Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you've been good and that you all got the presents you hoped to get! I have been working a bit myself to give you lot a present, in the form of a double-update!
"Die, pesky tugboat." Fubuki whispered, pulling the hammer back, as they all stared at the scene, the fleetgirls and tug fleets with fear, the Abyssal with glee.
"Not today, and certainly not through your hand."
It all seemed to happen at once, as Comet suddenly rammed his head backwards into the face of the Abyssal that held his face up. A split second later, the revolver fired, the bullet flying harmlessly above the head of the tugboat, who kicked himself free, before jumping forwards, pulling Fubuki into a quick kiss.
"Please wake up from this nightmare my little Blizzard..." He whispered, as he pulled the revolver out of her hand, grabbing her with his left and starting to pull her away.
"DON'T WAIT AND SHOOT DAMNIT!" He cried as the fleetgirls got kicked into motion by the shout, as they all fired simultaneously, a barrage of shells thundering down on the Abyssal who got struck in the midst of shock from the scene that had unfolded in front of them.
Comet raced forwards quickly, dragging Fubuki after him, who continued to get close to the tugboat and fulfil her order.
"Comet! Over here!" Called a voice.
The tugboat looked over through the cloud of flying shells to see Edwin, waving him over towards the other tugboats.
The railway tug rushed over to them, braking hard and turning around right away, getting out his rope and tying Fubuki up so that she wouldn't attack him.
"That was quite the scene you produced here!" Said Churchill as they started to pull back from the battle scene.
"Hey, what did you want me to do? I had no idea how many rounds were in my revolver, and I was within that whole crowd! I couldn't really shoot my way out of there you know!" Countered Comet, as Nagato, Mutsuki and Yuudachi came up to them.
"What have they done to Fubuki? Last time we saw her, she couldn't think of a world without you, and now she almost killed you!" Asked Mutsuki.
"I don't know, but whatever they did, it must've somehow changed her eye color as well. Look." Said Comet, and carefully lifted Fubukis face upwards, making sure that she couldn't snap at him, showing the others her purple irises.
"Whatever it is, it must've somehow convinced her to cooperate with the Abyssal. We need to get her out of this state, before she can harm anybody." State Nagato.
"Oh don't worry, her current order is to destroy the tugboat, she will ignore anything until the order is complete. If you ever want to have her back, you need to have her fulfil her orders."
They all jumped as the leader of the Abyssal stood behind them, a sly smile on her face as the fleetgirls and the tugs lifted their respective weapons.
"Ohoho, you all really are a jumpy lot. But I would suggest to stop these silly efforts to resist us and simply cooperate with us. After all, your silly loyalty would never allow it that your oh so important admiral would be harmed, now would it?" Chuckled the leader, as she pointed towards the 'Duchess', where several of the Abyssal already surrounded the ship, their armament already trained on the goods vessel to sink it to the ocean floor.
"Now then, do be so kind and lower your weapons please."
Reluctantly, they did lower their guns, but kept glaring at the enemy ships. The other fleetgirls followed suit, shocked and enraged that something like this has happened.
"I can't understand this. How could they have broken through?" Muttered Comet.
"I can't answer this either. They must've slipped within the row of supply ships while we were occupied by the main part of their forces. We ordered Brady and his train to guard the 'Duchess', but he disappeared as well." Explained Nagato, as the railway tug frowned.
Comet scanned the battlefield, searching for any signs of the armored train. But other than upset fleetgirls and victorious looking Abyssal, he couldn't see anything.
"Searching for your friend and that strange train I believe? Do not worry, we took care of it. It and all the humans on board got a nice trip to the bottom of the ocean from us, isn't that a kind gift?" Chuckled the elegant looking Abyssal, but Comet didn't take note of this, as his eyes fixated on something that rose up behind the speaking vessel.
"Well? Too proud to speak up now huh? Well, this shall matter nothing. We will continue where you have cut us off earlier." Said the Abyssal, as a cruiser moved up and cut the rope binding Fubuki, who quickly moved up to the railway tug and took the revolver out of his hand.
"Well then, this is usually the part where you can make your final words." Smirked the leader.
"Why does he get any last words? Just kill him already!" Grumbled Rodney, but the elegant looking vessel glared at him.
"You might not have notice this, but they actually care for this tugboat, opposed to you. A few words that will be burned into their mind will leave a nice psychological effect that will weaken their resistance to our cause." It hissed in a whisper, as Rodney sulked in silence.
"Really? Hmm, alright, if I have to. Uhh... Okay, this sucks, I haven't really prepared anything for this... Wait! I've got something! Guys, I'm glad I was part of this fleet. I might have been a pain in the bunker for some time, but I hope you can forgive me for that. Uh, captain Walters, over the time I helped those railway drivers maintain their engines, the railway company gave me a small bit of cash for my work. It has summed up to a nice bunch, the code for the bank account is stored underneath my mattress at the base. You can use that to repair the house. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I wanted to keep it locked up for the day when we win this war to make a good victory celebration. Uhh, yeah. So, Fubuki, I don't know if you'll even remember anything I say right now, but just in case you do, I won't blame you for anything you'll do. I'll love you until my last breath." Said Comet, as he turned to the leader, who was looking at him with a victorious look in her face.
"Well, that's that then. Leaves me with one final sentence."
"Then be quick. That was already more than what I expected, and I still have a busy schedule. You know, taking over the ocean is a time-consuming business."
"That might be, but how stupid can one be to send a cruiser and two destroyers against a fully equipped war train?"
Before the Abyssal had any chance to ask, a loud whistle blasted from right behind it. Turning around, she was faced by a shocking sight, as the armored train charged through the gathered fleet of Abyssal vessels that were stuck in between the rows of goods ships, plowing through them and firing from all guns at the ones that were besides it, heading straight for the leader.
"Kill him now!" It said in alarm, trying to move out of the path of the speeding train, but was stopped as Comet grabbed her, pulling her towards himself.
"No can do queen Victoria! This train is heading for hell, and I'm not the only one with a ticket for it!" He smirked, as Fubuki fired the revolver, the shot going straight through him and in turn the leader of the Abyssal, but he stood upright, bracing himself for the impact.
The train rammed into them, not slowing down as it raced onwards, in between the fleetgirls and supply ships that waited with them. As the train was completely past them, their radios flared up again.
"This is the admiral speaking! I'm on board the armored train, together with captain Walters and captain Red as well as the crew of the 'Duchess'! The supply ships around you are traps! They're made out of wood and are loaded with explosives, ready to take the Abyssal with them! Get away from them as quick as you can!"
'As expected from him...' Thought Nagato with a smirk, as the other fleetgirls gave similar smiles or smirks, as they turned around and quickly retreated out of the large trap, while pulling the Abyssal deeper into it.
"All fleetgirls! Let's sink them to the bottom of the ocean!" Called Nagato, as the others started to fire at the floating, wooden bombs.
"Steam tugs and Red Stacks fleet! Get Fubuki out of here! Quickly!" Ordered the secretary ship, as the tugs nodded, moving closer to the destroyer, ready to restrain her if needed be.
"Miss Fubuki? Are you alright?" Asked Edwin but got no reply.
They moved in front of her, shocked to see that she still had purple eyes.
"This is impossible! That Abyssal said that she would get back to normal once her orders are carried out!" Said Churchill.
"Yes... But that could mean that-" Began Prometheus but was cut off when a loud whistling echoed from further away, and the sound of pistons pounding started to ring out.
"H-he made it! He even survived being hit by a train!" Laughed Mac, hugging his brother as the train got closer towards them.
"He really is a crazy little daredevil!" Sneered Richard, but couldn't help but smile, as did the rest of the Red Stacks.
"Uhh, guys? Shouldn't they slow down soon?" Asked Boomer, as they all looked in the direction of the train again, as they saw how it still kept going at the same, high speed.
"Something must be wrong! Maybe the brakes have failed again?" Suggested Edwin, but his theory was destroyed when they heard a familiar voice over the radio.
"Clear the path... This train is heading for hell..." Came a weak voice, but too clear for them to mistake it for anyone else.
"Comet! What are you doing?! Slow that train down this instance! You're heading straight for-!"
"I know what I'm doing Churchill. I'm taking the Cassandra to captain Starr." Interrupted the railway tug, as the locomotive thundered past them.
In the few moments that it passed them, they could see Comet, leaning out of the cab, a hole in his chest, his clothes already turning red from the blood, with the Abyssal beside him, wounded, but not dead yet. The locomotive rocketed past them, lacking anything behind it, heading straight for the explosive-loaded ships. Fubuki started to race after it, but was stopped by Mac, Rock and Ricky, holding her back. The locomotive raced past the retreating fleetgirls, a long, drawn out whistle blasting from it as it raced into several Abyssal vessels, dragging them with him as he burst through the side of one of the ships. The boiler of the steam engine bursting apart a few seconds later, followed by a further, huge detonation as the explosives on board of the ship blew up, creating a massive blast, burning pieces of wood flying everywhere, setting plenty of the surrounding wooden ships on fire, which in turn exploded as well when the fires reached the explosives, creating a terrible chain reaction of fire and detonations. The remaining few Abyssals were scattered within the exploding field of floating bombs and turned to escape the wrath of the fleetgirls once they noticed their dwindling small number. When the final few Abyssal ships got taken care of, they all stood where they were, in front of them a large, blazing fire of destroyed wood and defeated enemies. But nobody cheered, and nobody celebrated. For they all knew that this victory had costed a high price.
"Let us return home. We are done here." Said Nagato. The others just somberly turned around and started to head back, leaving the fire to burn down.
Along the way, they found the rest of the armored train. It had been uncoupled and left powerless, Brady waving a large white flag to their attention.
"We saw the explosions. I don't really need to ask what happened, right?" Asked the admiral.
"No sir. He drove the locomotive right into the ships sir." Said Nagato.
"Sir? What did he mean by 'Taking the Cassandra to captain Starr'?" Asked Prometheus.
"When he got hit by the train, he survived thanks to his suit absorbing most of the shock. The Abyssal wasn't so lucky, and got thrown right onto the tender. Comet dragged himself in here, and wanted to make sure that she wouldn't get away, so he got some chains out and tied her to the tender handrail. As he did, he found the name 'S.S. Cassandra' stitched into the fabric of her dress. He asked her if she was the actual ship, to which she answered with yes. We had already planned to send the locomotive into the ships to use her as a detonator, in order to set off the main part of the explosions, but when I uncoupled the locomotive, he jumped back on board." Sighted Brady.
"He was always a bit reckless, but I never thought he would throw his life away so willingly." Muttered the admiral.
"I don't think he threw it away. He must have had a reason for staying on board that locomotive." Stated Nagato.
"… 'She has to fulfil her duty'. Maybe that's why he stayed aboard? He thought that, if he didn't die, Fubuki would never return to normal." Said Mutsuki.
As the name fell, they all thought the same question.
"What should we tell Fubuki?" Asked captain Walters.
"The truth. As much as it hurts, she has the right to know. Where is she?" Asked the admiral.
"She passed out a few seconds after the locomotive exploded. Looks like that, after her orders were fulfilled, the brainwashing wore off." Said Prometheus, as Mac and Rock came up with the knocked-out destroyer.
"Very well. Once we are back home, she will be put into the docks. I'll personally tell her what has happened as soon as she wakes up. Please, could you tow us back to port?" Asked the admiral, as the tugs nodded, and started to pull the remaining armored train back towards the port.
3 weeks later…
The rebuilding of the port went well ahead, most factories have been finished already, as well as the ports defense system. After the decimation of the main Abyssal force, they had an easy time to destroy the Abyssal base at the south pole. Following the fall of the base, the Abyssal started to lose more and more ground, getting pushed back on all fronts in the Pacific theater. The 'Kommando Störtebeker' returned back to Germany a few days after the assault, wishing everyone a quick victory and that they would all meet up again once this war was over. Fubuki had yet to wake up from her unconscious state, concerning some and reliefing others. Mutsuki, Yuudachi, Mac and Rock visited her daily, hoping that they would one day see her with her eyes open again.
Mac was helping Rebecca out with the car ferry duties, like he always did since Comets death. Captain Walters and captain Stone came to an agreement that Rebecca would be co-owned by the two fleets, so that the car ferry duties would still be covered while both fleets of the naval port would search for replacement railway tugs. Rodney had survived the blast, but was held as a prisoner of war for cooperating with enemy forces, and would most likely never be able to return to a fleet again.
"Okay, that's all for now! Thanks for the help Mac!" Called Rebecca as she tied herself to her pair of barges.
"No problem! Later Co- Rebecca!" Called Mac, as he started to head to his next assignment.
Rebecca looked after the small switcher with a frown. She knew that both switchers were hit the hardest by the loss of their 'big brother'. The moral of the complete tug fleet has taken a deep hit, and it didn't look as if it would change any time soon. Mac was halfway between the railway drop-off yards and the fuel depot, when Rock called out through the radio.
"Mac! Come to the docks quickly! Fubuki woke up!" His twin called out to him.
Mac perked up visibly, turning around and rushing back to the launching station, and after that straight to the docks, where Rock, Mutsuki and Yuudachi had helped Fubuki out of her berth. The destroyer was wobbly on her legs, confused and helpless.
"Fubuki! We're so glad you woke up!" Mac smiled, as he walked up to her.
"Mac… Can you tell me where Comet is?" Asked the weakened destroyer, as Mac's expression fell.
"She has been asking for him since she woke up. We couldn't break it to her." Rock whispered to his twin.
Mac sighted and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the admiral.
"Fubuki, welcome back. You have plenty of things to catch up on. Please, would you follow me to my office?" Said the man as Fubuki nodded slowly, following him out of the docks, the others watching her go in concern.
"Well Fubuki, you gave us quite the fright. Some of us thought you wouldn't wake up again." Said the admiral with a slight smile.
"I didn't want to scare anybody. I'm glad you managed to rescue me from the Abyssal." She replied, as the superior officer frowned.
"We rescued you?" Asked the admiral, not understanding what she meant by this.
"Well, yes. I can't really remember what happened, but I can't think of any other way how I managed to wake up back home in the docks."
"You can't remember anything?"
"No sir. The last thing I can remember is that there was a very elegant looking Abyssal, walking towards me, before all becomes a fuzzy mess in my head..." Explained the young destroyer, as she grabbed her head, shutting her eyes with a pained expression.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yes sir. My head just hurts a bit, that's all. If you allow me to ask, where is Comet? I thought he would be one of the first to see me again." Asked Fubuki.
The admiral sighted, it really wasn't easy to do this. He had done plenty of such conversations with family members of sailors that died during battle, but that was towards strangers. Here, he had to break the news to Fubuki, a girl he knew and treasured, just like he treasured all the girls in the port.
"Fubuki, we didn't rescue you, at least not in the way you think. You were somehow brainwashed into cooperating with the Abyssal and fought alongside them." Fubuki twitched notably as she heard this.
"I-I did what...? I-I couldn't- I would never..." She whispered, trying to explain her actions, but the admiral stopped her.
"It is fine Fubuki. Nobody is blaming you. Everyone understands that you weren't capable of controlling your actions." Reassured the man.
"D-Did I hurt anybody?"
"...Yes. It was your orders to kill a certain ship from this port." Explained the admiral, as Fubuki slowly looked up to him, fear in her eyes.
"W-who did I k-kill...?" Dread rising within her as she started to connect the dots but clinging to the last bit of hope she had that it wasn't the case.
"It was Comet."
Fubuki just stared at the admiral, her mind processing the information. Comet was dead. Her boyfriend, her lover, was dead. And she killed him. The admiral waited patiently, waiting for a reaction from the destroyer.
"N-no... No, t-this can't be t-true..." Replied the destroyer with a shaky voice.
"You took his revolver off of him and fired a round through his chest. We don't know if this was the lethal wound, however, we couldn't carry out an autopsy due to the fact that his body was destroyed in the explosion."
"E-explosion?"
"We fooled the Abyssal to believe that the goods ship 'Duchess' was the command ship, but in reality, it was a trap, as she and the surrounding, quickly built wooden ships were filled with explosions that would detonate through the impact of Allan Brady's locomotive, or via a hit by a shell. Comet had used his final words as a distraction while the armored train made a surprise attack on the Abyssal and caused chaos within their assault fleet. He also kept the leader of the Abyssal in place so that she would be hit by the train and got on board of it that way. After the train got out of the battle scene, he and Brady uncoupled the locomotive. We actually planned to take Comet back to the base and get him into the docks, but he stayed on the locomotive and drove it into one of the ships, exploding alongside the Abyssal leader and taking down plenty of their vessels. We searched later on for anything that was left of him, but except for a few of the locomotive's and his suits' parts, we couldn't find anything." Explained the admiral, looking through several reports to make sure that he got the facts right.
When he finished, he looked up, but only saw an empty seat in front of him, and that his office doors were wide open.
"I suppose she just has to see it for herself..." Sighted the admiral, as he pulled a hand through his hair in frustration. No matter how often, he never got used to these conversations.
Fubuki was racing across the port, heading straight for the home of the Steam Tugs fleet. She didn't even recognize that the whole house seemed to look as if it was brand new. She burst through the door, ran past the breakfast/briefing room, where Churchill and Bull called out to her, and ran right upstairs to the living quarters. She quickly found the room in which Mac and Rock lived in, but her heart fell when she saw that there were only two name tags on the door, with a lighter spot, indicating that there once was a third tag, which only recently had been removed. She walked through the door, and up to the middle bunk bed. She reached out for the curtains with shaky hands, pulling them open to see that there weren't any sheets on the bed, nor signs of a blanket or pillow that would have been used by somebody who slept in the bed.
"We're sorry Ms. Fubuki, but what you have heard is true. Our dear Comet... is gone." Said Churchill with a downcast expression.
"N-no! That's not true! Why do you all lie to me?!" She cried, tears starting to appear in her eyes as she rushed past the ocean-going tug, running out of the house, heading in the direction where she knew she would find her boyfriend.
She soon arrived at the locomotive sheds, panting hard from the long running. She gathered here remaining strength and continued onwards, past railway workmen and engine drivers who looked at her with confusion. She entered the engine sheds, all the locomotives standing in their berths, cold and motionless, which was rather strange, as it only was midday, and at least some of them should be working. She passed by the motionless giants, searching for the one she wanted to see. But as she reached its place, she was only greeted by a mass of drivers, standing around the inspection pit of the berth. Fubuki pushed past them to see what they were looking at, and saw that, instead of the locomotive, a flatbed with several parts on it stood, ranging from wheels, rods and gauges to larger parts such as a cowcatcher and a whistle. The biggest part however, was a part of an engines cab, with a large, weathered number 23 on it. In front of the crowd stood a man in black suit, missing one arm, and having a bandage around his head. He turned around, looking with his one remaining eye at the destroyer.
"Fubuki. I am glad you woke up. The men got the day off from the management to pay their respects to Comet and locomotive number 23. These are all the parts we managed to salvage." Explained Brady as the destroyer slowly walked up to the flatbed, now seeing a photo which had previously been covered by Brady.
As she got close enough, she saw that it was a group photo of railway workmen, who were posing on or next to the old locomotive No.23. One particular boy who stood out was sitting on the cowcatcher, smiling at the camera, his hat pulled back so his face was completely showing, the stitching on his pants hard to read, but for everyone who knew him, they didn't need to read it. Tears were running down her face as she touched the photo, her heart throbbing with pain. She turned away from the picture and stormed back through the mass of railway men to head to the nearest exit. Brady sighted heavily, before lifting his head and closed his eye. He inhaled, and started to sing, the other engine men joining him as well, as they sung 'Auld Lang Syne', as to say 'good bye' to their friendly little helper and the oldest engine of the sheds.
Fubuki had been wandering aimlessly around the port for the better part of the last few hours. She didn't want to go home, she didn't want to see anybody. Her mind was still rejecting the thought of Comet being gone, but the facts spoke an all too clear language. She somehow ended up at the quay she had comforted Mutsuki at when she lost her sister, but she was fairly certain that there wouldn't be anybody who could understand her pain.
"Are you waiting for him to return?" Asked a voice behind her.
"N-no. I know that would be pointless…" Replied the destroyer with a stifled sob, as Rebecca sat down next to her.
"You should probably know that he would feel the same way you do now. While you were captured, he had to be grounded just so that he wouldn't sneak out and bring you back. Of course, that didn't stop him for too long. He loved you so much that he couldn't just stand by and wait for them to eventually kill you." Explained the female steam tug.
"I know. I would've done the same for him. It's just harder to swallow the fact that it was through my hands that he died." Replied Fubuki with a broken voice.
"He used his last words to distract the Abyssal while the armored train gathered speed, but her also said to you that he would never blame you for what you did, and that he would love you until his last breath. I think he knew that he would die that day and was ready, otherwise he wouldn't have been so calm when he spoke. He was ready to die, so that you can live." Said Rebecca.
Hearing these words spoken out loud did it for the destroyer. Her tears started to run freely now, loud sobs escaped her mouth as she cried for her lost love. Rebecca pulled the heartbroken girl into a hug, trying to comfort her, as she too started to cry for the tug she loved. They sat there for a long time afterwards, even after all their tears were cried, remembering the times they had with the railway tugboat Comet.
Meanwhile…
"Come on mate, wake up! Work is waiting!" Called a voice as the tugboat woke up.
He looked to his side, seeing how a very young tug talked to him, smiling a toothy smile at him.
"Thought you wouldn't wake up! You've been out for three weeks Comet!" Grinned the tug with a slight whistling in his voice.
"W-where am I?" Groaned the railway tug.
"You're in Bigg City Port! Come on, captain Starr wants to see you!" Said the little one, Comet jerking into motion as he heard the name of the port and that of the man, knowing that something weird was going on if captain Starr was alive and requesting to speak with him.
He followed the small tug out of the room, walking through a long hallway towards a large door. Walking through it, he saw two men, talking to each other. They looked similar to each other, as if they were related, the younger one having a small mustache and black, combed back hair, wearing a standard captain's uniform of the British navy. Next to him sat an older gentleman with full beard, wearing a uniform similar to captain Walters own uniform, although he wore a yellow shirt underneath a red jacket. They stopped their conversation when they saw the young railway tug enter.
"Ah! Comet! It has been quite some time since we last seen each other!" Smiled the man in the seat.
"C-captain Starr? B-but how-?"
"I think you are capable of figuring that one out yourself, good tugboat." Said the man standing next to him, as be pointed outside of the nearby window.
Comet walked up to it and gasped at what he saw outside. The last time he saw Bigg City port, it was partly through its rebuilding into a modernized, housing and office area, with most of the old, red brick warehouses being destroyed and replaced with modern buildings made out of concrete and steel. But here, it looked like it did back in the 1930s when he still worked in said docks. Steam tugs were working about, old lorries were scattered across the quay and long goods trains slowly winded through the port. Down on the waters, he saw several tugs, as in, actual tugboats made out of wood and steel, with their skippers gathered on the deck of the harbor tug in the middle. When he saw the skippers, a sad smile came over his face.
"Morning Ten Cents, O.J., Warrior..." He muttered, before turning back to the two men.
"So, I guess that Fubuki fulfilled her order?" He asked meekly, his heart hurting as he said the name of his girlfriend.
"Yes. And at the same time, she didn't." Said the younger captain Starr.
"Huh? So, I'm not dead?"
"No, you are dead. But not for much longer." Explained the older man, confusing the railway tug greatly.
"You aren't making much sense sir." Frowned Comet.
"Well, I think an old friend can explain this better than I can. You can come in now dear." Said the younger man, as a door opened.
Comet's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets as he saw the woman that entered. She was fairly tall, had a long, flowing dress of a Victorian design, and had long, flowing brown hair. But the most shocking about this woman were her bright red eyes, eyes in which he remembered seeing smugness and hate. But now, all this had disappeared, and was replaced by nervousness, shame and embarrassment. Comet took a step back, his expression turning into a glare, as the woman shied away in shame.
"Now now good tugboat, you have nothing to fear. Cassandra isn't here to fight you." Explained the younger captain Starr.
"Yeah, she isn't. She uses others to do that job, just like she manipulated Fubuki into killing me! Did she turn you into her slaves as well already?!" Roared the tugboat in anger.
"No I would never-!"
"Please my dear, don't overdo yourself." Interrupted the younger captain.
"Comet, we aren't her slaves, and she is no longer an Abyssal. Please, listen to her, and you shall understand." Said the older Starr calmly.
"Fine." Spat Comet, as Cassandra gave a weak smile in reply.
"Thank you for listening to me. As you might have heard, I was called the first being to be sunk by the Abyssal. That wasn't the case. I was never the first to be sunk, and neither was I the first of the Abyssal. For the Abyssal aren't a race. They are a curse. The curse of the Abyssal, it reaches every ship that sinks, no matter what kind of duty it fulfills or where it gets its power from. During the sinking of a ship, its soul gets confronted by the curse. It will try to convince the soul that its time isn't ready, that it shouldn't be here, that the humans should have taken better care of it. If the curse succeeds, the soul gets corrupted, and returns to the surface as a living being, fueled by hatred, regret and the longing to return to its former companions. Those souls that won't get corrupted though, return to the surface as fleetgirls, or as in your case, tugboats, fighting the corrupted souls, in order for them to see that their fight is pointless and to finally rest their weapons, so that they reach salvation." Started the cruise liner to explain.
"So I guess you did then, huh? Found salvation?"
"Yes, I did. But I could not have made it if it wasn't for you and your lover. If you and Fubuki had only given up once on your long and rocky path, nobody knows how things could have ended. But you didn't. You two fought on, no matter how low the expectations for survival were. The bond between you two is strong, stronger than death itself."
"Captain Starr said something similar already. What do you mean by that?"
"The bond with your lover will help you return. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to have this conversation with you. I have done many a horrible deeds over my time as an Abyssal. I captured and tortured plenty fleetgirls and humans, I was led by incorrect facts and lies. I was led to believe that the man I trusted the most was involved with my demise. I can never redeem myself in the past world. I wanted to explain my actions to you, and hope that you would somehow accept my apology. I would fully understand if you would not do so. However, once you've returned to your partner, make sure to treasure her, and never forget who she is to you." Finished Cassandra, as she looked over to her captain, who gave her a smile in support.
"…It isn't easy to accept an apology of somebody who kidnapped and tortured the person I loved the most, and who corrupted said someone into killing me." Began Comet with a huff, as the cruise liner in front of him lowered her head again.
"However, I will keep your words in my mind, and will make sure to remember you, not as a murderous maniac lead by bloodlust and hate, but a lost soul who let grief take over her heart. I will make sure that those that cared about me won't have to fall to this grief. You will have my word as a tugboat on this, Ms. Cassandra." Finished Comet, a small but understanding smile on his face, as the woman in front of him shed a few tears.
"Thank you, kind tugboat." She sniffed, as captain Starr gave her a hug.
"I think it is time for you to go home Comet. Like Ten Cents told you, you are a bit too early. John and the other Steam Tugs of your fleet will be waiting." Said the older man.
"Aye sir. It was a pleasure to see you again. Will I ever get the chance to return to this port?" He asked, as he stood at the door.
"The curse will never be completely gone my young friend. As long as there are Abyssal, there will be fleetgirls that will need to fight them. But you and the others have already escaped the curse once. It can't corrupt you. You will just have to stand strong against it, and fight together to make sure that nobody has to suffer. I can assure you, salvation waits for all. One day, we shall all meet up again, together, like we used to. Until then, we shall watch over you, always guiding you from the ports of the Bigg City." Said captain Starr, the sun shining ever so brightly through his windows, so that Comet could only see his silhouette.
"I… understand. Thank you, captain. Until we meet again." Smiled Comet as he walked through the door.
"I really wish for him to manage past this obstacle without too much pain." Muttered Cassandra.
"He will persevere, he always did. It will hurt, but for his love, he is willing to suffer, as long as her suffering ends." Said the younger captain Starr.
"Just like you did when you left part of your soul with my bell?"
"Exactly."
On the other side, Comet found out that he was no longer in the office building in Bigg City port. He was in a large, white void, with nothing to see for miles.
"Well, this is great." Frowned Comet.
'The bond with your lover will help you return'
"Alright, best shot I can give at this right now…" Muttered the railway tug, as he closed his eyes as his mind started to fire up his memories about Fubuki.
As his brain started to go through the vast amount of memories including the destroyer of his dreams, the scenes from his mind were projected into the white void. Like a wall in a museum covered with paintings, the void started to fill with his memories, lining up in two rows on either side.
Her first day at their port, where he also saw her for the first time, causing him to run his barges aground due to him being distracted by her beauty. How he cheered for her from afar when she passed through the training course.
Unconsciously, his legs started to carry him forwards, along his memory's hallway.
The numerous days where he did odd jobs around the harbor in order to catch a glimpse of her, him taking in the teasing of the other tugs for him being so heavily in love with her.
His steps got faster, his heart telling him to get down this long hall faster.
The day where she played the key part in the success of mission MI, his heart bursting with pride that it was her who played the deciding part. The quiet days following the successful mission, the fear he had when he heard what happened at Iron Bottom Sound and the history Fubuki had with that place.
He started to run, heart and mind urging him to go even faster.
The day he met up with her and started to talk with her, their first battle together, the feeling of growing closer to her being ever so wonderful. Their first kiss, the day at the lake, their confession inside the docks.
Comet was racing down the hall now, tears starting to form in his eyes as thought started to form in his mind.
'Isn't this all just pointless? Are you really going to listen to the advice of someone who tried to kill you just a little while ago?' Asked a voice in his head.
"Maybe, but I'm not going to give up. Fubuki is waiting for me. I can't let her wait any longer." Replied Comet as he continued to run.
Scenes of the two of them, spending time together after work, their days working at the lake, their special night together.
At the thought of that night, his spirits seemed to reach another height as he charged further onwards.
'Did you ever hear of someone returning from the dead before? There is no way to return. You are stuck here. You won't be able to return to her.' Continued the voice.
"Well, I'll be the first to do so then!" Smirked the tugboat.
Their mission to the south pole, their time of separation, his attempts to break the mind control. His final moments on board of the locomotive before she hit the ship's hull in which he thought of how he wanted to stay and remain together with her…
Comet stopped suddenly, staring straight ahead. There, blocking his path, was an exact copy of himself.
"I'm dreadfully sorry, but you won't be able to get out of here, no matter where you're trying to run to." The copy said.
"And what are you?" Panted Comet.
"Why, I'm you of course! Or better said, I'm the manifestation of your common sense." Chuckled the being, as Comet walked up to it, trying to touch it, but his hand gliding through it.
"So, what do you want then?" Scoffed the railway tug.
"It's more in the path of what you want."
"I want to go back. Fubuki is waiting for me." Growled Comet.
"I think your body is telling you something different though, isn't it? Can't you hear its exhausted cry? It calls out to you. To stop trying. You are only hurting yourself with these pointless efforts. Is it worth going through these memories again? You won't be able to go back, and yet you suffer through all this again. You need to admit that you have lost her. Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise." The copy said calmly, but Comet just stared at him with a glare.
"No can do. I'll drag myself to wherever I need to go in order to get back to her. I've got her out of hell once. I'll get myself out of heaven as well." Retorted the tugboat.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Replied the copy with a soft smile as he produced his revolver out of the nothingness of the room and fired a round at the unexpecting tug.
Comet was thrown to the floor, blood seeping out of the wound in his chest.
"You can't hurt me. But I can hurt you. I didn't want to do this, but you don't leave me a choice."
"S-screw you. I'll go anyways." Spat Comet, lifting himself up again, only for another shot to go through his body, this time tearing away plenty of flesh, making him scream in agony.
"Ready to stop?"
"I-I'm just s-starting!" Smirked the tug, stumbling forwards in a quick move and bursting through the copy, and carrying on down the hallway.
He continued to walk further down the hallway, his blood marking his path, as further rounds collided with his body, resulting in even greater pain.
"I am growing impatient. I didn't expect for you to keep your decision up for so long." Said the copy, not showing its form again, its voice coming from all sides.
"You can wait until I come here the next time! I am expected down there and I'm already late! So don't stop me now!" Called Comet out into the hallway.
A collective array of gunshots followed, hitting him all at once, making him collapse to the floor in pain. He tried to move, but his body wouldn't react any further. He tried to lift his head, and succeeded somewhat, staring ahead again, trying to see at least how far away from his goal he had made it. A little way further ahead, he saw what looked like a gate, bright light shining out of it, too bright in order for him to look through it. He knew that this was the place he was heading for, so close, yet so agonizingly far.
"Give up. You managed so well. You deserve your rest." Whispered the voice again.
"I w-won't! I-I'll get to F-Fubuki no matter what!" He shouted into the white void, calling all of his remaining strength up and tiredly crawled forwards, slowly getting closer towards his goal.
Inch by inch, he got closer, his body getting caught in the light, the beams feeling like an instant repair bucket, giving him back some of his lost strength, as he slowly stood back up, his wounds healing slowly back, but some still remaining, some of his skin still not grown back completely, and his chest still hurting from the shell. He stood in front of the gate but stopped himself from going through it as he felt another presence behind him again. He turned and saw the copy of himself again. This time however, it didn't look as if it was going to harm him. It sighted and gave a soft smile.
"I guess it was pointless in trying. I wasn't capable of turning you back during the siege of Bigg City, why should I have been capable of doing that now?" It chuckled, before glowing brightly and turning into a formless cloud of dark purple mist, two red eyes glowing through it.
"I can't corrupt you. You are free to return to her." It said, before dissolving into nothingness again.
Comet took a deep breath, trying to progress what had just happened, before he turned around to face the gate again, the white light still glowing brightly.
"Wherever you are Fubuki, wherever I will land once I am through, I will return to your side. I will keep my promise." Whispered the railway tug, as he jumped into the light.
And that covers up part one of this double update. See you in the next part! And let's see where Comet ends up next, shall we?