Diary Of An Angelfish

Water Under The Bridge

With nowhere else to go, I spent all night in the sewers. I almost failed to notice the swarm of guinea pigs stampeding across the city. I knew nothing of the Professor's plan, but I did know what he was capable of. This had to have been his work and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Face it, Shark, we're lost!" I heard a voice say loudly. I wasn't sure at first, but it sounded like Webs.

"We can't be lost!" I heard Shark argue. "Sharks have excellent navigation skills. Or, at least, I think we do."

I wanted to go see for myself if it was really them so I could run up to them and apologize... but even if it was them, what was the point? I wasn't worthy of their friendship after what I had done. Instead, I just curled up into a fetal position, hoping I was just hearing things.

"Gabi?"

I briefly looked up to see Piranha, Webs, and Shark, in black skintight catsuits, staring at me with concern. How they got out of jail and where Wolf and Snake were didn't matter to me at that moment.

"I'm sorry..." I sobbed. “I never wanted to hurt you... I was just... so afraid of losing something... I never really had."

At that moment, I felt a hand on my face and noticed Piranha gently smiling at me.

“It's not you're fault," he said. “You're good enough, Gabi. You're good enough."

Helping me get back on my feet, Piranha pulled me in for a hug, which I happily reciprocated.

“Come here, baby," Shark said quietly as he and Webs joined in. “You're alright."

“Thanks, guys," I muttered, pulling away from the group hug. “So, uh, Piranha... Do you... do you still want me to run away with you?"

Piranha smiled at me with one tooth sticking out. “Always, hermosa."

🐺🐍🕷️🦈🐟🐹🦊🐠💍🪡☄️💋

Although I was nervous to go back, I agreed to go help the Bad Guys stop Marmalade. We knew Wolf and Diane were already there, but none of us had a clue where Snake was.

“Wait, wait, wait," I said to the others. “Do you hear that?"

“You always did have panache," I heard Marmalade say. “And yet, you still fell right into my trap."

“It's them!" Webs whispered. “Come on, let's go!"

We followed the voices all the way to a sewer grate, where I slipped a handheld mirror through a gap so we could see what was happening. Although it was difficult to get a good angle, I saw Cuddles standing right next to us by a control panel and tied to the ceiling, also wearing catsuits, was Wolf and Diane. I also picked up Snake slithering into the room with an evil grin.

“What can I say? We just clicked!" Snake laughed.

“Oh, yeah? How's it feel to be working for your favorite food?" Wolf asked.

“Ah, you're just jealous to be missing out on the heist of the century," Snake claimed. “It's got everything! Betrayal, a meteor, mind control. Can I try it on?"

“Of course, partner," Marmalade replied, giving him the odd helmet he was wearing.

“Nice!" Snake said. “All the crime with none of the exercise."

“I knew Snake was a jerk, but this?" Shark whispered.

“But what about all of that ‘flower of goodness' talk?" Wolf asked. “Was it all just a lie?"

“Uh, pretty much, yeah," Marmalade admitted. “You see, I never cared about what's ‘good,' only what's good for me. Like, say, a billion dollars! Ooh, I just got a tingle."

“Where would he get a billion dollars from?" Piranha asked.

“His charity funds," I gasped in realization. “The guinea pigs... They're all hijacking the trucks carrying them. That's where he's getting the money!"

With that, Snake and Marmalade left the room, laughing together.

“Go bad..." Snake said.

“Or go home," Marmalade finished. “Cuddles... Finish them."

Then, Cuddles pulled a lever and two metal doors opened beneath Wolf and Diane. We heard what sounded like saw blades spinning and they began screaming.

“We gotta stop that machine," I said. “But how do we take out Cuddles?"

“With this," Webs answered, handing me an envelope. “Regrettably."

“What is it?" I asked, opening it up.

Shark laughed. “Embarrassing snapshots of Piranha at our last Christmas party!"

Piranha's eyes widened. “No! Don't look at those! They're lying!"

“You might wanna hold your breath," Webs warned me as Piranha's stomach gurgled. Suddenly, he let out a green cloud of stink that seeped through the sewer grate.

“Poison gas?! Don't breathe it in!" I heard Diane say as I plugged my nose.

“Wait a second... That's not poison gas," Wolf said, sniffing the air. I heard Cuddles gasping and a loud thud. It must've knocked him out.

“Sorry!" Piranha shouted. Unable to take it anymore, Shark busted the grate open with his head and took a deep breath of fresh air, Webs and Piranha quickly following. “Surprise!"

“What?! Oh, guys!" Wolf exclaimed. “I can't believe it's you!"

“You were right, Wolfie!" said Webs.

“We felt the wag, man!" Shark added, happily wagging his fin.

“And the tingle!" said Piranha.

“It's good, right?" Wolf asked, smirking. I just quickly climbed up the rope and waited for the right moment to cut it with a pair of fabric scissors.

Diane laughed nervously. “This is super moving, but can we do this later?"

“Feels like I got a rhythm section in my fin!" Shark interrupted, beatboxing as he and Piranha danced.

“Come on!" Diane shouted. “Spinning blades!"

“Oh, yeah. Right," Shark said.

“I got it," Webs insisted, pushing the lever back, closing the door before Wolf and Diane could be chopped to bits. Then, I cut the rope down to free them.

“Guys, am I happy to see you?" Wolf said, hugging his friends. He then noticed me and I rubbed my arm nervously.

“I hope you can forgive me," I sighed.

“Don't sweat it, kid," he said, patting my head. “Now, it's time to huff and puff and blow this little piggy's heist down."