by Steve Cole
“But they’re carnivores!” cried Iggy.
“Other terror birds are,” said Gastro, “but we are vegetarian.” As if to prove the point he uprooted a clump of sea-grass and gobbled it down. “Mmm,” he said, licking his sandy beak.
“You see?” said Queen Soapi. “And in return for a place to stay, he and his five friends have installed flush toilets all over Atlantos.”
“We were just checking the pipes in this area when we saw you on the beach,” Gastro explained. “I’m afraid we jumped to conclusions.”
“No real harm done,” Teggs said politely. “But what’s this about flush toilets? I thought any sort of technology was banned on Atlantos?”
“One tiny exception,” Queen Soapi admitted. “Gastro’s toilets have made our lives shinier, more sparkly and cleaner than ever! Such lovely toilets are the only things that keep us cheerful as we go on sinking.”
“On the Sauropod, every toilet trip helps to power our ship,” said Iggy brightly. “We all poo in a big hole above the engine room!”
Janice the hoof-maiden fainted instantly and fell headfirst into her soapy bucket. Queen Soapi went an alarming shade of green. “Don’t be so filthy!” she cried. “Janice, wake up at once and wash that iguanodon’s mouth out!”
When Iggy opened his mouth to protest, Janice stuck her scrubbing brush in it.
Gastro beamed. “Well, we’d better finish those checks, boys,” he told his friends. “Report back to me when you’ve finished.”
“Yes, Gastro,” squawked the three terror birds, and they lumbered back to the caves they had come from.
Teggs was still watching Gastro closely. “With the island sinking, why do you stay?”
“Our own ship has broken down. We can’t leave. And anyway – we haven’t got anywhere else to go!” Gastro sighed. “We had to leave our own planet because we weren’t like the other terror birds. While they all went hunting for meat, we cooked veggie-burgers. While they were off being scary and mean around the galaxy, we trained to be plumbers so we could help people.” He wiped a tear from his glittering green eye. “Our rulers tried to lock us up for giving terror birds a bad name. We have been wanted birds ever since.”
“But I admire anyone who dares to be different,” said Queen Soapi. “I am glad to have them as my honoured guests.”
She tickled Gastro under the beak. Then, suddenly, the whole island started to shake. With a lurch, it tipped to one side just as before.
The sea surged further up the shore towards them like a huge, hungry animal.
“We’re sinking again!” wailed Queen Soapi, wiping her eyes with a carefully ironed tissue. “My people – and my dear little terror birds – are doomed!”
“Not now the astrosaurs are here,” said Teggs firmly. “Whatever’s going on, we’re going to stop it!”
“And we can start by checking my detector,” said Arx. “That shockwave will have given me loads of vital info!” He galloped into the nearby cave where he’d left his gadget.
But just seconds later, he gave a bloodcurdling yell . . .
Chapter Three
THE WHOLE TOOTH
“Arx is in trouble!” cried Teggs, already bounding towards the dark entrance. “Follow me!” He splashed into the flooded cave, Gipsy and Iggy right behind him. “Arx, are you all right?”
The triceratops staggered towards them. “Something bit me! I didn’t see what.”
Iggy crouched beside him. “Hey! There’s a splinter in your leg.”
“That’s no splinter,” said Gipsy, boggling in amazement. “It’s a tooth, like the one we found on the beach!”
Teggs plucked it out gently. “It’s a megalodon tooth!”
“Bless my horns,” cried Arx, shaking his sore leg. “It certainly looks like it!”
“These caves are full of potholes,” Gastro explained. “Now the ground is underwater, the megs can swim up and attack.”
“Why, those sneaky, super-sized sharks!” cried Iggy crossly.
“If I ever catch one of them, I’ll . . . I’ll” – Gastro struggled to find a fitting punishment – “I’ll read it a lovely hundred-page poem Gordon wrote about how all prehistoric beasts should live in harmony.”
Teggs pulled a face. “Boring a meg to death won’t stop the island from sinking.”
Then everyone jumped as an earsplitting cry echoed around the cave. A terror bird came rushing from out of the darkness – or rather, a terrified bird.
“Godfrey!” gasped Gastro. “I didn’t know you were in here.”
“Neither did I,” said Arx.
“I – I – I was checking the pipes round the corner,” Godfrey stammered. “Then this huge big shark-thing popped out of a pothole and tried to chomp me! Look!” He unfurled his wing to reveal yet another jagged tooth.
“Those megs should see a deep-sea dentist,” said Gipsy. “Their teeth are falling out all over the place!”
“We know a lovely song about cleaning your teeth,” said Gastro brightly.
“Let’s get back to the beach,” said Teggs quickly, before the terror birds could launch into another musical number. “We don’t want the megs trying to floss with anyone else’s ankle!”
The astrosaurs and the terror birds came quickly out of the cave and back to the beach. Janice promptly fainted again, and Queen Soapi hooted with horror. “Look how messy you are!”
“The megs are growing bolder,” Gastro warned her. “They are attacking anyone who goes into those caves.”
“But why?” cried the queen.
“Have you tried asking them?” said Teggs.
“Certainly not!” she snapped. “I have vowed never to speak to King Fin and his sharky subjects ever again.”
“How come?” asked Gipsy.
“Because he broke the truce between the land and the sea, that’s why!” Queen Soapi trembled at the memory. “Many years ago, two of my hoof-maidens went swimming in the sea. They swam out too far so they called for help. Suddenly, two megs came zooming up to them, jaws wide open – trying to eat them, if you please! We had to fight them off. We barely got those poor hoof-maidens back alive!”
“How horrible,” said Arx with sympathy.
“It gets worse,” said the queen. “Not long after, we found two of those smelly, sharky monsters wriggling up the shore of this very beach.”
Teggs frowned. “Were they trying to invade you?”
“We didn’t stop to ask,” she said. “We simply pushed them back into the sea with long poles so we didn’t have to touch the slimy things. And that was the last we heard of them for twenty years!” “Until now,” said Iggy.
“What a nasty lot.” Gastro shook his head sadly. “Well, I suppose we must clear the caves in case they attack again. Come on, Godfrey, let’s tell the others to stop checking the pipes.”
Teggs watched the two terror birds go. “You know, I’ve just had a thought.”
Queen Soapi looked worried. “It’s not a dirty thought, is it?”
“No! I just realized – the island only started sinking once the terror birds arrived here. And, so far, the megs have only attacked the caves where the terror birds go.”
Gipsy gasped. “You mean, if the megs are sinking the island, they might not be after the bactrosaurs at all?”
“Right,” said Teggs. “They could be trying to get Gastro and the terror birds for giving carnivores a bad name!”
Janice squeaked, and then fainted again. “Get up, dear,” said Queen Soapi wearily. “You’ll get dirty down there!”
“It’s an interesting theory, Captain,” said Arx. “But how would the megs have heard of Gastro and his friends in the first place?”
“Good point, Arx,” Teggs agreed. “They might be innocent sharks. In which case, some other evil force is at work on Atlantos.”
Janice, who had just woken up, quickly fainted again.
Teggs turned to Queen Soapi. “Since you have vowed never to speak to the megs again, I will speak to the
m for you,” he said. “Where does their ruler live?”
“King Fin’s under-sea palace is about a mile from here,” said Queen Soapi.
“I’d like to come with you, Captain,” said Gipsy instantly.
Teggs smiled. “Iggy, while we are away, think about ways to defend this island. We don’t know when the megs will attack again!”
Iggy saluted. “First I’ll fetch the two auto-swimsuits from the shuttle. You will need those to swim underwater.”
“Thanks,” said Teggs. “As for you, Arx – we need to know how the island is being sunk. Maybe then we can do something to stop it.”
“And there’s not a moment to lose, Captain.” Arx was studying his detector again. “Now that more than half the island is underwater, the sea bed is very weak. We will sink faster and faster.”
Gipsy gulped. “How long have we got?”
“I’ll need to run more tests to know for sure,” said Arx. “Maybe a few weeks, maybe a few days . . . or maybe just a few hours!”
Queen Soapi was speechless with shock. Janice, though she was still in a faint, stuck her legs up in the air.
“We’d better get going,” said Teggs. “Fast!”
Chapter Four
BATTLE BENEATH THE SEA
Iggy rushed to fetch the auto-swimsuits. They were his own invention. The big, orange puffy suits stopped the heavy astrosaurs sinking, while powerful built-in motors propelled them through the water.
Soon, Teggs and Gipsy were trying them on at the ocean’s edge.
“We could have used these special suits when we were stuck on the sea bed on Aqua Minor,” said Gipsy, shivering at the memory.
“I look like a big orange blob!” Teggs declared. He bobbed up and down in the water, trying to get used to it.
Iggy smiled. “This reminds me of a rude rhyme I once heard!” He cleared his throat and began:
“There once was a bold stegosaurus
Who frolicked upon the seashore-us
Though he didn’t oughtta
He weed in the water
And left the fish in an uproar-us!”
Teggs couldn’t help but chuckle. Good old Iggy was always trying to cheer people up, even when things were very serious – or in this case, sea-rious. As he gazed out across the ocean, Teggs couldn’t help feeling that they were being watched – that something out there in the depths knew they were coming.
Arx, Queen Soapi, Janice and Gastro all came to the beach to wave them off.
“How do you know the megs won’t simply eat you?” twittered the queen.
“Because we are astrosaurs, and we come in peace,” said Gipsy. “We only want to hear their side of the story.”
Teggs and Gipsy waved goodbye, then pressed a button on their suits. With a spark, a splash and a “Wheeeeee!” they started swishing away through the sea.
They soon got used to the auto-swimsuits. It was like someone else was doing all the hard work for you, so swimming underwater became good fun.
From here they could see just how much of the island had already slipped beneath the waves. They swam along submerged streets and over sunken sandy gardens. It was like an eerie under-sea town, empty of all life.
Then the water got dirtier. Big brown lumps floated in it like a nasty soup.
Gipsy turned up her snout inside her helmet. “Is that dung?”
“I think so,” said Teggs. “Looks like the megs aren’t as fussy as the bactrosaurs when it comes to keeping clean!”
They swam on and on through the murky, mucky water.
Then, suddenly, Teggs saw a huge dark shape cut through the sea towards him. It was grey and sleek like a shark but much, much larger. The fin on its back was as big as a sail. Its jaws were open wide and bristling with teeth.
Teggs gulped and switched off his propellers. “I think we’ve met our first megalodon!”
Another of the fearsome creatures approached and loomed over Gipsy.
“Greetings,” said Gipsy. “We are astrosaurs. We come in peace!”
“You come in filth!” cried the meg. “You want to protect those fools on Kleen Island. You’re on their side.”
Teggs swam up to him. “So, you admit that you are sinking the island?”
“We’re not talking to him,” the other meg told Gipsy. “He laughs at rude poems about making the sea dirty. Like it’s not already dirty enough!”
“But that poem was just a silly joke!” she said. “Captain Teggs would never really wee in the sea!”
“Of course not! I used a flush toilet before we set off!” Teggs informed him. “Why are you attacking the island? Are you trying to get the terror birds?”
But the megs were too angry to listen to another word. “You make everything mucky, you dino-dirtbags!” said the first one. “But pretty soon your friends will be well and truly sunk – all of them.”
“We’re gonna get them good,” added the second. “Especially that gutless Gastro – just you wait!”
Then Teggs felt sharp teeth on his tail. One of the megs must have sneaked up behind him!
His auto-swimsuit made a very rude noise – it was punctured. Teggs started to deflate like a giant orange balloon. The air rushed from his suit and sent him whizzing off in a wild, helpless zigzag through the sewage-filled sea.
“No!” Teggs cried. “Gipsyyyyyyyyy!”
He knew he was leaving her to face the megs alone. He paddled desperately to try to reach her, but the air-leak was forcing him further and further away.
Then he hit something with an almighty CRASH! To his astonishment it was a brick wall! He had gone smashing into one of the sunken buildings on the island’s coast. And as the last pockets of air spluttered from his suit, he could feel himself sinking too.
Teggs started to swim as hard as he could. He whirled his tail around and around like a spiky propeller with all his strength, forcing himself upwards, upwards.
Finally he broke the surface of the water and a big wave washed him onto the shore. Queen Soapi, Janice, Gastro and Iggy were still there waiting for him.
“What happened?” said Iggy, helping him up.
Queen Soapi cringed. “Perhaps you should have a bath before you tell me, you look terribly dirty—”
“This is no time to worry about washing!” Teggs shouted. “The megs have got Gipsy, and they want to get us all – especially you, Gastro! Unless we can find help fast, it looks like we are all well and truly sunk!”
Chapter Five
A SOGGY SURPRISE
“Those monstrous, mucky megs!” cried Queen Soapi, as Janice fainted again. “I must tell my people this terrible news at once.”
Teggs nodded and pulled out his communicator. “And I must tell Arx.”
“I’ve run lots of tests,” said the triceratops. “No luck yet, Captain.”
“Well, I’ve had some luck,” Teggs retorted. “And it’s all bad! Get down to the beach, fast!”
When Arx heard the news about Gipsy, his horns drooped. “We must contact DSS HQ, Captain,” he said. “We will need reinforcements to get Gipsy back, and rescue ships to take everyone safely off this island.”
But Queen Soapi shook her head. “No! This is our home, and we will fight to protect it.”
“Perhaps the boys and I should move somewhere else,” said Gastro. “With us out of the way, maybe the megs will leave you alone.”
“You cannot go,” Queen Soapi insisted. “You are VIPs – Very Important Plumbers – and we shall defend you to the end. I will tell my people to finish making their Spotless Survival Suits and coconut catapults at top speed.”
Teggs frowned. “Spotless Survival Suits?”
“I came up with the idea as soon as we heard the island was sinking,” said Gastro proudly. “The suits use technology taken from our ship. They are waterproof and inflatable so, if we all go under, even the heaviest dinosaur can stay afloat. They are also tooth-proof, claw-proof, stain-proof—”
“I’d like to see proof!” said I
ggy grumpily. “They sound too good to be true!”
“I’ll show you if you like,” said Gastro. “Soon every single bactrosaur will be safe and snug inside one.”
Queen Soapi patted his head. “Best of all, they are made of a special material that dirt can’t stick to, so they stay spotless!” Janice woke up and nodded eagerly. “And a good job too. Those nasty, slimy, super-sharks are so dirty! I mean, have you seen the state of their water?”
“Yes,” said Teggs. “Although they don’t seem very happy about it either.”
Just then, the island lurched and shook as it sank even deeper into the sea. Seconds earlier, the water had come up to Teggs’s ankles. Now it was up to his hips! He splashed out onto the beach in alarm. Janice yelped and hooted – then quickly fainted for about the fourteenth time.
“We’re going down faster and faster!” cried Queen Soapi.
“I’ll call Admiral Rosso from the shuttle’s long-range space radio, right away,” said Teggs. “Arx, come with me. Iggy, do you think you can fix my auto-swimsuit?”
“Not without a special needle and thread,” said Iggy glumly.
Gastro patted him with a friendly wing. “I’m sure we will have what you need at the Spotless Survival Suit workshop.”
The queen smiled. “You can check out our suits and fix your own at the same time!”
“Sounds great,” said Teggs. “We’ll join you there later.”
“Meanwhile, I must go to the palace and speak to my people in their hour of need,” said Queen Soapi. “Gastro, would you be a dear and carry Janice back to her room for me?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Gastro. His mighty muscles rippled with strength as he lifted the helpless hoof-maiden. Teggs was glad the terror bird was on his side! Without another word, he and Arx hurried off towards the shuttle.
But a big surprise awaited them. The shuttle was bobbing about on the ocean waves like a rubber duck in a giant’s bath!
“The island is sinking so quickly that our landing site is already underwater.” Arx explained. “Luckily for us, the shuttle floats!”
But unluckily, the door was hanging open . . .
“Oh, no!” said Teggs, wading through the water towards the little spaceship. “I hope everything’s still working!”
