Octonauts WHAT IF

Inkling gets rich

"Okay," said Shellington, having taken a ten-minute breather to calm down. "This next universe is one where... Inkling wins the lottery?"

General sounds of confusion from the audience.

"Okay, so when Inkling was very young, he saw a lottery. Using some of his own money, he bought a ticket."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" the Professor asked, confused. 

"You... Your family was struggling, and so you bought a lottery ticket to try and win back some of the fortunes your father lost gambling."

"Ah... I see."

"Yes, and to his surprise, he won the lottery!"

"Yes," said Inkling. "I remember that day. It happened in our universe too, only I didn't win anything and just lost a dollar or two."

Captain Barnacles smiled and nodded.

"So what happened next?"

"Well... Naturally his parents took it off him, given that he was only five at the time. His father and mother had a talk about the gambling Inkling's father was doing, and they decided to invest it responsibly. Three quarters of the money went to investment, and the rest was put into a business."

Inkling nodded slowly.

"Well that's good."

"Yes," said Shellington. "Except there were a couple implications for the rest of the timeline. Dashi, do you want to take it from here?"

"Sure Shel," she smiled. "Inkling's father retired at an old age and passed the family business down to his only son. Inkling handled the money remarkably well, and the business grew to a multi-million dollar company, with Inkling as CEO."

"So... Negative implications? I can tell they're coming," Tweak asked.

"Inkling's family had the money to send him to one of the most expensive schools in the country. This was great, and Inkling learnt all about business, but he did not meet two very important people to him. In this alternate reality, Inkling did not meet his wife, or his biology teacher."

"First up, his biology teacher," explained Shellington. "Inkling's high school biology teacher in our universe was the one who originally got him into marine science. And it was him who gave recommendations for job interviews. In the alternate universe, Inkling probably wouldn't have wanted the jobs he got in our universe, let alone have enough credentials to get them, but it was those jobs which eventually set him on the path to forming the Octonauts."

"Secondly, his wife. In the alternate reality, Inkling did not marry at all, but adopted his nephew when his parents died."

"Ah, Squirt," said the Professor.

"Yes. And because Sarah, Inkling's wife, didn't exist... Well..."

Inkling sighed.

"Sarah was a brilliant octopus, and she always helped any sea creature who needed the help. But one day, there was a volcanic eruption. We went back to help and..."

No one pushed further. They had all the information they needed.

"If... If you don't mind me talking about this Professor," Shellington continued hesitantly. "It was Sarah's dream that inspired the Octonauts, both to save creatures in similar positions to her and to save creatures like she did."

"Yes," the Professor said, holding back tears. "Because I didn't meet her in that universe, the Octonauts would not have existed."

"So," said Tweak, eager to change the subject. "What about us? Where are we in this universe?"

"Let's see," said Dashi, pressing some buttons on the tablet. "Okay. Here's the Captain. Oh. He's... He was a sailor on a ship, until they were attacked by pirates and... Oh dear."

"Just spit it out Dashi," Tweak said, annoyed.

"The Captain was shot when he tried to save someone. And he was stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He became a librarian, just like the Professor, but people called him 'Crazy Barnacles' for the rest of his life as the gunshots had made him half deaf."

The Captain shook his head in disbelief. Shellington took the tablet from Dashi and continued.

"Kwazii... Kwazii was... Oh my. Kwazii was also part of a crew, and in fact was a stowaway on the ship that attacked the Captain's! In fact, the Captain was injured trying to save Kwazii, who was going to be executed by the crew."

"Well then I'm glad my sacrifice was for a noble cause," said the Captain, smiling at his lieutenant.

"Yes," furthered Shellington. "Except for the fact that Kwazii ended up marooned on a beach until he died."

"Oh."

"If... If it's any consolation, Peso lives a very good life as a doctor, caring for people until he dies of cancer at the age of fifty."

"Um," Peso said, unsure what to think. "That's good I guess."

"You died the day after your fiftieth birthday," Dashi added. "In this reality, Shellington was attacked by a shark. After being forced to leave the kelp forest, he drifted with no one to take him in. On the positive side, he did find the Vegimals and put them safely in a cave, but on a trip to find food, he was killed by a shark."

"What about you Dashi?" Peso asked.

"Um... I'm working as a freelance photographer, earning very little. I haven't moved out. Not a very, um, accomplished life, I suppose."

"And me?" Tweak asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Working for Inkling, actually. You're one of his top engineers. But, um, your father died when you would have saved him when we visited."

Tweak bit her lip.

"I guess we all rely on the Professor," she smiled tentatively.

"Yeah," said Peso. "A world without you sucks."

"A world without Inkling is a world without the Octonauts," Captain Barnacles said.

Everyone hugged the Professor, who had tears in his eyes.

"Thank you," was all that he could whisper.