The first official chapter of The Killing Machine is up! I decided that the rest of the Star Tugs, as well as the Z Stacks, would get more active roles in this story than what they had in Death on the Water. Hopefully this chapter should be a good start! :)
Ten Cents woke up and found himself in a place that was unusually calm and tranquil. There were buildings and equipment, but there was no one but him. He immediately panicked and started wandering around in an effort to find a way out. Eventually, he reached the open ocean. To his surprise, it was still quiet and calm. However, in the distance, a blanket of fog was rolling in. He figured it must have been normal, and decided to turn back to the safety of the harbor.
Just as he turned around however, he felt something grab him on the sides. It didn't feel like ropes or even chains, and he immediately tried to throw off the force to no avail. Then, a large maroon shape emerged from the fog, but the shape didn't look like a vessel. Instead, it was like a sea monster that appeared in old statues and paintings. In an instant, the shape changed into a distinct red mist. Ten Cents could only stare on with terror in his eyes, trying to recall if he had seen the creature before.
Just as when all was lost, a voice sounding like Sunshine's was calling him, pleading for him to wake up. Ten Cents shut his eyes, hoping that salvation would soon come. When he woke up, he found himself at Lucky's Yard and the other Star Tugs docked right nearby. The cool sea breeze and warm sun helped pull him back into reality, reminding him that he was still alive.
"Ten Cents!" Sunshine exclaimed, drawing up his anchor and sailing as close as was permissible.
"Oh hey!" Ten Cents smiled, the first in a long while. "Where am I?"
"Lucky's Yard!" OJ replied, letting out a small chuckle. "Hercules and Grampus brought you here last week after you got into a nasty accident."
"Thank goodness yer alive!" Warrior chimed in, blowing his hooter in celebration. "We thought you kicked the bucket-"
"Don't corrupt his ears with that sort of talk Warrior. Anyways, this city was starting to get boring without you." Top Hat said, forcing a smile.
"But Top Hat, you're always complainin' about how dull this place is!" Ten Cents teased, soliciting a groan from the railway tug and a few stifled giggles from Warrior and Sunshine. "Besides, ya see all of our jobs boring and yours exciting!"
"In all seriousness though, we were very worried about you. You were passed out for a week and almost died a few times during the repair process." OJ said, silencing everyone with a blast of his hooter. "We knew that if you did die, the harbor would never be the same. The Stars didn't want to go through what the Zeds are going through right now."
"The Zeds?!" Ten Cents gasped and went silent. So something significant did indeed happen while he was at Lucky's. "What happened to 'em? I mean, I was out for a week!"
After a silent deliberation of who would be breaking the news to the switcher, Big Mac stepped up and said, "Well, somethin' awful happened to the Zeds last week. Zorran just… vanished. No witnesses, no news from anyone up and down the coast. A massive search party was ordered by the Coast Guard, but nothin' turned up."
Ten Cents's face went from shock to fear, and was was mortified such a thing would happen. He knew that Zorran had done illegal work before, but this was not like the harbor tug to vanish for days. "I know that he was bribing Timberwolf with money, but that's it." He said, trying to remember what was happening.
"Sunshine and I had already told you all about it, and we're very furious about it." Hercules calmly called out, steaming into Lucky's Yard. He sailed up and stopped right next to Top Hat, and the railway tug inched away to a safer spot next to Big Mac. "With him vanishing all of the sudden, I suppose she had no use for him anymore and ended him."
As Hercules was talking, Ten Cents looked down and noticed that something about him was changing. The other Star Tugs didn't notice this, yet for some reason, he was. Before his eyes, he watched as Hercules' reflection slowly change hue. He panicked and wanted to sound the alarm, but he felt that something was physically binding him, preventing him from calling for help. To make matters worse, Hercules was simply doing nothing to stop the threat from making itself more obvious.
"Are you alright Ten Cents?" Sunshine asked with a frown, noticing that his friend was nodding off. "You look like you were very worried about something for a second. Lighten up, it'll get better!"
"I'm fine Sunshine." Ten Cents replied, eyes trailing to see that Hercules's reflection had changed to Hades. Alarm bells were ringing in his head, and he tried his best to stay calm without screaming in front of the others. "Just… let me get my check up and I'll see ya back at the Star Dock, okay?" He finally forced a smile, hoping to stop himself from losing it. The last thing he needed was for his friends to get caught up in the path of a murderous being.
The other Star Tugs nodded, and blew their hooters to say goodbye before they hurried out to fulfill contract work. However, for whatever reason, Hercules remained in his spot. Hades looked up at Ten Cents with a wicked grin, as if he was praising the other for not blowing his cover. "I apologize if I came in a little late." Hercules broke the silence, giving a heavy sigh. "I had to hurry back after helping out with a log schooner up the coast."
"It's alright. Real shame you missed the big waking up moment though." Ten Cents smiled and replied. "Did you get a chance to see the repairs Lucky and his crew did? It feels as though I'm a brand new switcher!" He playfully asked, trying to lighten the mood after seeing such a thing.
"I can see it from over here old darling." Hercules chuckled, feigning annoyance and shaking his head. "I noticed you were getting very antsy when I got here. Did something catch your eye?"
"I saw Hades in the water." The switcher blurted out before he went silent. "I was worried he was going to kill-"
"He won't kill the other Stars. If he even considered murdering them, he would have to get past me first." Hercules assuredly said, glaring at Hades for a second. "He was just as worried about you during that period of time as we were. But I suppose I'm to blame for making him feel that way."
"Heh I figured." Ten Cents sighed a breath of relief and watched as some men were walking towards him. He was startled that the men didn't notice Hades watching the events with interest, and he started to wonder if the Reaper could only make himself visible to a select few. "I gotta get my check up now. See ya!"
"Likewise my little angel." Hercules replied, blowing his hooter before sailing off to get washed up. "I'll see you later on this afternoon, just don't fool around and get yourself in a mess. Starr already has lots of grey hairs from the whole repair process and we don't want more."
For whatever reason, Ten Cents stiffened up and felt himself lose control. He wanted- no, needed to leave and trail behind Hercules. However, his words caused those urges to die down quickly, and the switcher was soon back to normal. He didn't even know what had happened, yet he was sure something crazy was happening to him. He was going to have a word with the ocean tug once he got back to the Star Dock.
Later on that afternoon, Ten Cents was sailing home. He was given the all clear, but some of the workers suggested that he do light work until he was ready to resume normal tugging duties. He was eager to get back to doing what he did best, and hopefully not have to endure any more pain and trauma. At least, for a little bit.
As he sailed on, he decided that a surprise visit to Sunshine was in order. Besides, he figured, the smaller switcher was somewhere in the harbor doing work. Easing his burdens sounded sensible, and would get him praise. As he sailed on towards the harbor, he heard a choked sob and stopped. He turned to look and see Zug looking around, and it was obvious that the Z Stack was in a state of grief.
"What's gotten into your head Zug?" He called out, hoping to try and get Zug to calm down. "Zorran should be back soon, so you should-"
"Everyone's been telling me that!" Zug said between tears, looking at Ten Cents. He soon got rather furious and said, "Get lost Star, I don't need ya making the pain worse. Zorran being gone is-"
A loud whistle caused both Ten Cents and Zug to turn their attention to Zip, and he was unusually frantic. "Zug there you are! We need to get back before Zero kills us!" He turned to Ten Cents and said, "I'm sorry about Zug, it's that he's been sad for days. Now to find that coal barge…"
Ten Cents hurried off, questions running through his head. Zorran's disappearance did indeed happen, and Zug was visible proof of the aftermath. Now he wanted to figure out why the leader of the Z Stacks vanished. He shook his worries aside and continued on. Hopefully Sunshine would rag along in this latest adventure.