Disclaimer: Congratulations Biden and Harris!

Apologies for the hiatus, I was focusing on other things. But I am back!

BKPSDITTEKDLS

It was a chilly day under the sea. The Octopod was driving through the Arctic Ocean on the way to the Mackenzie River. The Octonauts were all bundled up in their warm clothing.

"See, she's now learning ice magic." Deborah was raving about the third and current season of Intergalactic Imogen. "Charlie's teaching her to walk on water."

Dashi was rather interested. Sarabi was not.

"We're almost there," said Captain Barnacles. "Tracker told me the guy we're looking for is waiting for us right where the river begins." Dashi parked the Octopod just a few feet away from the beginning of the river. Upon arrival, Captain Barnacles sounded the Octo-Alert.

"Octonauts, to the HQ!"

The Octo-Alert blared throughout the Octopod, and the Octonauts all rushed to the HQ.

"Octonauts, Tracker has sent us on a mission to help a school of lake whitefish, who are being attacked by sea lampreys."

"Sea lampreys are parasitic," said Shellington. "They're very dangerous to the whitefish."

"We've got to help them. Kwazii, Peso, Sarabi, into the GUP."

Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, Peso, and Sarabi went down to the launch bay and exited the Octopod in the GUP-C to find the guy they were looking for. Waiting by the side of the river was a caribou, shivering in his boots.

Captain Barnacles reached out to shake his hoof. "Are you Carolus Caribou?"

"Yes," said Carolus. "You must be the guys that Tracker sent my way. I'll show you to the whitefish."

Carolus led Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, Peso, and Sarabi down the river to a school of lake whitefish. Some of them had lampreys stuck to their bodies. They looked like they were in great pain.

"Let me help you," said Peso. He began to ease the lampreys off of the fish and patching up their bite marks. Kwazii took the lampreys and put them in a bucket to be supplied with fish biscuits and relocated.

"Look at 'em," said Kwazii. "They cling onto the fish biscuits tight!"

"Lampreys have lot of tiny teeth that they user to bite their victims and feed on their body tissue," said Captain Barnacles. "They're invasive to this area. We're going to bring them to the Mediterranean Sea, where they belong."

Peso eased a lamprey off of a small fish, who was weak and whimpering. As he began to bandage up the fish, he handed the lamprey off to Sarabi.

Sarabi looked at the lamprey.

"I could crush your tiny parasitic ass if I wanted to," she thought. "Going around hurting these poor fish when though they didn't do anything wrong."

"Sarabi?" Captain Barnacles prodded her. She looked up. "You should probably put that lamprey with the rest. He might bite you."

Sarabi clenched her jaw. "Maybe not. I guess you're a creature too." She slipped the lamprey into the bucket.

Once every fish had been freed from the lampreys, Carolus directed the school towards a patch of grass that was covered in wriggly insect larvae. "Lake whitefish love insect larvae."

"Gross," thought Sarabi. The fish began to feed.

"I've got the lampreys," said Kwazii. "Le's get 'em to the Mediterranean Sea." They brought the bucket back to the GUP, bid farewell to Carolus, and headed back to the Octopod.

BKPSDITTEKDLS

The Octopod was on course to the Mediterranean Sea to return the sea lampreys to their natural habitat. Captain Barnacles was going to talk to Sarabi.

"What was that little staring contest with the lamprey all about?"

"I was angry at it," said Sarabi. "I wanted to crush it for hurting those fish. But I didn't. It may have been a dirty parasite, but it was only doin' what parasites do best."

Captain Barnacles pursed his lips. He didn't exactly know how to respond to that. "…Well, I'm glad you made the right choice." He exited the room. What exactly was he supposed to do with her?

BKPSDITTEKDLS

Information about the Mackenzie River, lake whitefish, and sea lampreys taken from Wikipedia.