Chapter 1: Undrinkable Water

I don't belong here either, I think. I don't belong anywhere. I never thought there was a world with breathable air, an abundance of space, blinding skies, and above all else, life. However, this isn't the foretold heaven Dad made it out to be. It's brutal and savage, it's as if the planet is at odds with itself; questioning whether or not it should scald its inhabitants or have them live comfortably with the cool breezes and habitable islands amongst the revolting salty water. Though, it seems I'm the only one bothered by this locus. Strange creatures—some large and some small—I see make quick appearances from within the water seem content and joyful. I want that, that peace and satisfaction, but I simply can't relate.

I have been stranded on this island for over 12 "passages" (which is what I'm calling one full switch of the star blazing down at everything with the moon and the freezing darkness it brings) and I can hardly keep my eyes open, let alone walk. I haven't had anything to eat since I crashed my ship in the salty water. I had felt relieved that I'd managed to flail in the liquid well enough to make it to a small patch of land and bury myself in the sand to escape the heat, but now, I was wishing I'd just suffocated underneath the water, anything was better than the long days of shuffling around the only hard solid construct (a "rock" is what I believe Dad said it's called) that was only just tall enough for it to cast a shadow large enough to hide my wilting body underneath as the star moved, altering the shadow's position until darkness swallowed the world.

Before the first passage, I'd been excited as the moon began to block the star's rays, relieved to have a gentle cooling break from the heat. Only, I found the night to be unbearably cold, then having to use the sand as a makeshift blanket to warm myself somewhat. Unfortunately, it did little to aid me.

The cycle of hating the blistering star and hating the frigid moon has driven me to the brink of insanity. I'm not sure how much longer I can last here. I'm not even sure if I want to. Compared to the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and fear I felt on board the ship to the pain I feel here, it makes me wonder if there's anywhere I can go to feel at ease. I'd much rather take my chances with Godz at this point.

I can't feel anything anymore, not even the heat. I'm hallucinating, too. There seems to be a large orange thing driving what looks like an oddly designed space pod on the surface of the water, quickly approaching me. I can't be bothered to dwell on this figment of my imagination, there isn't anything left for me at this point. Dad had been wrong about this place, his efforts had been for naught. All that's left is for me is to die here and hopefully meet him again in the afterlife.

My eyes flutter weakly, and vision blurs as the orange hallucination wanders cautiously toward me, having parked its pod atop the island's shore. I make no motion to push it away as I can only barely feel it lift me into its arms. Still unsure of its realness, I poke its face tiredly, feeling slight alarm when a deep rumbling comes from its chest. However, too tired to stay awake any longer, I slump into its fuzzy chest and pass out.

I'm in so much pain, but it's so warm, it feels like I'm dreaming. Maybe I am, but it doesn't matter. My dad holds me tight and I feel a flutter of pain in my heart as it aches knowing this is a final farewell. The running and dodging the robotic enforcers had finally met its end in an all but expected way. Neither of us are going to survive this, that much is certain, but I'm okay with that. That's why tears blur my eyes, that's why he's screaming, because it's all okay, and we knew it was going to end, and it's time for it to end—the final farewell.


I groggily wake up after what feels like hours, only to be met with a grating grumbling sound I eventually identify as the noises of other life forms. I hesitantly turn my head to see two creatures, the orange one from earlier and a large white one, engaging in what I can best describe as an argument, one I fear would soon become violent. My muscles ache, but I still rise quickly and run to the nearest thing that resembles a way out: a circular hatch on the wall. I reach my hands up to pry it open, only for it to open on its own. I hesitate, unsure if this is the right way to go. I hear the creatures exclaim in alarm as they notice me by the hatch.

Here goes nothing I guess. I jump into the portal, closing my eyes in fear as I'm swung back and forth down the twisting slide. Eventually, I'm emptied painfully onto the floor with a grunt, rolling to a halt just in time before crashing into yet another large creature, this one being green with two large odd-looking growths coming from its head.

The creature backs up quickly, making a sound of surprise. It presses some sort of alarm on the wall, causing a siren to go off around the whole room.

I press my hands to my ears, slightly kneeling from the pain of the loud ringing. I see the other two creatures exit the hatch I just came from and start to quickly advance towards me. The green one makes no motion to grab me as I slip past it to another hatch, this time propelling me upwards. I glance back to see the white and orange creature in hot pursuit, yelling unintelligible words at me.

I land on my feet this time as I'm deposited from the tunnel and I immediately start to dash across the metal floor through the large hallway.

I'm not sure why I'm running or where, but I can't stop. It's all muscle memory; a reflex.

I round a corner, skillfully dodging a black and white creature scurrying to (I assume) where we just were. The two creatures in pursuit crash messily into the black and white one, all yelling in alarm. I can't help but smirk as I glance over my shoulder at the scene behind me, the creatures flail and push each other as they point at me vehemently. I don't wait to see them get back up as I round another corner, eyeing what appears to be a sort of dining area. Metal doors slam behind me (somewhat purposefully, it seems) as I enter the room. I hear the creatures pound on the door harshly until quieting down slowly, silently murmuring behind the steel.

I scan the room for a way out but see nothing. Slowly, the panic of entrapment begins to settle in. There's no way out for me. I have to hide.

I slip into a metal box with dials and a hatch with a handle on the front of it. I peer out of the blurry window on the hatch and I witness the distorted forms of the creatures enter the dining room. They instantly begin opening and closing various cabinets and drawers, no doubt still in search of me. I hold my breath and sit still.

Count to five and it'll all be okay. Stay still. Don't breathe.

My father's words echo through my head and I close my eyes, a single tear fleeting down my right cheek.

I dig my nails into my arm to stifle my fear as I hear the hatch of the metal box open and the clear sounds of the creatures as they chatter at me in a foreign tongue.

Why haven't they attacked me yet? I hesitantly open my eyes to see the face of the orange creature giving me a look I can best describe as concern. He slowly extends his large hand to mine, or at least, I think they're hands. They look heavily padded and hairy, with long nails —discretely yet threateningly—jutting out from his "finger tips".

I shrink back fearfully, eyeing his face more carefully. His face is also covered completely in orange hair. His mouth is extended slightly outwards forming a muzzle of sorts (I recall my dad said it's what some animals had on earth, but this looked slightly different from the detailed pictures he'd draw). His eyes— or rather, one eye as one was shielded by a piece of thin fabric wrapped around his head—black and deep like space itself, ignited a small glimmer of trust in my chest.

Very slowly, I reached my hand towards his and held it delicately. He grinned, giving me a toothy smile, revealing rows of sharp teeth. I swallowed nervously before gasping in surprise as the creature slightly pulled me forward causing me to awkwardly step out of the metal box.

I glance around quickly once I regain my balance, taking a look at the other creatures surrounding me. There's the green, white, and black and white ones from earlier, as well as two more that are both brown: one tall one and one short. They all have black eyes like the orange one yet there's a lack of familiarity and passion in their view.

I give the white one a second look, his expression causing alarm bells to go off in my mind: he has a firm look on his face that at first seems harmless enough, but on closer inspection, it's clear that he's forcing the mien, near unbridled fury lurking deep within his orbs.

I take a frightened step back before the orange one puts a reassuring hand on my back. He gestures to the group. He points at each one, saying something until he gets to himself.

"Kwazii" He says, patting it chest.

I tilt my head in confusion, unsure of what he means.

"K-w-a-z-ii" He says again, this time slower and in bits.

Oh, it's his name. I nod my head in understanding, grinning slightly.

He points to me and quirks a brow.

Uh oh, here we go. I make a gesture my dad taught me to indicate I can't speak. He doesn't seem to understand so I open my mouth and grimace slightly as I try to make a few gnarled indecipherable breathy words. I wince as I feel my vocal cords shiver meekly at the uncommon usage. Suddenly, I'm back in the steel hallways decorated with bright virtual signs warning of abberants and committing sinful acts against Godz. I run with every bit of energy in my starved body, praying to nothing as I search tirelessly for a place to hide. I beg passerbys for help inaudibly, tugging at their tight waxy clothing only to be struck harshly by the back of their hands as they scream profanities at me. I manage to find a place to hide and the enforcers let up after a long anxious hour. Eventually, I make my way back to the hiding place my dad made for me and I wait for him to return. I nod off several times until I hear the familiar sound of his labored breathing (I'd asked him what's wrong and he'd say "this ship" completely dodging my actual concerns) I spring from my groggy stupor and hug him and excitedly try to rehearse the events of the day, using my hands as my tongue like a passionate game of charades. My dad "silences" me and tells me about his day instead as he can't really understand me very well. He prattles about the gratuitous work he did for the miscellaneous mechanical job he does deep within the engine of the ship, joking about how he'd like to just throw a wrench in "the damn thing" and end this sorrowful existence for all but only has pause because of me. I smile at this and show him my drawings. Since I can't write very well, drawing is another way I found to communicate. He admires my work and smiles, "you'll make a fine artist one day." He says, though we both know that'll never happen aboard this ship, we let our imagination take us beyond our lives reaching out and carving a place among the heavens. A place where we're both brilliant artists, gazing around the friendly faces as they cheer for us; cheer for our work. It's a shameless dream, here in the empty foreboding of space, that will never come to fruition. But we'll let it simmer until the flame inevitably goes out.

I gasp weakly as a tear fleets down my cheek at the pain of "speaking". This seems to get the message across as he frowns sadly and gives me a pat on my shoulder supportively. I rub my neck and nod with a small smile. I notice the black and white one wringing its "hands" (two black flaps that miraculously seem to bend flexibly enough to grab and hold things) as if put off by my voiceless display. I feel a drop of embarrassment as the familiar guilt of being othered plants itself in my heart growing fast until it reaches my thoughts. I grimace as I recall the cruel screams of the people aboard the ship, yelling at me to fling myself into space or, more simply, to kill myself. I avert my eyes from the black-and-white one and look to Kwazii as he starts to speak again. He talks to the others for a bit, exchanging a few words with them before looking to me. He rubs his stomach then pokes mine and tilts his head questioningly. I think he's asking if I'm hungry. I nod and suddenly my stomach grumbles loudly at the mention of food. A deep rumble comes from his chest which I can now identify as laughter, a laughter not too unlike my father's. He calls out loudly and I flinch at the sudden sound. Almost immediately, four short creatures (the tallest one being about two inches shorter than me) run into the dining area. They have a plate full of… what in the world is that? Dad never mentioned anything like this. The creatures look at me in surprise but quickly resume their composure and waddle over to me in haste, handing me one of the things on the plate.

I stare at the item that seems to stare right back at me. It's a flat cylinder with a deep groove in its center. On its front, it has a smiley face drawn on it. I sniff it curiously and, to my surprise, it smells amazing. I turn the edible to the side, hiding the face from my view, and take a bite of the back. My mouth explodes with flavor as euphoric tastes swim across my senses. I feel the soft spongy texture of the food nestle comfortably in my jaws as I chew, the velvety frame breaking into small mouth-watering pieces, each just as good if not better than the last. With each bite, I memorize and learn a new taste, giving each sensation no name but allowing my body to hold onto its presence for as long as possible until I crave more. Quickly, I finish the food on the plate, hardly minding my manners and hardly acknowledging the amused looks and laughs of the creatures as I lick the bits of crumbs on my palms.

Satisfied, truly satisfied, I fall cross-legged to the floor and start to succumb to drowsiness. I feel familiar arms lift me into them, and I snuggle close to the warm embrace of Kwazii as I drift into a welcomed sleep.


Paso looked at the small alien creature inquisitively, he hadn't seen or known anything that looked quite like what he was witnessing. It had two black eyes (with a bit of white) just as they did, but that was about where their similarities ended. The animal (at least presumably) had no fur (or feathers) on its body save for its head, which had a mass of black hair in tightly woven curls. As its skin was hairless, it was smooth and almost rubbery—or appeared so from afar. Based on its mannerisms and size, it was young, too; he'd put it at about 6 or 8 years old. Its body was covered in an outfit of sorts: gray pants with black lines running along the seams and a gray long-sleeved shirt that bore a queer insignia.

Paso looked around to his fellow crew members, who had been silently watching the display until now. To his right, Tweak seemed somewhat frightened of the animal, giving it skeptical glances up and down. To his left, Shellington looked completely and utterly elated; Paso couldn't recall ever seeing the scientist so excited. The otter gestured as he whispered ecstatically with Dashi. Paso looked at Captain Barnacles and was disturbed by the expression on the polar bear. It was neither spite nor anger, but Paso could tell he was definitely angry. Barnacle's eyes flickered to meet Paso's, and Paso suddenly felt a jolt of unease as the Captain's expression took a moment to soften. Paso felt the need to say something until his thoughts were interrupted by Shellington speaking up as he stepped up to the animal in Kwazii's arms, reaching his hands in interest.

"Kwazii, where did you find this specimen? Why, this has to be the most incredible discovery since the Vegimals!" Shellington exclaimed, reaching a finger to prod the animal inquisitively.

Kwazii lightly tapped Shellington's reaching hand away, earning a disgruntled "huff" from the scientist, eyeing Kwazii with annoyance.

"The little matey just got to sleep, let's let 'em rest a bit." Kwazii said, smiling down at the creature.

Shellington rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry, I might've gotten a little excited there."

"Okay but Kwazii, where did you find that… thing?" Barnacles asked with a slight edge.

Paso swallowed nervously at the dangerous inclination in the Captain's voice, rubbing his flippers together nervously.

Kwazii, with a firm yet wary expression, looked to the Captain and hesitated a moment before answering.

"There was an island jus' above us a ways back. Found it while taking the Gup-B out for a swim." Kwazii's eyes briefly scanned the faces of his fellow crew members with a slightly bothered expression, as if recalling something unpleasant, "He was… he was starving to death, cap'… I couldn't have jus' left him there. Even now, he's thinner than a stick!"

Barnacles clenched his fists for a brief second before folding his arms with a sigh. A myriad of emotions passed through Barnacles' gaze, though Paso was only able to identify two as they seemed to battle almost relentlessly within the polar bear: fear and guilt. The medic nearly rubbed his eyes at this. There wasn't any way their captain was scared in this situation, not by this creature. Even Tweak had gotten over any initial fear and had settled her expression to one of contempt and indifference, nibbling on a carrot she hadn't had a moment before.

Barnacles shook his head and put on a plastic grin, "Well in that case, we better hold on to him until he gets better or we find out where he comes from, shouldn't we?" Barnacles put a paw on Kwazii's shoulder and laughed—albeit hallow and strained, "Good work Kwazii. Octonauts, as you were." Barnacles, with a now empty expression, exited the room nonchalantly.

Paso raised his brow in surprise at their captain's terse conclusion and looked around to his companions, searching their faces for the tiniest bit of concern. Dashi looked as though she wanted to say something but held her tongue. She cast one last concerned glance at the strange creature and Kwazii before quickly exiting the room. Shellington didn't seem bothered by Barnacle's behavior in any capacity, muttering "fascinating" and "incredible" under his breath as he hovered around Kwazii, trying to get a good look at the animal with his magnifying glass. Tweak seemed to have miraculously vanished, much to Paso's confusion, leaving not so much as a carrot crumb in her leave. Kwazii seemed to be the only one, aside from Paso, who was very visibly upset. The cat's face was scrunched somewhat, with a grim look in his eyes. Kwazii walked/pushed past Shellington and began to scurry to the sick bay. Paso followed closely behind, with Shellington in tow, stimming fervently.

Paso turned to Shellington, hoping that he could somehow get the chatty scientist away so that he could speak with Kwazii alone, "Shellington, you wouldn't happen to have an extra stethoscope? I seem to have misplaced several of mine."

Shellington looked at the penguin and brightened. "Of course, I've got a few. I'll also grab some cotton swabs for DNA samples!"

"Y-you don't have to do that-"

Shellington hurried off before Paso could finish. Prompting an annoyed sigh to escape the penguin's beak. Paso waddled quickly to catch up with Kwazii as the cat entered the sick bay.

Kwazii lay the animal on one of the beds and watched it silently, an unreadable expression on his face.

Paso sat quietly for a moment before anxiously speaking up, "K-Kwazii…? Are you alright?" Paso had seen the wannabe pirate bothered before, but not like this. Kwazii seemed nervous, and not in a humorous way with his fear of spiders, but timid and afraid.

Kwazii sighed and scratched his chin for a moment before answering, lifting his eye patch up for a reason unbeknownst to Paso, "You really should've seen 'em, Paso…"

Paso quirked a brow, "The captain? Yes, it's been bothering me too! he looked-"

"No. Before that. When he first saw the little fella- he looked… so furious." Kwazii scrunched his face in angst, sitting at the foot of the bed. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I've only ever known the cap'em to use his strength to help others… but if I hadn't been there to stop him I think he would've- I mean perhaps-" the lieutenant tripped over his words, his hands shaking slightly. "I just don't know if I can trust Barnacles."

Paso put a flipper on Kwazii's shivering paws, ignoring how the cat uncharacteristically omitted the captain's honorific, "I'm sure it'll be alright, Kwazii. I think the captain might just be in a mood of sorts."

Kwazii smiled slightly before looking at the alien creature, "I really hope you're right, mate."

Paso grinned, having an idea to raise the cat's spirits, "How about you sleep here for the night? That way, you can watch the animal. Keep him safe!" He put a flipper to his beak in thought, "yeah, you can come get me if anything seems wrong with him, I'll give him a quick look over for tonight and a thorough check-up in the morning."

Kwazii smiled, "Great, I think I'll do that…"

"Let me just get my stethoscope real qu-" Paso began as he pulled out a stethoscope from a cabinet at the back of the room but was cut off by Shellington announcing his presence, causing the medic to quickly shove the stethoscope back in the drawer sheepishly.

"Here you are, Paso!" got the cotton swabs too!" Shellington handed the Paso his stethoscope before he quickly hastened to the unconscious animal sleeping on the bed. Shellington began to prod at the creature's mouth, causing it to wake slowly.

"Yeow! Shellington, what's gotten into you?!" Kwazii exclaimed as he began to push the curious otter away.

"Getting DNA samples! I think we may have found a new creature… An alien even! This is the discovery of a lifetime!" Shellington proceeded to slip past Kwazii and continue to prod the waking creature.

Paso felt a lump form in his throat, fearful that the creature may start running again or worse, do something neither of them could prepare for. It couldn't possibly be a space alien. Paso reasoned. Right? "You guys, it's waking up…!" He warned, pointing with the tip of his flipper at the animal. "You really should be more careful, Shelington, it could be dangerous!"

"Dangerous? Oh that's nonsense-" Kwazii began, but stopped as he noticed the creature now sitting up and staring at them.

Shellington was at a loss for words as he stared at the creature in awe, lowering his cotton swab.

The creature looked around at the three crew members, intelligence shimmering in its eyes. It tilted its head at Shellington as he began to raise his swab.

"Could I, erm, perhaps, have a little bit of your DNA?" Shellington asked.

The creature looked at the cotton swab for a moment before taking it from Shellington. For a moment, Paso thought that the animal may have understood the scientist, but instead of doing the buccal swab—much to Shellington's dismay—the animal sniffed the swab, licked it, then tossed it to the floor, making a disgusted face. Shellington quickly caught the swab before it hit the ground, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I… suppose this can do for now." The otter grumbled, sticking the swab into a small sealable test tube.

Kwazii laughed at the scene and ruffled the small animals hair, "You're a funny one, can you really not understand us?" He asked with a wide grin.

The creature frowned as it shook its head free of Kwazii's hand. It looked at the cat and gasped pointing to his eye uncovered by his raised eye patch.

Kwazii chuckled again, "Aye, I've got me eye, but every great pirate's got an eye patch!" He flipped the patch back on with a wink.

The creature tilted its head in confusion before covering its own eye with its hand, seemingly mimicking Kwazii.

"Fascinating! It appears to be copying you, Kwazii!" Shellington whipped out a notebook from his bag and began scribbling passionately.

Kwazii took out another eye patch— seemingly from thin air—handing it to the creature, "What say you, 'lil matey? How would you like to be a pirate?"

The creature took the eye patch from Kwazii and put it on, an small smile forming on its lips. It flipped the patch up and down on its eye and laughed quietly, the same horse, gnarled sound coming from its gullet as before.

Paso frowned at this anxiously, there was obviously something amiss with the creature's vocals. He watched as It grimaced with discomfort after its guffaw, rubbing its neck tenderly. Kwazii didn't seem all too aware of the problem, or rather, chose to pay it little mind as he continued chatting about the thrills of being a pirate.

Paso cleared his throat as he waddled to the animal, "I'd like to give it a check up now, Kwazii."

Kwazii nodded and made room for the penguin. The animal looked between Kwazii and Paso in confusion.

"I'm just going to check your breathing." Paso said as he raised the diaphragm.

The creature gave Paso a wary look up and down, backing up as Paso moved forward. Paso frowned and continued to reach forward, causing the creature to shuffle backwards.

Paso sighed, lowering the stethoscope, turning to Kwazii pleadingly, "Could you calm him down? He seems quite fond of you."

Kwazii squinted in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers at an inspiration. He took the diaphragm of the stethoscope to his chest and held it there, breathing slowly in then out. He then put it to the animal's chest before it could refuse. Kwazii breathed in then out and motioned to the creature, urging it to do the same. To Paso's surprise, it understood and obliged, breathing slowly just like Kwazii.

Paso listened intently, he searched the creature's chest then throat to "see" if he could hear anything amiss. Paso's eyes widened in surprise. Based on what he was hearing: stomach, lungs, heart, etc, there was a shocking amount of similarities the being had to other earthly creatures. So it wasn't an alien. Paso figured. That was a relief.

Paso removed the diaphragm from the creature's chest with a grimace, "His vocal cords are damaged… both of them, and based on how it sounds, they've been damaged for quite some time…" He remained silent so as to gauge his crew mates' reactions.

Shellington stopped taking his scrupulous notes and looked at the creature in shock, giving it a pitying look, "I… I see, that's really unfortunate. I wonder how that came to be…?"

Kwazii looked crestfallen by the news, his ears drooping, "Do you think there's any way you can help 'em?" He put a paw on the shoulder of the creature consolingly despite its clear nascience to their conversation.

Paso sighed, putting a flipper to his cheek in thought, "I suppose there might be a way…" He made a wry expression, "But it's risky."

"Risky how?" Shellington asked with a wave of his pencil.

"It'd have to be a surgery of sorts..." Paso replied, his eyes downcast. He began to search his medical mind, reaching for the answers to the growing list of questions that had begun to accumulate in his head, "If I knew what it was it'd make the surgery a lot safer."

Shellington's eyes brightened, "Well that's what I'm here for!" He began to quickly scurry out of the room, "I'll try to get you some specs as soon as possible." He held up the test tube with a swirl before jogging/shuffling down the hallway.

Kwazii's expression was still forlorn as he watched the creature as it began kicking its legs over the edge of the bed idly, "I wonder what happened to 'em… y'know, to be stranded and alone. Also mute on top of it all…"

Paso let silence fill the room for a couple of moments, somewhat surprised by the strong familiarity Kwazii had already developed for the animal, "I don't know, Kwazii…" Paso said with a brief pause, "Maybe he can tell us one day."


A/N

Hey, thanks for reading! You probably already know from the description, but this is my first fanfic! For those wondering why I'm even making a story about the Octonauts, it's because the show is formulaically straightforward with easy-to-understand character personalities that I feel wouldn't be too difficult to replicate/expound upon, making it the perfect subject to help me improve my writing "skills." Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! Again, constructive criticism is appreciated as creative writing isn't my strong suit lol. Cheers!