"Lugias and Tugs"

Crossover story with Gyass the Lugia and TUGS

Chapter 10

Ten Cents was in a deep sleep, in some strange environment. A sudden snore startled him, and he woke up suddenly. He looked around, and could see lots of metal boxes and high-tech equipment. Ten Cents then saw that he was out of the water, and being held over the ground. He looked up and saw that he was being held up by some crane thing that was attached to the ceiling.

"Huh? How did I get here?" Ten Cents said.

"Good, you're up." Said a voice.

A mysterious figure walked over to where Ten Cents was being held. Ten Cents recognized the person, it was the same man that he saw inside the warehouse.

"Wait, I'm inside the strange warehouse!" Ten Cents said. "Oy, what do you want with me?"

The man then showed that he was wearing a black mask over his face. He pulled it off, and revealed himself. He had a pale face with a slight grey beard.

"My name is John Zero." The man said. "And I think you know why you're here."

Ten Cents then realized that the man was Captain Zero, the owner of his old rival fleet from Bigg City Port. It was the captain of the Z-Stacks!

"Captain Zero?!" Ten Cents exclaimed. "What are you doing on Cumulus Island?"

Captain Zero (as I will now refer to him as) grew angry.

"I followed your goody-goody Captain Starr all the way here." Captain Zero said. "I figured I'd have to teach him a lesson for what he's done to my ol' Z-Stacks."

"Captain Starr would never do anything!" Ten Cents yelled.

"MY Z-STACKS WERE TURNED INTO HEAPS OF SCRAP!" Captain Starr screamed. "And it's all because of you and your good for nothin' Star Tugs! Your superiority outsmarted us!"

Captain Zero then walked over to a large box, and pulled out a scrapper's torch.

"Now I'll outsmart you, Star Tug." Captain Zero said, grinning.

Meanwhile at the Star dock, Captain Starr was giving out orders on where to search for Ten Cents.

"Big Mac, O.J, and Top Hat, you'll take the north side of the port, and Hercules, Warrior, and Sunshine will take the south side, near the depos." Captain Starr said. "Merlin, you take the west side."

Everyone left in a hurry. Captain Starr then turned to the blue Lugia.

"Gyass, please help us out. You can just fly up high and look all over. Everywhere you can!" Captain Starr said.

"Right away, sir." Gyass said as he flew off, worried.

Captain Starr shook his head.

"Oh where is Ten Cents?" He said to himself.

Back at the warehouse, Captain Zero was in the process of removing Ten Cent's hull with his torch. Ten Cents knew very well that vechicles can't feel pain, but he was still terrified.

"Captain Zero, stop! This isn't right!" Ten Cents said.

Captain Zero ignored Ten Cents and continued removing metal.

"You don't have to do this! Please stop!" Ten Cents cried.

Ten Cents felt himself get lighter and lighter as Captain Zero removed metal from his hull. Suddenly a huge clang was heard. Ten Cent's hull had fallen off due to so much metal being removed.

"Captain Zero! I'm sorry if I ever did anything to bother you! Please stop!" Ten Cents cried.

"Too late, Star." Captain Zero replied. He then pointed the torch towards Ten Cent's wheelhouse and grinned.

"Now that'll make very fine scrap indeed." Captain Zero said.

Meanwhile Merlin was making his way south of the port, mishearing Captain Starr's orders. He was quickly puffing along the dock railway when he saw a set of points leading to an old track.

"Oh boy!" Merlin said. "Maybe Ten Cents is hiding on that old line! Driver, switch the points!"

Merlin's driver switched the points and they headed down the old line. It had not been used for a very long time. Merlin puffed along and soon they saw a huge building come into view.

"Ooh, that looks mysterious!" Merlin said.

Back in the warehouse, Captain Zero had climbed onto Ten Cents and had begun removing parts of his wheelhouse. Captain Zero muttered something to himself as the backside of the wheelhouse had just fallen off.

"CAPTAIN ZERO!" Ten Cents screamed. "STOP!"

Just then Merlin heard Ten Cents scream. It was coming from inside the building.

"Driver, that's Ten Cents!" Merlin cried. "Go in and save him!"

Merlin's driver kicked down the front door of the old building and walked in. He looked to his left and saw Ten Cents with Captain Zero. But as soon as Captain Zero saw him, he jumped down from Ten Cents and ran out through a side door!

"Stop right there!" Merlin's driver yelled.

But it was too late. Captain Zero was gone. Merlin was waiting outside when he saw a man suddenly run out of the bushes and across the tracks. Just then his driver came back.

"I found a telephone inside the building, and I've phoned the police" He said. "We'll have to wait here until they arrive."

So they did. After what seemed like ages, a white Class 08 diesel shunter rolled in in front of Merlin. It had "POLICE" painted on it's side. An officer jumped out of the cab. Merlin's driver ran over to him and explained the whole story.

"I see." The officer said as he wrote down notes. "Did you get a glimpse of this man?"

"I did!" Ten Cents cried out from inside.

The officer and Merlin's driver ran inside the warehouse. The officer gasped when he saw Ten Cents.

"His name is John Zero." Ten Cents said. "He was wearing all-black and he had a slight beard."

The officer took more notes, and wrote "REGULAR LAW BREAKER" and "DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY" down.

"Thank you." The officer said. "I'll call for assistance to get you repaired as soon as possible."

The officer had kept his promise. It wasn't long before more officers and assistance arrived, along with Captain Starr, who was flying on Gyass. Captain Starr was nearly brought to tears when he saw his tug, and heard what happened.

"Zero…." He said. "I thought he was gone for good." Captain Starr said.

Ten Cents was still so shaken that he almost couldn't speak.

"Everything will be okay, Ten Cents." Gyass said. "You'll be fixed soon, we promise!"

Ten Cents smiled at the sight and words of his friend.

Meanwhile Merlin was being questioned by the police diesel.

"You said he ran across the tracks?" The diesel asked.

"Yes, he was most definitely trying to escape from something!" Merlin replied.

An officer took notes as Merlin talked.

Back at the Star dock, the tugs had all been informed that Ten Cents was found, but not as they expected him to be found. Nataliya was left in charge by Captain Starr to keep track of them. She had told them everything.

"That scoundrel Zero should live life in prison!" Big Mac said angrily.

"Right with you, m'dear!" Hercules said.

"Yeah, It'll serve him right big-time!" Sunshine added.

"Everyone please stay calm." Nataliya said. "Authorities have arrived at the scene and everything's being taken care of."

"She's right." O.J. said. "We must keep calm, Ten Cents is safe now."

The tugs all agreed. Ten Cents was indeed safe and was being mended. It would take a while to rebuild a tugboat's hull, but it was indeed possible….

Or was it?

To be continued….