Disclaimer: I would like to clarify that the title is referencing the Disney film "Atlantis: The Lost Empire", and not the Nickelodeon series "Avatar: The Last Airbender".
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The Octopod was driving through the Irish Sea on a chilly day. Sarabi was helping the Vegimals chop kelp for lunch, when the Octo-Alert went off.
"Octonauts, to the launch bay!"
The Octo-Alert blared throughout the Octopod, and the crew rushed to the launch bay.
"Octonauts, we've received a signal from Drogheda that there's a rubbish patch in the water that needs to be cleared up."
"D'you know who it's from?" Kwazii asked.
"We lost connection before we could get her name," said Captain Barnacles.
"If they were able to contact us, it must be someone we know," said Professor Inkling.
"We're going to investigate. Kwazii, Peso, Tweak, into the GUP." The four of them entered the GUP-A. "Elekai, open the Octo-Hatch." Elekai opened the Octo-Hatch, and off they went.
"How could there be a signal coming from Drogheda?" Tweak was confused. "We never installed anything out there."
The GUP-A surfaced. Sure enough, there was a patch of plastic waste floating in the water. And standing by the shore was a familiar face.
"Atlantis!" Captain Barnacles instantly recognized his old crewmate.
"Oh, I knew you'd come!" Atlantis was beaming. The other Octonauts exited the GUP. Atlantis went through the normal hugs and how-are-yous with Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, and Tweak.
"Who's this?" Atlantis asked when she noticed Peso.
"This is Peso, he's our medic," said Captain Barnacles. "Peso, this is Atlantis. She worked with us before you joined."
"Pleased to meet you," said Peso shyly, shaking Atlantis's paw.
"Spellbound," said Atlantis. "I called you because of this patch of rubbish in the water. I don't think I can clear it myself; I've been having problems with my back recently."
That was understandable; Atlantis was getting older.
"We'll bring the rest of the crew out here," said Captain Barnacles. He put a call in to the Octopod. "Octonauts, we've got a rubbish patch to clear up!"
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All of the Octonauts were gathered at the shore. Of course, Atlantis was having a total "grandma" moment seeing them all again for the first time in almost four years.
"Oh my goodness, look how tall you've gotten! And you found your special someone!" Atlantis hugged Shellington, overjoyed to see her apprentice again.
Captain Barnacles chuckled. "When he was first joining, he was your size," he explained to Deborah, "and then when he turned eighteen, he shot up like a rocket. It was like he grew ten inches overnight."
Atlantis turned to Deborah. "If you need to cheer him up, give him a good tickle. He loves it!"
"No, I do not," protested Shellington, blushing.
"Alright, everyone," said Captain Barnacles, calling everyone's attention. "We've got work to do." Everyone picked up their nets and began picking the rubbish out of the water. Atlantis and the Vegimals carried bins to store the mess. Things were fine…until the rubbish began to shout!
"Hey! Put me back in the water!"
Peso was startled. Why was the rubbish yelling at him?
Atlantis came to his side. "That's Bridget. She's a European brittle star," she explained. "They're all over the place here."
Peso cocked his head. "I thought brittle stars lived in the twilight zone?"
"There are a few types of brittle stars who live in shallow water; like this type." Atlantis picked Bridget out of the net and put her back into the water where she belonged.
About twenty-five minutes later, the rubbish had all been cleared out of the water, sorted, and properly disposed of. "Nice work, Octonauts," said Captain Barnacles.
Before leaving, the Octonauts all sat by the shore to catch up with Atlantis and tell each other stories. All except one; Sarabi stood off to the side, ignoring the lot of them.
Captain Barnacles was telling one of his favourite stories; the "coffee nose" story. "…So then I said 'this is why you look with both eyes', and Shellington laughed so damn hard, coffee came out of his nose!" They all laughed.
At that point, Atlantis looked up and saw Sarabi alone. She got up to go talk to her. "Don't you want to come and chat with us?"
"They don't care about me," said Sarabi. "I'm probably gonna be fired in a month anyway."
"That wouldn't happen," said Atlantis. "Inkling swore that after that horrible Seacliff, he would never fire another Octonaut again."
"I just don't mesh well with people," said Sarabi, turning away.
"Maybe not," said Atlantis, "but I remember that Kwazii was the same way when we first found him. He didn't talk to or get along with any of us. But after a while, he got used to us, and well, look at him now."
Sarabi cocked an eyebrow.
"It may not be easy right now, but I can assure you that these people are some of the best friends you could work with."
Sarabi looked up at the rest of the Octonauts. "I guess it's better than ending up in the system." She went over to sit with them. "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time with the skateboard?"
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You read it here, folks! Sarabi has been fully initiated, and Season 2 is on a roll!
Information about the Irish Sea and brittle stars taken from Wikipedia
