[Episode] Sebbi Stranded! The Big Bill To Swallow

Along the stretches of Swallow Island's shores, waves hit the sand serenely in the moonlit night. The ocean air rustles the leaves of the forest behind a man who sits perched on a rock, clutching his knees to his chest. Wind causes a bundle of his blonde hair to blow in his face, but as he goes to fix it, he hears a rocking in the water not too far from him. He turns to see a wooden box crate is about to wash up on the beach.

 Proving to be a cautious man , he initially ignores it, thinking to himself, “Clearly one of those wreckage traps from pirates”. His refrainment would only last until the crate unexpectedly hits the rock before the waves bring it to shore. The man leapt to his bare feet then slipped into his shoes before jumping down, hearing the sound of muffled snoring when he was within earshot of the crate that quelled when he landed. A yawn followed, canceling the theory that he could be delusional right now. After trying to shake the lid of to open, not realizing it was locked, the man heard a voice.

 “Who is it?”, it asked politely. Lost in confusion, the man answered, “Umm...Mort?” The voice sounded satisfied with the answer, “Oh-gurara-, okay. Come in then!” Mort’s confusion furthered, ‘Gurara?’, he thought to himself, “Uhh...you do realize you’re in a locked crate?”

“It’s locked?” The voice repeated, this being news to it. After a short pause, Mort was about to offer help but was immediately cut off, “I’ll come out, I guess.” The lid swiftly flew off its hinges, breaking down the structure of the crate in response, to reveal a mound of heads of lettuce, some of which were half eaten. Mort paid no attention to the mound, instead he noticed what was standing on top of it. “A large platypus?”, he said scratching at his head. The platypus extended out a webbed hand to Mort, “Hey, my name’s Sebbi!” Right as Sebbi gave a big billed smile Mort jumped back in fear, screaming, “AHH! A TALKING LARGE PLATYPUS!?!”

Mort fell backwards, his rear slamming against the damp sand, “A TALKING PLATYPUS!?!” Bewildered by the reaction, Sebbi covered his hands over the sturdiest area that held up his glasses, “Why are we screaming?!” The young man was still in shock of this weird reality he’s just entered, but he calmed himself to a degree. After combing his hair back with his fingers, Mort sighed in relief that he wasn’t in any immediate danger, “I’m sorry, but how are you talking? Where’d you come from? What even ar-...”

“Garchu!!” Shouted Sebbi as he tackled his unsuspecting target to the ground with a hug. Mort fell back harder than the last time, exclaiming a big “OOF!” when he landed. He was about to shout again, but noticed that Sebbi was rubbing his cheek hard against the man’s bare chest in a warm embrace. “You looked stressed, so I thought some healthy mink ship would help-gurara-.” None of his past questions received answers, and Mort was beginning to feel that his future ones would be treated the same.

 Right when he came to terms with this, however, Sebbi  leapt up from the man, and cheerfully dusted himself off as if he was the one who hit the sand; his eyes gleaming with curiosity when his eyes spotted the forest in the distance. “Welp! I’m off now. Nice meeting you, friend!” Mort hastily leaned forward with a “Hold a minute”, then continued,  “You shouldn’t just waltz off like that, this island is uninhabited.” Mort turned his head to face the coastline on the other side of the rock. “I have a ship that we can...” A dusty platy shaped outline took Sebbi’s place when Mort turned back around, along with webbed footprints that lead into the dense foliage. “...take shelter in...ugh...that thing’s gonna die if I don’t help it...”

 Simultaneously, at the opposite end of Swallow Island, a dinghy had landed; bringing the arrival of three mangy looking men, all of varying heights, scrawny, and each armed with a scimitar. The largest one of them spoke to the smallest, “Boss it’s been days! Are you sure the crate landed here?” With the hilt of his blade, the smallest man jabbed at the largest’s gut to the middle one’s amusement. “What did I say about doubting me?  Should we head back to big sis, and tell her how you lost 700000 berries overnight?” The larger man groaned a solemn, “No, Boss.” The middle one snickered again before the small one continued again. “My gut says that thing is here, so it’s here...” Taking his scimitar, he began hacking at the low hanging vines and branches as he carved his way inside the forest, “...and we will find it, by any means necessary, is that clear?” Both subordinates came to attention, “Yes, Boss Koga!”