OCTONAUTS ~ THE APOCALYPSE

So THAT'S where they went!

"Now how in tarnation can liquid just disappear like that?" Ranger Marsh stroked his chin.

"Also, these barrels are sealed tight! There's no way the wood inside could be dry!" Calico Jack exclaimed feeling the inside of the empty barrels.

"This is BAD!" Pinto shrieked at the top of his lungs.

"What are we going to do!?" The twins cried in unison.

Paani shook his head in anxiety.

"Oh no. Oh no, no way this is happening. That was all the water we had left! Where are we supposed to find water? Looking for water will end up being a separate mission and we don't have time for that!" He paced back and forth.

"Captain Barnacles, what do we do?" Eva hissed.

The polar bear blinked a couple of times, trying to process the situation. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips.

"Ok. Calm down. Change of plans. Everyone has to look for water. Every drop will count. We haven't any time to lose!" He ordered sternly. Everyone jumped at the sound of his voice and left almost immediately.

"Ow, hot, hot ground. Helloooo? Anyone here?" Paani cupped his paws to his mouth. As he walked towards the country town they stopped near. His face furrowed.

"Where did everyone go?"

There were broken sign posts, cracked windows.

"Whoever lived here definetly left in a rush." Peso frowned.

"Maybe they just hated the desert heat?" Kwazii suggested

Suddenly a groan came from in front of the gup

"Inkling?!" Calico Jack hobbled towards him on his peg leg.

"The sun. It dried my water faster than I could blink." He coughed.

"Too hot. Need water."

The captain gasped and rushed over to the situation.

Barnacles and Calico Jack both quickly carried the barrel inside one of the abandoned houses for shelter.

"Excellent idea, Captain!" Shellington smiled, helping them carry the barrel inside.

The place was dusty. It appeared to be some sort of old milk bar. For some reason it was more hot inside than it was out. Inkling started to look dizzy.

"Peso! We need medical assistance!" Shellington called out as the Penguin jumped in shock.

"I'm on my way!" He called out.

"Flappity flippers, is it hot in here!" He exclaimed as he tugged on his collar and pulled out his medical kit.

"Captain, I suggest the only thing we could do from here is to get him somewhere nice and cool, otherwise he won't survive much longer in this desert heat."

The air was hot to breathe and had a weird chemical-odour

Barnacle's lungs felt tight.

"Peso, I-I'm suddenly not feeling so well."

"Me either." Shellington leaned against the bench.

"GET OUT OF THERE!" A booming voice exclaimed, running in and grabbing the octonauts.

After bringing them all outside, a tall, masculine albino lion appeared into their view. The polar bear took a step back.

"What happened!" Peso shook his head

"Oh, I suddenly feel much better." Shellington smiled

"Shhh. Keep your voice down, it's not safe here. Follow me, and hurry." He growled in a deep voice. He had a deep scar across his face. It appeared that he was blind in one eye from the slash. He wore dusty clothing that covered his limbs from the wrything heat. He definitely had been through quite a bit.

After gathering everyone, they were taken to a wide hole in the dirt covered by a heavy wooden milk crate. The lion pushed it aside with a grunt and climbed down the hole. Barnacles looked at his crew apprehensively and went in first to make sure it was safe. There was a ladder that seemed to be made of rusty pipes stuck into the dirt. It was a tight squeeze and the dry dirt scratched his arms and legs.

Not a fan of it. . . Barnacles thought.

When he made it, he was shocked to find hundreds of creatures laughing, chattering and eating. They all paused and their eyes grew to the size of plates at the sight of the large polar bear.

"Octonauts, you may want to take a look at this. . ." He called up to the surface from the bottom of the hole.

Slowly they all climbed down. It was frankly quite deep, taking about five minutes in total to reach the bottom. Inkling weakly hopped out of his barrel and followed them using his tentacles to grab onto the rusty pipes.

"Shiver me whiskers. . ." Kwazii exclaimed. "It's a whole civilization down here!"

Shellington hopped from the ladder.

"Jumping Jellyfish! This takes mutualism to all new levels!" Shellington replied, taking out his notebook. He flipped open a new page and looked around.

It was a cool, spacious and creatively built burrow with many land species being inhabitants. Snakes, lions, antelope, gorillas (to name a few). They weren't in great conditions but are living to the best of their abilities. They looked a bit scary to the small sea otter, they had scars, they were incredibly dusty and didn't look too happy to have visitors.

Definitely note-worthy. He thought as he pulled out his pencil.

"INTRUDERS!!!" A kangaroo screamed from the large crowd of people.

"Wait what? No we-" Min began but was cut off as a scary little lemur came out of nowhere and jumped on her. Suddenly what was a silent room became ultimate chaos.