"I think I just found are ticket out." He vaguely explained.
"Kwazii please don't tell me you want to go down there." You say, pinching the bridge of you nose.
"What!" Kwazii said offended "do you have a another way out of here?" He challenged you.
"No. but this doesn't seem like a safe thing to do. What if one of us gets lost?" You throw back at him.
Shellington who was watching this play out know he needed to step into this little cat fight and pulled them apart.
"Umm guys maybe we should talk about this?" He offed.
You huffed out a breath of air and turned to him. No need to get mad at him.
"Ok then, how do you think we go about this?" You asked calmly.
"We could-" he began when kwazii interrupted him.
"I'm going INNNNN-." Kwazii cried as he jump into the water with a splash.
"Oh Kwazii!" You yelled after him. "Come on, Shellington if we don't go down here with him he's going to get himself killed!" You relied as you went for the tank of glow-worms.
You quickly put on your new diving helmet, breathe in and got ready to jump in after him. Shellington nervously put a paw on your arm, for support.
"Ok Shellington we go on the count of three...one, two THREE!" You finished with a yell and jumped.
The water was colder now and was taking you swiftly down a tie hole. Everything was so dark with out your flashlight that you couldn't see anything in front and behind. You did however feel Shellington paw holding onto you as sea otters tend to do.
The tunnel came to an end soon and put you and Shellington into a free fall. Now you could hear Shellington screaming, as he let go of you. while you hopeless flapped your limbs around, feeling for something to grab onto. Luckily You did find something to hold on to, right next to a waterfall. Never had you been so glad that you had taken those lessons with Barnacles.
But poor Shellington and the glow-worms wasn't as lucky and where still on the way to where ever Kwazii was.
It was hard to see anything with the waterfall in your way, but you managed to get back down to some ground to rest for a bit. It was quite dark Now that the glow-worms were gone.
After awhile you heard someone trying to call you. Switching on your flashlight and Bring your hand over to where your radio was, and got on a line with the Captain again.
"Y/N are you There? Y/N come-" He got cut off by you.
"Yes I'm here." You tiredly said.
"That's good, but where are the other's? We can't get a hold of them!"
"W-we-I followed Kwazii down a sump, and but I seemed to have gotten separated from them." You to explain to him.
"Well do you think you could find them for us, while we try to find another exist to the cave?" Asked Barnacles.
You stopped for a second and thought it through. 'Could I really do that? On my own?' Now you where Leaning to see down the hole more. 'Well I did find that baby elephant and i didn't think I could do it. What's so different now? Yeah.'
"Of course I can Captain." You say switching on your flashlight and beginning your journey.
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Shellington was alone now. He hadn't seen were you had gone to after the waterfall .But at lasted the tank of Glow-worms was with him. He pulled off the top lid to see how they were holding up.
He regretted doing this because the moment he did one of them started to scream it's head off at him.
"WHAT WAS THAT?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US!" It howled.
"What do you mean trying to kill you?" He wanted clarification.
"THROWING US DOWN A SUMP AND NOT EVEN ASKING WHAT WE THOUGHT OF THAT!" She confronted.
"Oh that." He laughed nervously. "I didn't know that kwazii was going to jump down here." He explained leaning back a bit to try and get away from her wrath.
"THAT WAS VERY UN-!" They tried to say but another much more clam worm stopped her.
"Lapis, clam down." He said annoyed with her. "You should know better then to yell at others that are helping us. And also how else where they supposed to get us out? there was a cave in." He said.
She didn't know what to say, so instead lapis crawled away in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that she's just like that." He said.
"Oh it's fine." Shellington told happy the screaming match was over.
"Sink me! Didn't know it would be this hard to get out!" A all to recognize able voice said.
"Kwazii!" Shellington cried in surprise. He quickly turned his head in the direction of the voice.
A second later Kwaziis head pop out from behind a wall. "Avast, There you are." Then he stopped mid stride and added. "Wheres Y/N I thought they came down with us?"
Before this Shellington had felt like he was in some shock but was coming down from it as realization sunk in. Realization that they were deep in a cave and couldn't get out and that one of there friends was missing and maybe dead.
"Jumping jellyfish, I don't know where they are!" He panicked. "I didn't see them after the waterfall!"
"Shiver me whiskers! You should have told me right away." He then tried his radio but only loud static came through.
"I can't reach them." Kwazii informed him. Running over to the river of water they had taken a ride in to get here and tried to look up it. just in case they were still coming.
Shellington joined him in spying but saw nothing but trickling water and gray rock.
"What do we do now?" Shellington in a low vice.
Kwazii wasn't very sure what to do. On one hand they still had the glow-worms to take care of and the problem of not having an exit. But if they left Y/n down here they might never get out again. how would he ever forgive himself for that? So that only left one option then.
"I'm going after them!" Kwazii declared.
"What!?" Shellington said not believing his ears.
Kwazii ignored his protests and went on. "Shellington, I need you to find away out of here with the worms and tell the Captain what's going if I don't come back." he ordered, much like Barnacles would have done.
Shellington seemed like he wanted to argue against it. Then must have released that it was the best way to go about it. Excepted for one thing. kwazii flashlight was gone.
"But kwazii you don't even have a flashlight. How are you going to find them in the pitch dark?" Shellington questioned.
"Me flashlight, your right!" He Remembered.
"I can help with that!" Someone yelled over at them.
It was the little glow-worm from before that had help Shellington.
"Their the one that offered to help, so why didn't I return the favor?" He told boldly.
Shellington looked over to kwazii who was also looking back at him.
"You've got a far point there lad." He figured then went over to him. "So what's you're name me hearty."
He informed.
"The names Jade." He introduced himself finally.
"Well Jade, we got a lot of work to do!" He said picking him up in his paws. "We're off to find Y/n " He Cheered as Jade started to glow more brightly.
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You say that you where having trouble finding them, would be an big understatement. The waterfall had disappear and it was to risky to walk on the wet ground. So You forced to go though the tiniest of cracks and crab walk (to which you now had a lot of respect for them doing) Until you felt like you legs where going to give out. And most of the time they would just led to an die end. You mentally cured yourself for not bringing something to help you down here other then your light.
"I wish I could just find them already." You tell yourself, while leaning on a wall.
Then you came to a pit, stoping you from moving forward. With the rope still in your hand you fell to your knees. Losing all motivation to go on.
You had failed...
Until the low crunching of small stones under feet, you had gotten used to started to came from the other side of the pit.
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Kwazii and Shellington had gone on there own ways now. Kwazii dearly hoped that Shellington wouldn't get to scared and lost without him. Jade and him where making good progress or he thought they where. So far the cave he was going though hadn't forked or been to much trouble for him at all.
He and Jade Right Now where having a very enjoyable conversation (at lest for Kwazii) about sea monsters that he had supposedly had seen with his 'own eye.' He was having to much fun scaring the poor little thing that he almost fell into a pit.
"Woah, who put this pit here?" He jokingly said to keep the mood going.
"Kwazii!" Someone howled over to him from the other side. "I can't believe it. It-it's you." They said over joyed.
The cat quickly looked up to see them. And Their they where standing on the other side. One of The biggest weights he had ever had was just lifted from him.
"I-I thought that I would never find you or Shellington o-or anyone ever again." They where talking in a fast paced manner and even stumbled on there words sometimes. "I thought that I-I had failed Barnacles. And that i wouldn't find the way out. T-this place is massive!" They finally finished.
This reply not only made kwazii happy that they where also glad to have found them, but also a little confused. 'What did they mean by failing the Captain?' He said in his head. He reasoned that he could ask them later about it.
"But wait how am I supposed to get across this pit? I can try to climb down but I didn't think I will be able to climb the other side because of the angle of it." They had addressed the elephant in the room.
"Aye, your right." He agreed. "I think you'll just have to jump it Y/n."
Y/n eyes widened in fright at the idea. "I don't think I can do that kwazii." They say stepping back little.
"Come on matey." He said walking over and got on his knees with one paw stretched out. "I'm promise to catch you." He said calmly.
They looked at the pit then Kwazii paw and made up there mind. Walking back and straighten up and ran like lightning to the edge and leaped over the endless hole and put There hand in Kwazii's.
This pulled Kwazii down for a second then he pushed himself back up. "got you." He said as they looked at him relieved.
When At the top at last the first thing Y/n did was run over and hugged Kwazii, hard.
Kwazii was at first was very confused and went stiff, but soon went into the hug as well.
"You can't believe how happy I'm to find you Kwazii." They cried into them.
"Here here matey, let's get you out of here." He said calmly letting go of the hug.
"Yeah." they say smiling a little.
As you two walk out of the cave Kwazii finely figured out what you meant by "failing the Captain."Talk about dramatic irony.
Y/n also asked about Shellington to which he told them that Shellington was searching for the exit and that they needed to find him now.
That wasn't very difficult to do as Shellington hadn't gone very far away with the glow-worms. Shellington was so excited to see them again he almost knocked y/n to the floor.
After they had they explained everything thing to Shellington. He led Y/n, Kwazii and Jade to the exist he had found. There was only one problem, it was incredibly steep. You would Have to find a solution to get around this.
Ten minutes later you where all stacked on one other. Shellington was at the bottom, Y/n was in the middle and Kwazii was Right on top with Jade and the tank.
Shellington was Having a hard time holding all of you up and ask. "Kwazii why do you get to be on top?"
"Because it was my idea." He explained obviously.
"Right." Huffed out Y/n.
Eventually Kwazii got all of you up with the tank. And gracefully all walked out of the dirty old cave and into sun light which took a while to get used to.
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"Oh how I've missed the sunlight. I wouldn't be surprised if I got speluncaphobia or nyctophobia after all that." You joke while beginning to laugh.
"Is this what the outside looks like?" Ask Jade with wonder having never seen the sun before.
"It's way to bright for me." Complained Lapis in a whisper as to not get embarrassed again.
Shellington who had taken the job of calling the Captain to tell them where all they were, was coming back.
"The Captain should be here with peso in about twenty to twenty five minutes. Then we can get you to your new home." He informed Jade and the other worms.
While waiting you talked to Kwazii under a tree and Shellington went to take notes on the glow-worms. When Captain barnacles and Peso came in the Gup A you all gathered inside and started to travel to the new cave. Kwazii told Peso and The Captain a very over the top retelling of what had happened as you went.
You got the honor to carry the tank to the cave and into the new home of the glow-worms. It was very busy in there with the glow-worms making There new homes and even Dashi taking pictures of them.
Jade started to introduce you to all the worms in the cave, (who all turned out to have names of different gemstones.) and thanked you again and again thanked you for saving them.
Before you all went back home to the octopod for the night, Dashi wanted to get one last photograph of all of you in the cave.
That is one photo you will always treasure.
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Thanks for reading. This was so much fun Write and I can't wait for the next chapter! ❤️❤️❤️
Word count: 2477