 'That's it. It's alright. We're here to help you.' He motioned for the penguin it was okay to come closer. 'This is Peso, Ashima. He's our medic.'

'Hello Ashima-' He smiled kindly. 'Where does it hurt?'

'Everywhere.' She admitted as she caught her breath. She saw Remi standing behind them, the little kitten's face contoured in worry. 'Please... Look after... Remi.'

'On my honor as an Octonaut we're going to look after both of you, promise.'

'We need to get you back to the Octopod so I can look after you properly.' Peso continued. The filly shouldn't really walk but there wasn't any other way to get her to the beach. She was too heavy for a stretcher. 'Can you get up?'

'I can... try.'

'Alright.' Barnacles went around the other side, Peso joining him. 'We'll help you get to your feet. On three-'

The filly struggled, getting her legs underneath her as they pushed her neck and body up, finally managing to stand on shaky legs. The sand underneath her was soaked in her blood and she stood wavering for a moment, almost falling but the polar bear helped her stay upright. 'Thanks.'

'No problem.'

'Let's get you down to the Gup Ashima.'

The filly nodded, taking a shaky step forward. The polar bear and penguin walked either side of her, supporting her so she didn't fall. Remi was beside her too, the poor kitten looking as scared and terrified as she was. 'I'll be okay... Remi.'

'I'm scared Ashima.'

'I know.. You are...' She stopped, her sides heaving as she breathed through the pain, her head almost touching the ground. She was exhausted, she was in pain- Her knees buckled, unable to hold her weight any longer.

'I've got you.' Barnacles stopped her from falling, holding the filly up with his polar bear strength. 'You just take it easy there for a minute.'

'It. Hurts.'

'I know it does.' Peso opened his case, grabbing out a bottle and needle. 'This will help with the pain.'

'No!' She tossed her head back, her eyes wild with fear. 'No. Needles. Please.'

'It's alright, it'll only hurt for a little bit but it will make you feel better. Promise.'

'No!' She bared her teeth, the penguin moving out of the way just in time. 'I've had enough... Of them... Back at the... Lab.'

'Lab?'

'I don't... Want... To talk... About. It.'

The Captain and Peso exchanged a look, then Barnacles spoke again, rubbing behind the fillies ear, one of the few places she didn't have a wound. 'Ashima, I don't know what your past is but I promise you we aren't going to hurt you. You need to trust us, Peso is trying to help you. You're in pain. Let him help you.'

'Showing pain... Is a sign... Of weakness.' She struggled, holding her head up was weakening her further. 'I... Do not... Show... Pain.'

'Ashima-' The little kitten spoke up. 'You've always been the strong one protecting and looking after us. Please, let yourself be helped for once. I hate seeing you like this.'

She looked at the kitten, Remi on the verge of tears then sighed, dropping her head in submission. What was the point fighting anyway? 'Alright.'

'This will only hurt a little bit-' Peso gently inserted the needle into the filly's neck, the filly quivering with fear and pain then he pulled it out and it was over. 'There. It'll start working soon.'

'Thanks.' She mumbled, her muzzle resting on the ground. The polar bear was practically carrying her now, she could barely stay standing. Slowly though the pain began to ease and she was left with overwhelming exhaustion instead.

'We better keep moving-' Barnacles had one paw under the filly's stomach and one around her chest, carrying the filly. She was lighter than he'd first thought, it surprised him since she was about the same size as him, maybe a little smaller. He grunted, lifting her higher and her hooves left the ground. 'We'll be there soon.'

Remi was amazed the polar bear was able to lift Ashima, following behind them as they hurried back to the beach. The kitten shivered as she saw the ocean, there were no waves but she remembered well the close call they had the night before.

'She's asleep now.' Peso exclaimed as they reached the water. 'How are we going to get her to the Gup though?'

'I've got it.' Barnacles replied, the pony was getting very heavy but she had to be gotten to the Octopod. 'You take the kitten.'

'I don't want to go in the water-' The kitten whimpered as she stood at the edge, the polar bear taking Ashima towards some kind of green machine. 'No, don't make me.'

'It's alright, you can hop on my back. Would that be okay?' The kitten nodded after a moment and climbed on. 'Ready?

'Ready.' She whimpered, closing her eyes as the penguin started into the water. 'Please hurry.'

'We're almost there.' He encouraged, swimming quickly and Kwazii had the windscreen open. 'We're here.'

The kitten jumped quickly from Peso into the Gup, taking one terrified look at the pirate before dashing to the back of it as far away from him as she could get.

'A little help here-' Barnacles interjected, holding onto the filly in front of the Gup. 'I don't want to take her under since she's got no helmet so we need to lift her in. Peso, give me a hand. Gently now-'

Kwazii took hold of the filly as the Captain and Peso handed her over, half lifting half dragging her into the Gup. 'Shiver me whiskers, she's a heavy thing.'

'Agreed.' The polar bear added as they finally got her into the Gup. He and Peso climbed in and he carried her into the back of the Gup, laying her gently on the floor. 'To the Octopod Kwazii.'