I return! I am taking a summer course, but it should be ending next week. Once that is done, expect more from me. There is some dark stuff in there, so head's up for those who are sensitive to gore. Enjoy~
At the same time, Ten Cents was doing some dredging with Sunshine and Scuttlebutt Pete. The work was slow, but it gave him time to catch up with the operator with what had happened. There were still things he missed out on during his stay at Lucky's, and so a lengthy conversation started. Most of it was just harbor gossip and speculation of what had happened to Zorran, but something Ten Cents said caught Pete by surprise.
"Herc and Captain Starr had gone down to Boston for the court martial." Ten Cents said, trying to remember what the ocean tug had told him. "However, Timberwolf can't talk. Like at all. Do you guys know what happened?"
"Timberwolf not talkin'?" Pete scratched his head at the information, wondering on what to say. "I know the patrol vessels talked about her behind her back around the time of her arrest, but they wouldn't say anything else. They might have beaten her up, which explains why she can't speak."
Timberwolf, beaten up by the patrol vessels? Something was not right. Navy patrol vessels were often cowardly, and violence against a Navy tug was a death sentence. "I thought they all ran home to their home base!" Sunshine exclaimed, trying to process the information.
"I heard several went missing when Hercules came and saved Ten Cents." Pete added. "No one has been able to find them so far, and some say that they got sunk. Or got detained."
Ten Cents was troubled, and he was now wondering if Hercules did anything too horrific during the rescue mission. The rumor that several patrol vessels went missing was starting to gnaw at him, but it quickly followed with the worry of Hades's involvement in this. What sort of reason would someone like Hades have in the rescue mission? Unless…
"Hey Ten!" Sunshine called, snapping the older switcher back to reality. "You weren't looking so fine for a sec. Is somethin' on your mind?"
"I'm fine Sun." Ten Cents replied, letting out a heavy sigh. "I was thinking a bit about the rescue mission for a sec. Worst thing is, I still don't exactly know what happened. I know what happened the night before, but that's it."
Sunshine frowned, but then he gave a small grin. "Don't fuss too much about it Ten Cents! Besides, you have a long life ahead of you." He replied, his tone now positive.
"Ah shucks Sun, you don't have to be that kind!" Ten Cents teased, now in better spirits. "Come on, let's get this dredging done. I think Pete's starting to get impatient!"
"Hey!" Pete shouted, feigning annoyance at Ten Cents's words. However, he happily helped out with dredging work, and by the end of the afternoon, the work was completed.
That evening, an evening shower rolled in to Bigg City. It was not threatening, but it was not bothersome either. Instead, it felt relaxing. The vessels did not mind this, as they were frequently used to the elements and what they brought.
At the Star Dock, the fleet were anchored and fast asleep. Hercules had gone up the coast to assist with some contracts up north, but Big Mac and OJ were helping keep the remaining Star Tugs in line. So far, aside from the disappearance of Zorran, nothing unusual had happened.
Ten Cents was fast asleep when he heard a scream. He hurriedly woke up and looked around to see what the source of the noise was, but was disappointed to see that nothing would show. He was about to go back to sleep when he saw a Navy patrol vessel tied up near the entrance of the dock. The vessel's face was horribly maimed, with fluids seeping from his eyes.
Ten Cents gasped and hurriedly closed his eyes, hoping that the awful sight was just a figment of his imagination. After a few minutes, he nervously opened one eye, and was relieved to see that the vessel was gone. So it was just an illusion after all. With a quiet sigh of relief, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
The switcher woke up to find himself at the Navy base, but he noticed that there were no guards. He didn't have any recollection what happened at the base, so why was he here? With a gulp, Ten Cents inched out of his spot. To his surprise, no one came to tell him to get back into his position. He left a shed, still impressed that there was no one out to get him. He chuckled and thought 'This should be easy! No one is out to get-'
Ten Cents was mistaken. As he sailed along, he noticed that several patrol vessels were in various states of death and semi-death. Some were even sliced in half, their eyes looking on at Ten Cents as if they were warning him to run. The switcher screamed and hurried off from the scene of the carnage, not wanting to suffer the same fate as the vessels. He hurried on up until the entrance of the canals, pleased that there was nothing suspicious.
'Freedom!' He thought to himself. but the moment he inched forward, he noticed a maroon tug out in the distance. Ten Cents immediately realized who the tug was and stopped, wondering what he was doing here. Hades turned to face the switcher and chuckled, as if he were telling him that he couldn't escape his fate. Ten Cents tried to inch forward again in defiance, but Hades would have none of it. Instead, he rushed forward, transforming into a monster beyond description.
"Ten Cents wake up!" Those words snapped Ten Cents back to reality, and he woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around to see that no one was dead; rather, the Star Tugs were very much alive. That was one scary dream if that was the case. The Star Tugs all turned to face him, as if they were worried about him.
"Did I miss anything guys?" He asked, letting out a loud yawn.
"No, thank goodness." Top Hat replied. "However, Starr is about to do his briefing in the next… five minutes."
"You were sweatin' up a storm back there lad." Big Mac added. "Aside from that, nothin' too serious happened in the night."
Ten Cents sighed a breath of relief, relieved that he was indeed dreaming. "Enough chit chat, we got a briefing to do!" He chuckled, easing up almost immediately.
The briefing was mostly uneventful, as Captain Starr handed out the daily tasks that needed to be done for the day. However, there was something that caused alarm amongst the Star Tugs. "Captain Zero's fleet has been struggling with work ever since Zorran vanished. If needed, go out of their way and help them out with work." He explained.
"Going out our way?" Top Hat raised an eyebrow in confusion at those words. "What are we then if we work with those cretins, Zero supporters-"
"This is not Zero support Top Hat. At this rate, tensions are so high between the Zeds that getting normal work done is impossible for them." Captain Starr snapped. Oh how that railway tug loved to complain about the most pointless things. "I will assign you garbage duty for the rest of the week if you keep this up Top Hat."
Top Hat went silent, and the other Star Tugs were alarmed. "The Zeds are not the kindest folk around captain, maybe we should still exercise caution." OJ said, knowing all too well their various schemes and ways of getting on top. "I don't want anyone to get hurt from this."
While OJ and Captain Starr were talking, Ten Cents and Sunshine looked at each other with worried eyes. The Z Stacks were their rivals yes, but the disappearance of Zorran was forcing them out of their comfort zones. Once the briefing ended, the switchers hurried off to go up to Up Town for a contract. It was a simple contract that involved hauling railroading equipment, and the equipment would then be transferred to areas that could not be easily accessible by river.
Once Ten Cents and Sunshine got their needed barge, they set off for Up Town. Once they approached the main path towards Up Town, they noticed Zip and Zug working with a shabby barge. Perhaps they were punished and forced to work the sewage contract. The smell was repulsive, and the Zero switchers were clearly miserable. Zug was struggling to stay emotionally stable, and Zip was trying to make sure Zug would not burst in tears.
"Hey guys!" Zip called, wanting to be polite. "You looking for something?"
"We're going to Up Town!" Sunshine replied, blowing his hooter in reply. "Do you guys need help with anything? The work is awfully smelly, but we have time!"
Zip smiled, as he wanted the work to get done as quickly as possible. In a happy tone, he said, "Yeah sure! The barge is barely stable as-"
"Refuse their offer you idiot! We can work by ourselves!" Zug snapped, trying to silence the younger Z Stack with a glare. "We don't work with Stars unless needed. Period!"
"Sorry guys, it's just that Zug's going through his Zorran phase." Zip frowned, and it was clear he wanted to get away from Zug and his influence. "Now now Zug, this work is smelly. Would Zero be happy if we don't do the work?"
"Zero won't be happy if the Stars help us you ass!" Zug spat, and Zip started to sob. He turned to face Ten Cents and Sunshine and said, "Get lost. Even if Zorran is missing, I want to make sure his memory is respected."
Ten Cents wanted to help, and something inside him stirred. It was unwise to physically lash out at Zug, but he wanted to make Zug learn a lesson. "You ought to give him a fright Ten." A voice in his head said. "Make him writhe, learn he needs help."
"A fright?" Ten Cents asked the voice, suspicious of its motive. "I don't want anyone to get hurt! I don't want to get me and Sunshine into trouble!"
"The opportunity is quickly fading Ten. Show him that you mean business." The voice said, now more demanding.
Zip was now sobbing, and Zug was trying to get him to focus. Ten Cents growled and inched up to the Zero switcher, his eyes starting to change color. "You stop bothering Zip this instant Zug." He said, his voice now serious.
"Or what? Cry to your captain that I'm being mean?" Zug asked, but the way Ten Cents was acting was making him nervous. Had he pushed the Star switcher to his limit?
"It won't be me crying. It'll be you!" Ten Cents snapped, eyes glowing red. "Now leave Zip and us alone and beat it!"
Zug panicked, noticing that only he was seeing Ten Cents' change in appearance. Immediately, he broke free of his lines from the barge. He wanted to pick a fight, but he was so frightened that taking on Ten Cents would be suicide. He instead muttered something about forgetting an item in Bigg City and hurried off, leaving Ten Cents, Sunshine, and Zip behind.
"Thanks Ten Cents, but what about the work?" Zip asked. "You guys are gonna be late!"
"Oh right!" Sunshine gasped, and motioned for Ten Cents to come along with him. "Come on now, we got our own work to do! We'll check up on you in the afternoon, okay Zip?"
Ten Cents nodded, and politely bowed before hurrying off. He was getting back to normal, but something was not right. Yes he scared Zug off, but at what cost? Retaliation from Zak? Or Captain Zero himself even? He pushed these thoughts aside and pressed on.
Once the barge was delivered to Up Town, Ten Cents and Sunshine were getting ready to head back. Ten Cents grew bored and started to doze off, as he had nothing better to do. The corner of his eye drew to a twisted shape, and he looked around to see what it was. To his surprise, it was simply water. He shrugged it off as nothing and started to doze off again, but his eyes flashed open when he saw Hamilton.
Hamilton had a massive hole in his engine room, but his engine was nowhere to be seen. His stack was heavily dented and covered in barnacles, and his bow was beyond recognizable. Clearly, something had to have happened for him to appear like this. In a quiet voice, he said, "Help me son…"
Ten Cents started shaking and closed his eyes in a panic, drawing the attention of Sunshine. "Ten, are you okay?" He asked, frowning.
"Do you see Hamilton?" Ten Cents asked, refusing to open his eyes. "Swore I saw him right in front of me!"
"No." Was Sunshine's response. "It's just a ferry. Nothing to be afraid of."
Ten Cents cautiously opened his eyes, and was relieved to see that Hamilton was not there. "Must've been dreaming of some scary stuff. I know OJ mentioned something about seeing things that are not really there." He said, trying to think.
"Maybe it was hallucination." Sunshine replied, remembering that particular conversation as well. "Hercules also mentioned something about our eyes tricking us-"
"So that's what it was! An eye trick!" Ten Cents exclaimed. He was seeing himself as sane! Hopefully these eye tricks would go away and he would be able to live on without any further messes. "Let's get back to Bigg City, and maybe help Zip along the way." Sunshine nodded, and the two friends set off for home.
A few nights later, Ten Cents was fast asleep at the Star Dock. So far, no new nightmares and eye tricks had come up and bothered him. The voice in his head had also gone away, allowing Ten Cents to make rational decisions. This sleep would hopefully be as calm and peaceful as it had been, he figured, as he knew that the others needed him.
He started dreaming, and noticed that he was in the Zero Dock during noonday. Perhaps he was summoned here by Captain Zero as part of a bogus complaint, he mused. He sailed up to the office, but was troubled by what he saw. There, blood was trickling out of the window and down into the concrete. A pool of blood was accumulating close to the dock, and Ten Cents started to inch back nervously. Suddenly, the pool of blood sprang up, twisting and contorting into a variety of shapes. Then, amidst the chaos, Ten Cents saw-
"Zorran, what're you doing in there?" Ten Cents asked, noticing how the Z Stack was trapped. "Stop shapeshifting and get out of my way! Zero needs me for something."
"You gotta get me out of here Tenny, these guys all lost their sanity ages ago!" Zorran said, trying to push off the souls that were aggressively clamoring onto him. "They want me to join their eternal pity party, but I won't have any of it! I just need to get our before he gets back! Or else-"
"He?!" Ten Cents was alarmed. "Zorran I don't believe ya for a second! Besides, dreams and illusions aren't real! And I know that this is just a dream!"
"Well this one is not a dream ya dolt!" Zorran snapped, shooting out one of his lines to slap Ten Cents. To their horror however, the line simply disintegrated to nothingness. "What the heck?!"
Ten Cents woke up immediately, looking around to see if anyone was close by. At the corner of his eye, he noticed the large, yet narrow shape of an ocean tug at the entrance to the Star Dock. Perhaps Hercules had just gotten home and was quietly slipping in for a quick nap. Or he or Hades had done something sinister. He squinted and went pale upon seeing who it was. "Hades… what are you doing here at this time of night?" He asked, but he got no response. After a minute, he then asked, "So you were-"
Hades steamed up to Ten Cents with a frown on his face, flashing his serrated teeth to try and silence the other. "You should speak nothing of this matter." He simply stated, noticing how furious Ten Cents was getting. "What you saw in there was a vision, if you will, into my world. This should not have been a part of when I saved you, but it appears I must have added something... extra."
"How does that explain Zorran showing up in my head then, huh?" Ten Cents whispered in an angry tone, not wanting to alert the others to the murderous intruder at the docks. "You can't simply hide the truth-" Before he could continue, he felt his tongue become bound. When he tried speaking, he couldn't!
"I don't like repeating myself my little angel. If you dig too deep, you'll question your existence." Hades hissed, watching how Ten Cents went from furious to frightened. Then, with a wicked grin on his face, he chuckled and asked, "After all, we don't want the entire Star Fleet to die because of my actions, don't we Charon?"
Charon? Who's Charon? Ten Cents wanted to break out of whatever was binding him and ask Hades once more, but he couldn't! Each attempt was futile, as he whined and groaned whenever he tried to force a word out of his mouth. He resigned himself to a state of defeat, and watched in a state of hopelessness as Hades faded into the night...