CHAPTER FIVE
BANJO AND KAZOOIE

A pale and shabby-looking Gloop lurched down a familiar pathway of pipes, grazing the walls as he swam. He'd only been homeless for a couple of days, but it seemed like ages ago that he was safe and sound, living in a reef he'd never thought he'd abandon. The fish had somehow convinced himself that whenever Gruntilda finally struck, he and his Covemates would stand against her – and win. But that was pure fantasy. A reef's worth of fish were no match for her bloodthirsty minions, and so they had fled.

Treasure Trove Cove belonged to her now, but the reef wasn't the only thing Gloop had lost. His friends and family had scattered in the chaos, and although they'd escaped (he refused to believe otherwise), they hadn't turned up in the long days and nights he'd spent searching for them. He missed them all terribly, and he wondered if he'd ever get the chance to apologize for causing them so much trouble. Though he'd done it for their own good, he'd been kind of a pain lately, annoying everyone for weeks on end, refusing to shut up about the witch and her schemes. "Liar", they'd called him (among other things), but Gloop hadn't cared. He'd just wanted everyone to be safe, and now…

Well, wherever they were, they had to have finally believed him.

Groaning, the fish held a fin to his head. Everything had happened so fast. In the span of a few hours, he'd lost them all, everyone he'd ever known…everyone, that is, except for the one friend he was going to visit now.

Rounding the last corner, Gloop swam out into the Cavern, entering from a pipe that was near Clanker's face. The shark was submerged today, deeper beneath the surface than the fish had ever seen him. With his tightly-shut eyes, twisted mouth, and gritted teeth, Gloop thought that he must be having some kind of nightmare, but when the fish let out a small greeting, he looked up right away. He hadn't been sleeping, and Gloop wondered at that because his large eyes were dull from exhaustion.

"Gloop…hi," Clanker said, relief washing over his face.

"H-hey…" The fish's head bobbed with fatigue. Not wanting to slip to the trash-covered floor, he swam over to Clanker and collapsed on his snout. "You don't look so good."

The shark blinked heavily at him. "Neither does Gloop."

"Oh yeah?" Gloop slicked back his drooping dorsal fin with a tired smirk. As soon as he let go, it slid back to where it had been. "I'm fine, see? Just a few sleepless nights, no big deal."

"Me too." The shark winced as he adjusted his posture. "What happened?"

Gloop gave him a knowing look. "Grunty happened, that's what. A bunch of her minions showed up and took over the place. Then everyone scattered and we lost each other."

Clanker screwed up his face in anguish.

"I-it's okay, though. I'm pretty sure they all got away…I'll find 'em again, somehow." The fish rubbed his eyes. "It would've been worse if I hadn't warned everyone. They knew what was happening as soon as it started."

The shark lowered his eyes. "So…Cove was lost anyways," he muttered miserably to himself, "and fish put in danger. Clanker didn't stop the witch."

"That's not your fault," Gloop frowned. "I mean, how could it be? She didn't attack Treasure Trove Cove from here."

"But Gloop…" Clanker shifted uncomfortably. "Witch was here. Wanted Clanker to grind the Cove."

"No…" Gloop breathed, suddenly wide-awake. "No way…"

"Yes way…but Clanker refused. Witch is a bigger monster than Clanker," the shark said with some pride. He faltered. "Grunty didn't like that."

Gloop sat up, shaking. It took him a moment to realize that it was Clanker who was trembling, and not him. Something was wrong – very wrong.

"What did she do to you?" he heard himself ask, though he feared the answer.

"Punish Clanker…torn up and tied down."

Gloop's eyes widened. "Wh-what does that mean?"

Clanker gave his tail a good swish and a loud rattling sounded behind him – one that hadn't been there before. "Worth it…Gloop still alive," he smiled wearily. "Hopefully, other fish, too."

"No…" Gloop cried. He bolted up and swam around to get a better look. "What is that? What're you talking abou – "

He hadn't gone far when his eyes locked onto a gaping hole in Clanker's side and, in that moment, it felt like all of the bubbles had been knocked clean out of him.

A small, shuddering gasp left his mouth. And then: "How could she – when did this – how long ago…and this was all because of…this was…all…"

Gloop's vision swam. He somehow made his way back to Clanker's face, taking deep breaths, trying not to black out. This couldn't be happening, he hadn't just seen that – the shark's metal skin peeled back to expose his insides, raw and red and organic underneath his robotic exterior.

He clung to the shark's snout to steady himself.

"Looks bad…?" Clanker asked.

"Awful," Gloop shivered, reeling from shock.

The shark nodded absently. "At least Clanker still even…witch got both sides."

"No!" Gloop leapt up. Clanker's eyes followed him as he paced back and forth, pulling at his scales. "This is so messed up! How much does it – it's hurting, right? It's hurting loads?"

"Almost used to it, but dirty water stings…" the shark grimaced. "Can't reach the surface. On a tight leash."

Gloop stole a desperate glance in the direction of the rattling.

"Lemme go take a look at it…maybe I can do something to loosen it," he stammered wildly. "I'm gonna get you back up, okay? I will." He nuzzled his friend's cheek in encouragement, then pushed off from his face.

"Be careful…" the shark called after him.

Right, Gloop thought to himself. Who knew what minions lurked in the deep?

Averting his eyes from the wound, the fish blocked it from his mind, focusing only on the rattling of what he soon discovered was an enormous chain. One end was fastened to a shackle around Clanker's tail while the other was bolted to a sturdy-looking anvil, rooted deep down in the Cavern's depths. On one side of the anvil was a massive keyhole and there, lodged inside, was a gigantic golden key. It was completely unguarded, to Gloop's relief.

And so he lunged.

"Come on, come on! Move, budge, do something!"

He pushed and pulled at the key, grappling with his fins, jimmying the handle until it slightly gave way –that was it, that was the right direction. Repositioning himself, Gloop started ramming the key with his body. Over and over and over.

It wasn't turning. He couldn't do it. He wasn't strong enough…

Gloop pushed those doubts from his mind. He had to keep going. The key was moving slowly now, inch by painful inch. His fins were already bruising halfway through one turn, but his own pain must've been nothing compared to what Clanker was feeling. He didn't want to think about how many days the shark had spent like this, all alone – every moment now was a moment too long.

Obsessed with this single task, the fish only stopped to look up, panting, when he heard the sound of his friend's muffled voice. "…I'm Clanker, witch's garbage grinder," it said. "Not worry, Clanker won't hurt you…"

Gloop tilted his head in confusion. He couldn't make out the shark's next words, but he knew they weren't meant for him. Just who was he talking to up there? He found himself following the chain back up, his curiosity getting the better of him.

There, not far from the Cavern floor, he spied a shadowy figure making a beeline straight for him. At first, he thought it might be another fish, but as it got closer, the shadow became more and more bear-like until Gloop could see him and his partner clearly. She was some kind of bird – a red-crested breegull, the fish realized – who appeared to be living in the blue backpack her friend wore.

Gloop shot forward to meet them.

"What's going on? Are you trying to reach the bottom? To…to help Clanker?"

A quick nod was all he needed to see. Taking the bear by the arm, Gloop pulled both of the land-dwellers down with him. He might've been a small fish to the shark, but not to the duo – Gloop was over half their size and so they moved quickly.

"You guys are just in time, there's a really heavy key down there that I could really use some help with. I got it turned about halfway, but then it started getting stuck and I…uh." He stopped himself. "How'd you find this place anyway? Did you fall down here like I did – or did somebody send you? It's just that Clanker never mentioned any other friends."

"Mmf," the bear replied.

"Oh, right." Gloop looked back at the duo, somewhat embarrassed. "You can't speak underwater, being air-breathers and all…"

The bird gave him the most unimpressed look she could muster as her partner let out a whimper and tugged on her wing. His head was craned back to look at the surface, which was now very, very far away.

"S-speaking of which, your lungs must be burning."

Gloop turned to face them and, using the one quirk of his species, blew a big bubble that popped in their faces, filling their lungs. The dazed look in their eyes made him laugh a nervous, tired laugh.

"What, you thought I was gonna let you drown? No way, I…I know what I'm doing." He didn't give them time to question that statement as he kept dragging them down, refusing to stop until they had reached the key. "This is it," Gloop said, gesturing urgently. "Hurry, it turns this way."

The bear and bird silently followed his instructions, grabbing one side of the handle while Gloop grabbed the other. With their help, he only had to push – push and give them air.

With one revolution complete, more chain spilled from the anvil, giving Clanker enough slack to rise back to the surface.

"Clanker has fresh air…" Gloop heard his friend gasp in relief. "Thank you."

It was the first good thing to happen to either fish in days and Gloop was so thrilled that he couldn't contain himself.

"Yes, yes, yes! You guys are the best!" he yelled, squeezing them both in a tight hug. It took a good, feathery drubbing to make him realize that he was crushing the air from their lungs. "Ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I forgot!"

A few bubbles later and all was forgiven – on the bear's part, at least. The bird shot Gloop a dark look.

"I – I got so excited, I didn't remember…" With a flustered smile, he held out one fin. "Lemme bring you back up, to make it up to you."

The breegull seethed as her partner accepted Gloop's fin, and continued to seethe as they made the long swim back up, surfacing right next to Clanker's face.

"I s-swear!" she sputtered once she could speak. "You try drowning us again and I'll make a meal out of you, bubble breath!"

"Aw c'mon, Kazooie. He was just happy for the help."

"Yeah, you guys're real life-savers!" Gloop hugged them again despite the bird's protests. Pulling away, he paused. "…I don't even know who you are." He looked back at Clanker. "Do you?"

"No," Clanker smiled. "But not complaining."

"Well, I'm Banjo," the bear said. "And this here's my friend, Kazooie."

"Nice to finally meet you," Gloop said. "I think Clanker already introduced himself" – the shark nodded to confirm this – "so that leaves me. I'm Gloop. Uh…not that we don't appreciate your help or anything, but what're you doing here?"

"It's a long story, bubbles," Kazooie sneered. "Too long for your goldfish brain to handle."

Gloop made a face. "Try me, buzzard."

Before the bird could say anything else, one of Banjo's hands shot up to clamp her beak shut. "What Kazooie means to say is that we don't have much time. My sister, Tooty's been kidnapped by Grunty and we're here to rescue her."

"No kidding…" Gloop frowned. He scoffed to himself, "Well, hasn't she been busy. Ruining everyone's lives…"

"Hope Tooty's okay," Clanker said, looking worried. "Can we help bear and bird find her?"

Gloop looked up. "Uh, yeah. If you're looking for your sister, we haven't seen her…but I can check all the other rooms, just in case."

"That's okay. We're looking for supplies, actually. Stuff like this," Banjo said, pulling a golden puzzle piece and musical note out of his pocket. "We need them to get through the lair – Tooty's somewhere at the top."

"Those look familiar," the fish said. "I think I saw some of 'em down at the bottom. I could help you with that."

"Or…bear and bird could try the door," Clanker suggested, his eyes flicking to the one just overhead. "Grunty used it, once. May lead to her."

Kazooie jerked her head back, freeing her beak. "Finally!" she said. "Something reasonable."

…Or it would have been, if the door wasn't locked and apparently magically-reinforced. The duo couldn't pick the lock or break it down, no matter how hard they tried.

"Typical," the bird groaned as Banjo leapt down to the Cavern's main level. "Just typical."

"We'll collect everything we can abovewater first," Banjo told Gloop, who nodded and watched the duo attempt to scramble onto a nearby platform. It was just out of their reach, so Clanker gave them a boost with one fin.

Once they were all set, Gloop turned to his friend, trying not to look at the holes in his sides. "Um, hey…are you okay? Like, actually okay?"

"Want to ask Gloop the same thing," Clanker said, wincing at the bruises the fish had picked up.

"Oh, this?" Gloop said, raising a discolored fin. "It's not as bad as it looks…I barely even noticed."

"Honest?"

"I'm fine, it can wait. How're your sides – and everything else?"

Clanker tentatively moved his fins back and forth, pulling at the torn metal plating where they were attached. "Not too bad now, but teeth still hurt…witch really piled on the garbage."

"Of course she did. How thoughtful of her."

"Not all bad, though." Clanker's look of distaste became one of gratitude. "Gloop is a big help. Bear and bird, too."

"Yeah, lucky us!" the bird sniped, earning her a loud "Kazooie!" from her partner.

The bear sounded worried that Clanker would take offense and get angry, but the machine simply shrugged, too sleep-deprived to think up a good comeback. He'd already survived a lashing from Gruntilda of all people; he could survive a tongue-lashing, too.

Gloop, on the other hand, still had a little fight left in him. "Just ignore her. She was mean to me, too." The smirk on his face nearly made the shark choke. "Must be a bird thing," he said, raising his voice.

"A – A bird thing?" Kazooie shouted from across the room. She hadn't heard anything else he'd said. "What's that supposed to mean? I'll show you a bird thing, airhead!"

"Gloop," the shark laughed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Ignoring Kazooie's squawks of indignation, the fish swam around to examine the shark's mouth. "So which ones are the problem?"

Clanker gestured to his two gold teeth, the replacements that Klungo had given him not long before. "Klungo fixed teeth once, but…hurting again."

"Hmm. Hold still a sec," Gloop said as he approached one gleaming fang. In its reflection was a ragged-looking fish he scarcely recognized as himself, but aside from being made out of gold, the tooth looked no different from all of the rest.

Maybe it felt different.

Placing both of his fins on its smooth surface, Gloop was surprised to feel something so heavy move under his light touch. "Hey, this one's loose – and the other one too. What if we knocked 'em both out?"

"Worth a try," the shark said after Gloop had backed away from his mouth. "But how?"

"Easy. I'm gonna run into them," the fish said, rubbing his fins together. "That's what I did to the key on your chain."

"Isn't Gloop hurt enough?" the shark cringed. "Teeth are sharp, fish could get cut."

"I know. That's why I'm gonna be extra careful with this."

"Wait," Clanker protested, holding his fins up. "Must be a safer way."

"Like what?"

A loud splash interrupted them then, along with Kazooie's shrill voice: "…Banjo, that fish is going to kill us. He already almost did! Can't we just skip this place?"

"No, Kazooie. We need all the help we can get. Now hush, and don't be rude." Banjo's face brightened as he flagged down the fish. "Hey, Gloop!"

"Uh, hey! Ready to go?" Gloop asked the bear, who nodded. "That's great! I'll take you around, no problem. I just…need help with something first."

Kazooie scowled. "What now?"

"Toothaches," Clanker pointed.

The bird recoiled, her upper lip curled. "What do I look like to you? Some kind of freaky-robot dentist?"

"K-Kazooie!"

"You're the one who's freaky," Gloop frowned.

"She didn't mean that," Banjo said quickly. "We'd be happy to help. Right, Kazooie?"

The breegull's eyes narrowed. "…Fine. But I'm not happy. And I'm not going anywhere near his mouth."

"Good," Clanker said, relieved. The less people around his large fangs, the better. Looking down, he saw Gloop mouth the word "chicken" at him, then nod at Kazooie. He rolled his eyes, grinning. "Maybe Gloop should tell amazing plan to bear and bird…then make a new plan."

Banjo scratched his head. "Yeah, we don't have any tools with us. What do you want us to do?"

"So, I was thinking – since both teeth are loose," the fish gestured, "we could all push on 'em. And then – "

"Push on 'em?" Kazooie snorted. "And get my wings dirty? Save your breath, fishlips. I've got a better idea."

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"A bird thing," she smirked, turning towards the shark's mouth.

The tooth that Gloop had been pointing at fell away instantly after being shot with a few eggs – from her mouth. Clanker blinked in surprise, but he wasn't about to question something that was helping him. The pain from that tooth was already beginning to subside.

"Whoa," Gloop said, awestruck. "I didn't know you could do a cool thing like that. Do the other side now. Other side! Other side!" He pulled the duo around to face the other gold tooth, which also fell away after being hit with a few eggs.

"No more toothaches. Finally," Clanker said, satisfied. He stretched his fins, appearing to get somewhat comfortable. "Thank you, bear and bird."

Kazooie frowned at that, and was about to tell the shark that she deserved all the credit when Gloop interrupted her, crushing her in a big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he said, burying his face in her feathers. "That was so cool!"

"I know it was," she said, letting him cling to her for a few seconds. Then the moment passed. "All right, get off."

"Sorry." Gloop slicked back his dorsal fin in embarrassment. His lack of sleep was making him more scatterbrained than he liked, but at least this hug hadn't nearly drowned the duo. The fish rubbed his tired eyes and extended a fin to the bear, smiling. "Okay, now I'll take you around the Cavern."

Clanker watched silently as the trio collected a few items on the floor in front of him, providing some much-needed light with his eyes, but when they moved on to other parts of the Cavern, he took the opportunity to doze, catching bits and pieces of Gloop's babbling as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He didn't mean to be rude to the Cavern's only other guests, but now that his teeth had stopped hurting, it was hard to keep his eyes open.

"What's his problem?" Kazooie asked once they'd resurfaced. "Besides everything."

"We haven't slept in days," Gloop admitted. "It's kind of a long story…" He babbled on.

Eventually, the shark was roused by their conversation – the bear and bird were explaining their plight in more detail while Banjo laid out his collectibles, counting how many he had. According to him, the witch had kidnapped Tooty to suck out her beauty, a painful-sounding process that, knowing Gruntilda, would probably also turn his sister into a monster. The young bear had only been taken by the witch yesterday, which put her kidnapping right on the heels of the Cove's takeover and Clanker's punishment.

Gloop was right, Gruntilda really had been busy.

Banjo frowned as he finished his count and his brow remained furrowed as he looked around the Cavern, slapping a musical note against his leg. His eyes finally settled on one of the holes in Clanker's mouth.

"C'mon Banjo, I'm tired of swimming. Let's get out of here." Kazooie grabbed his ears and pulled hard. "Maybe we'll get to fly around in the next world."

Banjo swatted her. "Wait, Kazooie. We're missing loads." He held a musical note and puzzle piece up to the shark. "Before we go…Clanker, have you ever seen these in the trash?"

"Maybe," the machine shrugged, "but hard to remember. Eaten lots of gar…bage…"

Trailing off, Clanker suddenly understood what Banjo was really asking him – and Kazooie did, too.

"No," the shark and bird shouted in unison.

"Banjo – you can't. I won't let you." The bird grabbed him by the shoulders, her feathers ruffled. "Not that. Anything but that!"

"Not safe," the shark agreed, thinking of the fast-spinning blades in his stomach. They could easily slice up the duo and the mere thought of it terrified him.

"We don't have a choice…" Banjo said, putting the jigsaw pieces and musical notes away. "These aren't enough to get through the next door."

"So?" Kazooie said. "We'll find more somewhere else."

"We already cleared out the other worlds and we can't open more."

"We could've missed something."

"We can't go back either, we're running out of time."

Clanker mentally kicked himself. This wasn't about him, this was about rescuing Banjo's sister.

"Look, he doesn't want us to." Kazooie pointed at the machine. "End of story. We're done here."

"Actually…" the shark cleared his throat loudly. "Clanker changed mind. For Tooty." To the duo's surprise, he motioned for them to enter his mouth. "Watch out for blades."

"Thanks," Banjo said, looking like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Kazooie looked like she wanted to scream. And she did: "Traitor! You were supposed to be on my side!"

"Sorry…not Clanker's first choice, either."

"Small comfort, stinkfish." Glaring, she covered her nose and slid into her backpack.

"We'll be quick," the bear said, climbing into one of the dark spaces between Clanker's teeth.

Gloop peered into the hole from a distance. "What're they? Crazy?" he said finally.

No. Desperate, said the look on Clanker's face. The duo was still in his mouth, so he couldn't speak.

"Unbelievable," Gloop said. "They better not break anything, or I'll…I dunno what I'll do."

Clanker, of course, was worried that it would be the other way around. He held very still, on the off chance that his blades would slow down, but as the long minutes ticked by, the shark wondered if he'd made the right choice. If the bear and bird didn't survive (his mind refused to go into more detail), not only would he be responsible for their fates but Tooty's as well. Gruntilda would win and he would've helped her. He'd be a monster after all.

"Still doing okay?" Gloop asked, worried at the distant, pained expression on the shark's face. "I dunno what's taking so long…wish they'd hurry up."

Clanker blinked in agreement, still not daring to speak.

When the duo finally re-emerged from his gills, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, joints creaking as he relaxed.

Gruntilda hadn't won yet.

"See, Kazooie? That wasn't so bad," Banjo said, brandishing a few new puzzle pieces. He swam awkwardly with them in his hands.

"I hate you," she groaned, looking green underneath her feathers. "And I hate this smell. This is never going to come out. Hear that, rustbucket? You reek."

Gloop stuck out his tongue. "So do you."

"Glad bird is okay," Clanker said, his mood lifting instantly.

Kazooie gave them both a sour look and continued her grumbling as Banjo heaved himself onto a platform to recount their spoils. Then, she grumbled some more. At some point during her rant about the Cavern and Clanker and everything else, she realized that it was having the exact opposite of its intended effect – the shark didn't look repentant at all for being such a huge inconvenience. In fact, he looked downright amused.

"What's so funny, garbage guts? Don't forget, you owe me big-time for my help."

Clanker debated whether or not to tell her how absurd she was, picking fights with people who were many times her size, but he didn't want her to stop, so he smiled and said, "Nothing's funny. Clanker is sorry, but have nothing to give cheeky bird…except for maybe advice."

"Ha!" Kazooie barked. "Well, if I ever take up dumpster diving, you'll be the first to know."

"Not that kind of advice," the shark laughed. "Advice about Grunty."

"G-Grunty?" Banjo looked up. "We're listening."

All eyes were now on the shark, who'd just been teasing the bird and suddenly found himself with an attentive audience. Gloop motioned for him to go on.

"Uh, well…witch is dangerous, knows many spells. Clanker was warned, but didn't listen. Made witch angry and got punished for it," he said, gesturing to himself. "So, if bear and bird meet Grunty, avoid Grunty's spells…and anger. And small rooms." He knocked his fins against the walls for emphasis.

Banjo nodded. "Good to know."

"We could've figured that out for ourselves," Kazooie sneered, albeit with a begrudging respect in her eyes. Her next words reluctantly left her mouth. "But thanks…I guess. Rustbrain."

"Aww," Gloop's voice went up an octave. "You really do care."

Kazooie glared at him. "Shut up."

"Baby steps," the fish smiled.

Banjo beamed, too. "Kazooie, we have enough!" he said, throwing the collectibles back in his bag.

"Finally," she smirked. "Let's blow this dump!"

After everyone had said their goodbyes, Gloop took the duo back through the pipe they'd used to enter the Cavern. The passageway led to a room with large oil drums and a ladder, up which the bear and bird quickly disappeared.

"Kick Grunty's butt for us, okay?" Gloop yelled after them, getting a faraway squawk in reply.

The fish lingered there for a moment, alone, listening to the sounds of dripping water around him. He'd almost forgotten how quiet the Cavern was – and how sore he was. With the duo gone, his adrenaline was beginning to wear off and a dull ache crept into his fins. Cradling them to his chest, he swam back into the Cavern's main room.

The shark was fading fast, too. There was a small, bemused smile on his face, likely put there by one of Kazooie's comments, but as Gloop watched, that contented expression slowly turned to worry.

"Hope they make it," Clanker said finally.

"I hope so, too…Grunty's the worst."

"Pretty bad," the shark agreed.

"How're you feeling, by the way?"

"Much better, thanks to bear and bird – and Gloop, of course." Clanker nudged the fish appreciatively with his snout. "Toothaches all gone, so…going to sleep now. Gloop should rest, too. Fish looks like garbage."

Gloop thought back to the exhausted figure he'd seen in his reflection. "Yeah, I totally do."

"Not worry, so does Clanker." The shark's smile disappeared as he sighed, "Clanker is very sorry about the Cove. Would help Gloop make plans to find other fish, but too tired to think straight. Can do that after some rest."

"Really?" Gloop raised his brows in a mixture of gratitude and disbelief.

"Really. Clanker can't do much, but want to help Gloop. If fish needs anything, just ask."

Gloop nodded at that, though he felt like he'd caused enough trouble without also asking his friend for impossible favors. The terrible gashes on both of Clanker's sides made the fish want to burst out of his scales, as did the fact that the shark was now chained and confined – all to protect Gloop and people he'd never even met. Even worse, Clanker seemed to be completely at peace with his fate. Fumbling around, the fish wrung his fins guiltily. None of these things could just be ignored.

When the fish spoke again, his voice was much smaller. "Hey, Clanker?"

"Yeah?" The shark looked down at him, teeth glinting in a tired but good-natured grin.

It wrenched at Gloop's heart.

"I just…wanted you to know how sorry I am, because seeing you like this is the worst. And I feel like it's all my fault. You gave up so much to save me and my Covemates, and I'd do the same for you if I could." The fish trembled. "…But I can't fix this. I'm not a mechanic, I don't know any magic, I don't know anything."

The shark gave him a sympathetic look. "Gloop knows how to be a good friend."

"No, I don't…I ruined your life."

"Not true at all. Just seems that way because fish is tired and in a bad mood."

"That's the other thing," Gloop said, looking down. His battered fins sagged even more. "I'd just go home and sleep all of this off if I could…but I can't. The Cove is gone and so is everyone else – and the nearest reefs are all miles away. I'd never make it to one on my own. I'm no coward, but I'm not crazy, either." His voice broke as he sniffed, "I…I'd just be fish food out there."

"Gloop…"

Clanker tried to squeeze in another kind word, but the fish shook his head, his face buried in his fins. "I'm so sorry…I did this to you. I did this, and I don't wanna ask for more, but I h-have to. It's not fair – you've already done so much – but the Cavern is safe and there's nowhere else I can go. I dunno what else to do. S-so…is it okay if I…" He took a deep breath and clasped his trembling fins. "C-can I stay with you?"

If looks could kill, then the terrible sadness marring Gloop's face would have ended Clanker right then and there. The fish was exhausted, having spent the last of his energy helping the shark – and then Banjo and Kazooie. If only the breegull could see him now. There was nothing left to hold back his tears and his small, hiccupy sobs hurt the shark in a way that Gruntilda never could.

"Of course Gloop can stay," Clanker said instantly, ashamed he hadn't offered his home to the fish earlier. A garbage dump was no place to live, but it was still better than nothing. "Clanker is fine, okay? Not Gloop's fault. Don't cry…"

Very carefully, as gently as he could, he brushed a large, metal fin over his friend's head. If he didn't have to worry about hurting the fish, he would have pulled Gloop into something resembling a hug…but that was just one of the many things he couldn't do with his cumbersome body – crying was another. The shark had discovered that particular limitation right after Gruntilda had thrashed him, though it hadn't come as much of a surprise. As far as he knew, he was only a robot, and his eyes were only metal and glass.

…Even so, it felt like they were welling up with something as Gloop clung to his fin and refused to let go.

"Gloop is always welcome here," Clanker reassured the fish, who nodded gratefully and wiped his eyes. The shark held him close. "Always."