Chapter Text
It had been a fairly normal and successful day for the crew aboard the Octopod. They managed to make significant progress in studying a coral reef; it had animals and plants that weren't found anywhere else and a cave system underneath. Vick and Miles had challenged each other to a race, but to the surprise of everyone (and to the relief of Ellie,) neither of them crashed. Bunny had managed to cut her hand on a rock, but it was easy for Randy to deal with until they had a proper medic aboard.
Captain Arthur von Licht was currently filling out the day’s report in HQ. Since nothing had crashed or broken and that there had been no near-death experiences thanks to Miles’ cryptid hunting, it was shorter than usual. The reports had been as of late. However, it was still late by the time he finished and he had no time left in the day to work on a little project he had once he got to his room.
It was a little model ship of the HMS Beagle, which was used by Charles Darwin on his voyage to the Galapagos Islands. It had been a gift from a family member right before he officially became the Captain of the Octonauts, which the person had thought it was fitting as the first word in the Octonaut motto was “explore”. He was almost done with it, all that was left was painting it. But Arthur still had to get up early the next day and was not risking sleeping past his alarm.
As he walked out of HQ, Arthur could hear Bunny and Hacker talking about a storm they had been tracking. It had recently taken a slight turn, heading straight towards the reef they had stationed themselves at.
“I think it’s getting stronger, it's not enough to be hazardous to us now, but it could be by the time it hits,” Hacker said. Arthur tensed up a bit at that, but it would have to wait until the morning. It would be fine, they’ve handled worse.
He passed Finch on the way out, who was taking watch duty that night. They had been rotating the job throughout the crew as it was a newer area and there was wildlife still yet to be discovered. But everything so far had been fine, and Arthur doubted the alarm would have to be turned on at any point in the night.
Miles, Vick, and Ellie were still in the kitchen and dining area, (hopefully) finishing up what they said was a one-shot session of Oceans and Ogres. Usually, they went on for weeks on end, but the trio had promised that this one would be short.
Arthur waved at them and continued on his way. He reached his room and pretty much immediately got ready and went to bed. Although, he laid awake for some time just… thinking.
What if the storm hits earlier than it should and we’re not prepared? What if something from under the reef decides to attack? Arthur knew that should any of this happen, Finch would sound the alarm and the crew could handle it. After all, they’ve handled worse.
And yet, he couldn’t seem to shake the thoughts away as he fell asleep.
The alarm went off. The loud WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP sounded throughout the Octopod as it was designed to get any and everyone's attention. Arthur raced to HQ after throwing on actual clothes; not the full uniform, he didn’t have the time for that. He entered HQ as the Octopod shook.
No one was there. Finch should’ve been at the very least. Crystal and Randy were usually quick with getting there in case of an emergency. The only one Arthur could think of who would not be there was Ellie, who had to immediately tie and close down the launch bay according to protocol. The ship shook again like something was hitting against it. Arthur immediately went to the intercom system and turned it on. His first priority was making sure his crew was safe, captain or not.
“Is everyone alright?” He waited for an answer. There was none. “Hello? Is everyone okay?” Arthur repeated. No answer.
This wasn’t right. Crystal usually would answer immediately if she was not there with him. And if no one answered the first time, there was always an answer the second. But Arthur didn’t get a chance to make another call or even go look for his missing crew. A loud beeping came from one of the computers, a map of the surrounding area.
Something was coming towards the Octopod. And not only that, the Octopod was moving.
That shouldn’t be possible. No one’s piloting it.
He looked out the windows. There was no ground for the Octopod to be set on. In fact, it kept bobbing up and out of the water. The ocean waves crashed around the ship. The sky was dark with black, swirling clouds and lightning struck the air as rain crashed down.
Stay calm, we, you, can handle this. The beeping went on. Whatever it was, it kept moving towards the Octopod and the ocean and sky seemed to have no effect on its speed.
It struck the ship. Arthur fell to the floor, trying to brace himself on the console. If something was attacking, they had no weapons to fend it off with. The only choice was to attempt to flee. Arthur could pilot the Octopod, it was in his training to be able to pilot it.
He went to open the wheel, but it wouldn’t budge. Arthur kept trying. Something large swam by the front and its tail banged against the glass, cracking it slightly. He fell again, this time hitting his head on the console. He got up again, trying again to open the wheel.
It wouldn’t open. The thing outside hit the Octopod head on. He saw a flash of large, sharp, and very white teeth. Fangs might’ve been a more appropriate word for it. The ship rocked back and forth. The glass cracked more and water started leaking in. The alarm hadn’t turned off.
Nononono. He tried one more time over the intercom. No answer. If he can’t get a hold of them and tell them to run, he’d have to do it himself on the way to the GUPs. He had to make sure his friends were safe. Arthur tried to leave HQ. The door wouldn’t open, not even manually. He was stuck.
Water poured in and had passed his knees. It was cold. The alarm still blared and the computer beeped. The Octopod shook again and knocked him around. More glass shattered, cutting him. The creature swam past again, as if taunting him.
There wasn’t anything he could do. Even if Arthur managed to get out, there was no way he’d be able to swim in the storm outside and avoid the creature. The water was up to his head and he was struggling to keep afloat. And for a single moment, everything went silent.
The Octopod was yanked down. Arthur barely had time to take and hold a breath. He couldn’t see and was getting sliced by the broken windows. The last thing he saw before everything went dark was the flashing lights of the computer and a large, tooth-filled mouth.
Arthur opened his eyes. There was no blaring alarm or flashing lights. The Octopod wasn’t shaking and as he looked outside, they were sitting just a way from the reef like they always had been. He felt cold, yet it seemed he was sweating an awful lot. Everything was fine.