I return! School has been hogging my time, but I do have time to explore ideas and concepts. I decided to focus more on the Hercules and Zorran dynamic, and as always, threw in a hc as well. Enjoy!
Later on that morning, Captain Starr received word that Columbus sank. The Coast Guard also found that his face was gone, suggesting that he died overnight. The Stars hung their heads low, showing respect to the sunken ferry. Ten Cents and Sunshine looked at Hercules, wondering if he was going to show respect. After all, Hercules (and Hades) had put Columbus out of his misery and collected his soul. Hercules finally hung his head low, but his lips curved into a grin. The switchers went silent, and decided to stay unusually silent for the rest of the day.
A few weeks had passed, and it was now the beginning of the winter season in Bigg City. Due to the snow and ice, Captain Starr had moved his fleet to a temporary headquarters Up River. Hercules had to stay behind of course, but did not mind this at all. Besides, there were plenty of ways for the ocean tug to spend his time as opposed to being stuck at the Star Dock. There were contracts, but then there was spending time with Lillie. And doing things that Hades would approve of.
Hercules saw the other Stars off that morning and was getting ready to help escort a passenger ferry, but a lingering thought was weighing on his mind. There was Zorran, who was also there when Hercules revealed himself to be Hades. The attempt on the Z Stack's life was sufficient in his eyes, but there was something… nagging at him. Hades appeared in a reflection on the water, glaring at Hercules. It appeared that he wanted to do more, especially since Zorran would probably try to report the ocean tug to the Navy. After a moment of consideration, Hercules whispered, "We'll do it, but don't push it."
Elsewhere in Bigg City, Zorran was taking a small break in between contract work. Captain Zero did not have as many contracts secured Up River, so it would not be for a few more weeks before the Z Stacks would be sent up for the winter too. As he was about to doze off, he was rudely awoken by Hercules blasting his hooter. "Hercules! What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to stay sharp. However, his reaction gave away weakness.
"Apologies if I scared you Zorran, but there is something pressing on my mind." Hercules said, his expression and tone serious. He got next to Zorran and stopped, turning to look right into the harbor tug's soul. "It's about, you know, the Columbus incident."
Zorran remembered the incident well, and immediately froze up. It was useless to try and attack Hercules directly, as the latter could easily murder him. Even if he tried to use words, his opponent's replies would shake to the core. Finally, after a few moments, he asked, "Why did you decide to bring it up then? Especially since the whole thing happened weeks ago?"
"The Columbus incident is a very serious matter sweetheart. My biggest fear is the truth to come out, especially since who else would tell the truth about the whole thing but you." Hercules said, the air becoming cold. "We're very concerned about you telling the world about this, and we mean it."
"We?" Zorran was befuddled by what Hercules meant. "Is Hades concerned that me, an innocent harbor tug, is going to taddle on you? Ha, I'd die if that were the case-"
"LIES." A loud voice pierced the air, catching the Z Stack by surprise and forcing him to silence. Hercules was quiet, wanting the other to make his move. Zorran looked down at the water and his eyes widened in shock. Somehow, Hades took the place of the ocean tug's reflection. Was this an illusion? Or was there something else about Hercules that he didn't know about?
"Alright Hercules, this is going too far! You can't just sit here and try to play mind games y'know." Zorran hissed, still trying to act tough. However, it was very tempting to leave the ocean tug and tell the Navy. Especially now. When it looked like the Z Stack was going to move, he felt a strong tug and stopped in his tracks.
"I'm not done yet Zorran." The voice was now distinctly Hades', making the Z Stack finally go silent. This pleased Hercules and Hades greatly, and Hades hissed, "We still need to lay some rules first. You must not tell anyone of this. You may think we won't find out, but we do. You also must not tempt me to my breaking point, that will be your loss and my gain."
The rules seemed simple enough to break, but the risk of death was very real. Hades possessed such tremendous power that it was a miracle that Zorran had made it this far without dying. However, before he could speak, he felt a sharp stinging pain on his bow! He hissed and looked around to see who was responsible, now becoming desperate. After a moment, he felt himself loosen, and he hurried away from the scene with fear in his eyes.
Hercules chuckled, smoke retreating back to his stack. Now it was a game to see if Zorran would make his move. He felt Hades was now back inside him as opposed to being exposed, and a mental conversation soon started. "Did we do a good job scaring him? It appears as though he'll try again in a few days."
"A little dose of pain helps, but look at him suffer! He looks so desperate to have a gain over us that he can't make his move properly." Hades whispered, his voice a lot more gentle than what it was earlier. "If he wants to play dirty, you have the birds and the submarine on your side. Fortunately they're more cunning than Burke and Blair were. And even smarter than Zorran and his lackeys, they're so-"
"Bumbling?" Hercules asked, now starting his engine once more. "I'll give Zorran a chance to make his move. However, I am not opposed to doing simple little marks like that to scare him. We need to make it clear that each misstep leads to something worse."
"Sounds reasonable. You may want to show off your strength once in a while, make him bend." Hades purred, as if he was getting ready to tempt Hercules. "Besides, it gives me a way to overpower him without being too violent. But I won't hesitate to put an end-"
"The last thing we need is the Navy on my keel!" Hercules retorted, causing the nagging feeling Hades was giving to slowly go away. "We can do little marks, but only that. We can go for more serious wounds or even death as a last resort if that sounds fair to you. After all, we do have to consider his fleetmates."
When the nagging feeling stopped, Hercules took it as confirmation that Hades approved of this method. After all, it was much better to do it than to instantly kill Zorran. And on the spot too. The ocean tug started up his engine and went off to go to work, now grinning wickedly.
A week had passed, and the other Z Stacks were noticing a change in Zorran. The normally scheming and ruthless leader was now paranoid. No one knew what caused such a change, leading them to wonder if he was threatened with being sold or worse, scrapped. They all knew that Zorran had contracted microbonic plague from the time he escorted the plagued Nantucket, and that it was costly to scrape each bout of rust. They were incredibly worried for him, but each time they asked, he dismissed them.
That afternoon, Zorran was taking a short break from a steel contract. Bigg City Harbor was awfully quiet, but he did not mind this at all. He decided to spend his time by paying a visit to Bob. After all, he knew how much the buoy would like to gossip. Unless… an idea popped up, and Zorran smiled for the first time in days. Perhaps it might be time for payback.
He sailed to a part of the dock where the buoy was, looking around to see if Hercules was watching. If he wanted to be successful, he had to make sure the ocean tug was not watching him. Once the coast was clear, he sailed up to the buoy, a frown on his face
"Ey Big Z, you okay?" Bob asked, noticing how miserable the Z Stack was. "You look like you served in the war! Unless that is, you're shivering like a lunatic."
"I'm fine Bob." Zorran said, trying to look rough before heaving a sigh. "It's just that there was something that happened a few weeks ago. Something that involved me and Hercules! There's-"
"Hercules beat ya up badly? Not surprised at all considering how protective he is." The buoy huffed, looking up at the harbor tug. "Listen, give no notice to him, and you should be good. I don't wanna see you become a punching bag for the guy. Or whatever that is."
Zorran realized he was going to be late and thanked Bob before hurrying off. As he sailed on towards his next contract, he spotted Hercules. And Hercules looked like he wasn't too amused. The Z Stack gulped and sailed past Hercules, glaring as he did so. Hercules simply looked on and let out a few puffs of smoke, not in the mood to talk. Zorran continued to sail on, but felt something slice his cheek. Something small must have done it, but it stung. He quickly realized that smoke was responsible, but by the time he found out, Hercules was gone. Zorran cursed under his breath and hurried away.
Bob was dozing off when he spotted Hercules. What was he doing out here? It was very uncommon for the ocean tug to be in this part of harbor, and he had good reason to be confused. "What're you doing here?" He called.
"Just sailing around old boy. I noticed Zorran acting funny earlier, and I was wondering if he did anything with you." Hercules replied, now up close to the buoy. "Did he share anything serious with you? I noticed he looked confident."
"I ain't sharing wise guy. Now beat it and sail away!" Bob snapped. "Besides, you don't have a right to creep up on others! Zorran said you-" He quickly silenced himself, unsure if the Z Stack told him to keep it a secret.
"Zorran what?" Hercules asked, now furious. He knew that arguing would get him nowhere, and fighting would make the matter worse. He eyed some seagulls and looked down at Pluto (who was perched on his bow). A wicked idea soon came in his head, and he asked, "Pluto, can you go to the buoy over there? He might need to be taught a lesson."
Bob was befuddled, watching as Pluto flew off of Hercules and landed on him. "Who's Pluto anyway?" He asked, looking up at the raven.
"Pluto is a close friend of mine." The ocean tug calmly replied, motioning for Pluto to approach the seagulls. "Raised him since birth too."
"So he's your pet huh?" Bob asked, intrigued. He was about to ask when he could hear squawking from right above him. The seagulls who lived on his perch came down, trying to peck him at the eyes! Bob screamed and tried to deflect the assault, but nothing could be done.
"So what did Zorran tell you exactly?" Hercules calmly asked, not caring that Bob was being attacked. "Or would having everything pecked out to shreds be more viable? I'll give you time to make your decision."
Bob hissed, feeling himself get scraped. Finally, he caved in. "Alright alright! Get those feathered rats offa me!" He said, now whining in defeat. The seagulls flew off, revealing that Bob was scraped and had several pecks close to his eyes. "Zorran told me that you beat him up, or something like that. Please don't-"
"I won't damage you beyond repair." Hercules said, watching as Pluto flew back and landed on his lamp. "What you told me is sufficient. Cheers." He soon left, leaving behind a traumatized buoy.
It was close to Christmas, and the harbor was becoming busy yet again. Despite the snow and ice, ships were coming carrying all sorts of cargo. Hercules was heading to the fueling depot to take on oil after helping take a cargo ship out to sea. It was keeping him busy yes, but he longed to be back out on the open sea once spring came.
As the ocean tug was sailing on, a flock of terns was flying over him to find fish. Hercules did not mind this, and continued sailing on. However, Hades decided to have some fun. After all, this sort of work was boring. In an instant, Hercules found himself turning into Hades. A tern flew dangerously close, and Hades quickly sucked it in. No sooner did he do this that Hercules was now in control.
"Ack! Did you really think this was funny?" Hercules asked, spitting out the now deceased bird into the water. "Now I have feathers all over my teeth! And the possibility of us being exposed."
Hades appeared in the place of Hercules' reflection, laughing rather loudly. "You don't know how to have fun properly, especially since I caught it just for you." He said, feigning disappointment. "You never appreciate my hunting skills, and that is- Oh?"
Out in the distance was Zorran. And he was wide eyed. Hercules went into a panic, wondering if Zorran saw any of this happen. He pushed aside his worries and calmly approached the harbor tug. "Something happen Zorran?" He asked.
Zorran inched back, sweat rolling down his forehead. "I swore I saw Hades suck in something! Please-" But he was silenced with a stare from Hercules.
"Stop panicking. Now you won't tell anyone of what you saw just now, yes?" Hercules asked, shaking off some snow.
"Yeah yeah, but you're starting to creep me out a little bit. I mean, it's almost Christmas!" Zorran nodded, now back to his usual self. "Let me take a break from trying to make your life miserable, yeah? Promise that I won't try to taddle on ya for the rest of the year too!"
Zorran acting like this was expected, but it made Hercules suspicious. There was a real chance that Zorran could break his promise, but he knew that Zorran was no stupid tug. He was cunning after all, and there were times where the two went head to head over lucrative contracts.
After a moment, Hercules said, "I suppose I'll give you another chance old boy, but this is your final chance. I promise to not be harsh with you for the rest of this year too. But you must uphold your end of it." With a blast of his hooter, he left Zorran behind. "Oh, and Merry Christmas."
Author's notes:
You may have noticed that Hercules went from polite to ruthless in this chapter. I headcanon his cheery nature being just a ruse, and that he can actually be merciless. He'll go from polite to brutal if you're an enemy of his, and it doesn't help that he's incredibly strong and is not afraid to use his temper to get his point across.
Hades is his own individual being, and I will explain more about him in the next chapter.
Hercules can manipulate birds by using Pluto (his raven). That is how he wants something done.