The Octonauts and the Octopod Breakdown (complete)

Chapter Five

It had been an hour. Dashi had given up on trying to pull the hatch open to lead to the Octo Chutes and was sitting at her computer on the chair vaguely pressing buttons and hoping for something to work. It was dark in the HQ and Dashi was beginning to feel uneasy. Being the only Octonaut in the darkened HQ was more than slightly scary and the fact that she couldn't control any of the systems of the Octopod didn't improve matters much. Every so often another Octonaut, normally the Captain, would contact her, which helped the loneliness she felt. But there was no news. Most of them were stuck in their rooms with no way of helping. Tweak had been working on the engine non-stop trying to get it back working again but she, so far, had had no luck. Dashi pressed the button on the radio to contact Tweak. The green rabbit's image flickered onto the screen, she was using a spanner on the engine and her eyes were tired and worried.

"Any luck Tweak?" Dashi asked her friend, smiling at her. Tweak looked at Dashi on the screen.

"Nope, not yet. The engine power is dead and I can't get outside to fix the Octopod. I think the bubble engine is functional but there's no way of getting the Octopod back online without being outside. That storm destroyed the Octopod' s power and I don't know how to fix it." Tweak put her head in her hands.

Dashi didn't know what to say. "I'd offer you some hot chocolate from up here but..."

Tweak laughed. Dashi always knew what to say to make her feel better.

"Yeah I'm not sure we'll be getting any hot drinks at the moment," Tweak answered.

"Just keep trying, yeah?" Dashi said reassuringly.

Tweak smiled ruefully. "Yeah. I'll try."

She disappeared off the screen. Dashi sighed and got up from her seat, going over to the window and watching the fish swimming past outside the Octopod. She shifted from foot to foot, moving her paws over each other nervously.

I hope this ends soon...

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A jolt shook the Octopod and Dashi woke with a start, nearly falling off her chair she sat on. Her eyes flitted from the computer screen to outside the Octopod. What she saw filled her with sudden surprise and fear.

Strong currents were hitting the ship from outside, the dark waters thrashing around ferociously. Dashi hit the button underneath the screen to alert the Captain.

"Captain! Captain, there's another storm! And it's big!" Captain Barnacles got up from where he was sat, immediately standing in front of the screen. Dashi's large worried eyes looked at the Captain from the screen.

"You have to see this Captain!" Dashi grabbed her camera from the side and pointed it at the oncoming storm to show the Captain what was going on. Barnacles stared at the screen with the waves coming in at the Octopod. There was another jolt and the Octopod tilted madly for a second, then came back down on its legs. Captain Barnacles could hear the crying out of the other Octonauts as they were tipped up against the wall for a moment before coming back upright.

"Thanks Dashi, keep me posted on what's going on." Barnacles hit the button and spoke urgently.

"Octonauts, there is another storm coming, and its big. Everyone brace yourselves, this could get bumpy." Tweak came onto the screen again, her ears twisted in fear.

"Cap, the ship is weak and broken now. If it takes a direct hit from the storm... it'll break apart!"

The Captains eyes widened. They were all trapped in separate rooms and there was a storm coming. Barnacles racked his normally creative mind for solutions but could find none.

"Tweak... We have to do something to stop this. But what?"