The Octonauts and the Detective

Chapter Six

I can't believe that guy! He obviously knows Emily and I are here temporarily, but why is he still trying to get close to us again? As Heather unpacked her belongings, she couldn't help but wonder to herself: why was her father doing this? Perhaps... he does feel bad? Oh, forget it, Heather. He will manipulate you into loving him again, Heather. He'll stop at nothing.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Heather bit her lower lip, wondering if she should invite the mysterious guest in. Then, they spoke, "Heather? Are you in there? The Captain - he would like to discuss with you what we know so far about the case."

A smile formed on Heather's lips. It was Shellington outside the door, not her pesky father. Heather opened the doors and gave Shellington a grin. "Alright, tell him I'll be down in HQ in a minute. I would like to finish up here."

Shellington rubbed the back of his head. "Would you like some help? I'm not doing anything -- I haven't seen Dashi since she disappeared with Emily, and the lab is kind of lonesome without her, so I'm not up to performing any experiments..."

"That's fine, Shellington. I'd love the help!" Shellington smiled and entered the room. Heather pointed to a pile of bags. "You could unpack my detective equipment. Put it all on that table, over there."

Shellington nodded and got to work. Heather got to work herself, unpacking her clothing. At one point, she smirked, and questioned Shellington. "So... You and Dashi, huh?"

He blushed. "Yeah, uh -- we like each other, but I haven't found the courage to ask her out, yet." Shellington paused, and continued, "You know what, Heather? I really do like you! I hope we can be friends. I want to assist you in your investigation, if you don't mind."

"Shellington, that's very thoughtful of you! Why are you offering me so many requests?" Heather paused, before releasing a moan and frowning. "Wait... my father out you up to this, didn't he? Being sweet, friendly... acting like my friend. I can't believe it! Why? Why does he want to get close to me again? Haven't I made it clear I don't want to?"

"Whoa, whoa, Heather! Slow down! Your father didn't set me up to anything," replied Shellington. He breathed a sigh and lowered his head. "I just wanted to be nice... I know you've been through a lot. From losing your mom, fiancé, and your father abandoning you..."

Heather couldn't help but feel bad. Shellington only wanted to befriend her - not force her to be with her father. She tried to smile. "I - I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that. It's nice that you wanted to befriend me... I don't have a lot of friends."

Shellington looked up with a smile. "I accept your apology." He extended his paw to her, and she shook it. "This looks like the start to a great friendship!" proclaimed Shellington.

---

"Heather, a word?" Captain Barnacles peeked his head into Heather's room. She nodded and followed him to the HQ. When they arrived, they found Professor Inkling and Peso waiting for them. Heather stopped, before nearing the Professor. The Captain looked at her, and sighed. "No worries. We're only here to explain what we've discovered so far on the case."

She crossed her arms. "Alright. But that's all we're discussing." Professor Inkling frowned.

"Of course," replied Captain Barnacles. He turned to Peso. "Now, Peso, would you like to start us off?"

He nodded. "Not to long ago, we noticed fish began vanishing into thin air. It wasn't until last week, we found 2 injured fish. One died, however, one survived. It claimed 'they' had been stealing the fish."

"That's all you've gathered on the case? You haven't searched for clues... questioned the fish further?" questioned Heather. She smirked at Peso. "Well, it's a good thing you have me, unless you would be no where."

Captain Barnacles spoke, "We've noticed, however, that 'they' haven't been collecting the larger fish: sharks, whales, dolphins. Only fish. We do think that - 'they' - will begin taking those larger fish, sooner or later. That is why we need to act fast."

Finally, Professor Inkling gathered the courage to speak. "Our time is limited, Heather. However, I -- we - don't want you overworking yourself, so don't do anything that'll -"

Heather chuckled, and crossed her arms. "Wow! You're still treating me like your daughter. Even after you abandoned me! After you disowned me!"

"I did not disown you!" scolded the Professor.

"You disowned not only me, but Emily, too! Don't deny it, dad," growled Heather. She turned to Captain Barnacles. "I will begin working on this case immediately. Captain, I want you to be my partner. Shellington will be our forensic. Peso will treat any injured creatures found. Dashi has the job of taking pictures of the crime scenes. I want Kwazii to interrogate our suspects... he seems like the right choice. However, from what I've heard, things can get out of hand with Kwazii, so I want Tweak supervising every interrogation. Eventually, the Vegimals will have jobs - for now, my father stays out of the case. Is that clear?"

"Heather..." Captain Barnacles spoke, his voice quiet, "We can't force the Professor to stay out of the case. He's one of our most intelligent crew members..."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Fine. When we need him, we'll go to him. However, Emily will be at my side at all times... who knows what damage he can inflict on her..."

Professor Inkling lowered his head. Captain Barnacles cleared his throat and turned to Peso. "Sound the Octoalert, alright? Let's make sure this plan is okay with the rest of the crew."

---

Ahhh!! Help us!! Someone, please, help us! As the fish shrieked in terror, a smirk formed on his lips. He crossed his arms, and shook his head. "Annoying, aren't they?" His voice was cold... scratchy, too. Like chalk on a chalkboard. A soft mmft came from the corner. He looked in the corners direction, where a crouched figure was, chained to the wall.

He laughed. "Soon, I will enact my mischievous plan... and those Octonauts will have to surrender to me!" He came closer to the figure, and growled. "A fish... they told me the Octonauts were calling in reinforcements. They're so confused by my plan, they had to call in the best detective of the best..." He paused, smirked, and grabbed the figure's collar.

"Your fiancé..." he sneered, then chuckled. He released the figure's collar and walked away. The figure shook their chains, screaming through the covering over their mouth, but nothing worked. Nothing had worked for 3 years.