I'm back! I've been incredibly busy with school, so I haven't gotten a chance to properly update the story. Hopefully with the semester ending soon, I should get more time to write!
As for the story, we now have some gore! :)
"So the grim reaper was a big boat with sharp teeth, right?" Zorran asked raising an eyebrow. Zip and Zug nodded and eagerly replied, "He was all black since there weren't any sources of light."
"Interesting. That means we can finally finish this dumb spat with the Stars and show them who's boss!" Zak exclaimed, wicked schemes brewing in his head.
Zorran called for order and said, "That might be good, but we won't have any competition for contracts if this plan actually goes through. I will be honest, it's always better when the Stars are around!"
After some arguing, the Z Stacks formed a plan that would give them a much desired advantage. And would get some much needed laughter.
It was Hercules's final night in Halifax, and all was quiet in the city. After the Champion incident, many vessels had become unnerved, and did not want to leave the safe confines of the harbor. However, the words spoken by Patrician and a few other navy vessels were enough to soothe some nerves. Hercules was relieved that the rumors had died down, but something inside him was disappointed by this turn of events. Patrician was nice, but he was gullible too. He could easily be persuaded, allowing the ocean tug to do as he wished.
While some Navy vessels were chatting, Hercules slipped under the cover of darkness. He wanted to destress from the work of salvaging Champion, knowing all too well of the horrors he saw from doing this work. The grim reaper's visit made this task more bearable for him, as Champion would not have to be dismantled alive.
He sailed past a rail terminal before a nagging feeling came. The explosion happened several years ago, but something here was calling him go collect. All possible scenarios ran through his head, and he weighed each benefit and cost of doing such an action. He soon gave into those feelings and slipped behind a few derelict buildings.
At the same time, Tiger was out and about doing patrols, making sure no there was nothing out of the ordinary. He looked around, quite relieved that nothing suspicious had caught his eye. However, he heard a strange moaning noise. "Who's there?" He asked, flashing his light towards a building. No answer came, and he grew more suspicious. "If you don't come out, I will have to use force!"
As Tiger searched for a clue as to what the intruder would be, he flashed his light onto a train that was just leaving. He cursed under his breath and kept on investigating. He was always like this, sticking his nose into situations that might be too dangerous for a patrol boat like himself. However, he prided himself in keeping the peace.
He spotted something that threw him off guard. There, near one of the buildings, was a silhouette of a tug. He flashed his light and said, "Hercules! What are you doing all the way out here?"
The ocean tug smiled and replied, "Just admiring the harbor darling. I wanted to explore the city on my own terms, and besides, something about this place draws me here."
Tiger noticed something was off with the tug, and he wanted to know more. Was Hercules doing something that would fly in the face of the law? Was he committing a crime? "It's too unsafe for a tug like yourself to be out here. People say this place is haunted, and for good reason."
Hercules shrugged, now starting to show annoyance. "You're starting to get nervous Tiger." He said, the air growing cold as he spoke those words. "You should resume your patrols and not barge into my affairs. I am capable of defending myself."
Tiger stood his ground, not wanting to budge. "You can't just have Pat around your finger and get away with your shenanigans!" He snapped (or rather blurted out), causing Hercules's face to change from annoyance to anger. "That's called manipulation you good for nothing bas-" However, before the patrol boat could finish his sentence, everything went black.
The next morning, all of Halifax woke up and was horrified to hear what had happened to Tiger. He was found wandering near the rail terminus and received minor damage to his starboard. What made the vessels shocked and appalled was what happened to his face. His eyes were so badly damaged they had to be removed, and men were now in the process of trying to stop fluids from leaking.
"I saw a maroon tug who had a face of pure hatred." Tiger gasped for air, visibly shaken by what had happened. "It wasn't my fault sir!"
"We know Tiger." Patrician sighed, trying to offer words of comfort. However, he was disgusted by what had happened to the patrol boat. "We know. Now get some rest, we'll talk more about it tomorrow."
However, no one noticed that Hercules had slipped away with his fuel barge at the crack of dawn, never to be seen again.
A few days later, back in Bigg City, Sunshine was sent to go take Little Ditcher and assist Pearl with oyster fishing. Normally Ten Cents would assist in this sort of work, but a telegram from the logging company forced Captain Starr to send him up river. The smaller switcher didn't mind though, as he could handle the workload without complaining. As he sailed on, he spotted Zip and Zug talking to Bob. The Z Stacks were always causing trouble, and if two of them were talking to their confidante, that made the situation worse.
"Just talking about the grim reaper Sunshine." Zug explained, looking up at Sunshine with a worried look on his face. "They say he was here last night!"
"He was kind of a big di-" Bob was about to say something crude when Zip turned and glared at him. "Well, he was the big deal. He said nothing and hissed loudly."
"Really? Just how do you know hm?" Sunshine asked, raising an eyebrow. "I need to go get Little Ditcher." He hurried along, leaving the Z Stacks and buoy behind.
"YOU DUMBSKULLS!" Bob was livid, especially since he was eager to sway such a young switcher. "You let it get under your noses. Be more genuine!"
"He was urgent in meeting Little Ditcher though!" Zip explained. "At least we got some doubt into the guy."
"Doubt? DOUBT?" Bob got even louder, and his face got red. "Making someone like Baby Face doubt is not the best tool. Or maybe it is, I'm not sure. Now beat it, I gotta get some sleep."
Work with Pearl and Little Ditcher was going smoothly, and Sunshine was quite pleased. However, Zip and Zug's story was starting to gnaw at his mind. He and Ten Cents had heard of Ed and his encounter with the Grim Reaper a few days ago, and now this. Was this Grim Reaper more serious than what he anticipated? And how was he able to get between places so quickly?
It was early evening, and Sunshine had just finished for the day. Pearl had headed home several minutes prior (Big Mac had taken her back). All Sunshine needed to do was take Little Ditcher back to his dock and head back to the Star Dock. Hopefully, this trip should be smooth. As he started his trip back, he noticed that fog started to roll in. He shrugged it off, seeing it as nothing too out of the ordinary.
As he reached the Bigg City boundary, he was greeted by none other than Zug. "Hurry up! Get out of here before the Grim Reaper catches you?" He said, sweating.
"Pardon?" Little Ditcher asked through his megaphone. "Last I checked there wasn't such thing as a-"
"It's real!" Zip barged in, exaggerating a bit. "You got to run!"
Sunshine was alarmed, and he hurried past Zip and Zug into the fog. He had to get back to the Star Dock before the situation worsened. Perhaps the two Z Stacks were right after all!
He dropped Little Ditcher off at his dock before changing coordinates. He had to get back, he had to! He just started when he heard a quiet humming noise. He squeaked and hurried on, not noticing a snickering Zak behind a building.
Zorran was near another corner and watched with glee. So far this plan was working! Soul bubbling with glee, he shouted, "HALT."
Sunshine grinded to a halt, now pale as a ghost. "Huh? Who goes there?" He shrieked, trying to figure out who it was.
"Just stay still won't you?" Zorran said, reducing his voice to a hushed whisper. "Now you stumbled on my domain, and you will pay dearly for that." Those words made the switcher tremble, and tears started to well up.
In the meantime, Hercules returned to Bigg City. He had spent the afternoon with Lillie and told her about his travels to Halifax, calming down when she noticed he was getting frustrated. To be fair, the work of salvaging was stressful. He was just heading back to the Star Dock when he heard a commotion, and decided to investigate.
Just as Sunshine was getting ready to accept his fate, a light flicked on! The light aimed at the two tugs, and Sunshine was shocked to realize that it was Zorran who was making those noises. It took the switcher a minute to figure it out, and realized that the light belonged to-
"Something wrong darlings?" Hercules asked in a flippant tone. However, his face became serious when he noticed he gotten himself into quite the ridiculous situation. "What are you doing Zorran?" He asked, his voice becoming serious.
Zorran paled at those words, knowing how traumatic his first meeting with Hercules was. "Nothing too significant Hercules! We're having a good talk about the grim reaper!" He lied, hoping the ocean tug would believe him and leave. For once. "You shouldn't shove your nose in whenever we do these things."
"Listen, this grim reaper talk is all nonsense. I took a salvage crew that cut Champion up for scrapping during the night since daytime salvages ruin the scenery." He calmly explained before turning his attention to Zorran. His demeanour changed, and the Z Stack swore he heard a low, inhuman growl escape the Star Tug's mouth. Zorran inched back, fearing he pushed Hercules to his limit. Hercules was the strongest tug in Bigg City, and he could easily sink some vessels with his brute strength. The Z Stack closed his eyes, praying that the worst would not happen to him.
Zorran opened his eyes, noticing that Hercules wasn't moving. "I will go easy on you this time old boy, but if you do this again, I won't be as kind." He snapped, glaring at the harbor tug. "For now, I will report you and your captain to the authorities."
Sunshine watched as Zorran glare and take his leave, and turned to face Hercules. The ocean tug looked down and gave a small smile, knowing that this crisis was defused.
Captain Zero had received word of what had happened and scolded his tugs severely. Zorran received the harshest punishment, and would be sent to Mittsville to do some... unpleasant contract work. The other tugs were threatened with getting sold, as their ways of competing often got the company nowhere.
Back at Star and Marine, Captain Starr heard what had happened and told his tugs to be more mature. He explained that ships were usually more superstitious than people, making it difficult for them to work effectively as a team. He then commended Hercules for his work in Halifax, explaining how he did it despite working in a frantic environment. The tugs took this advice with earnest, and watched as the captain left the building and headed home.
Peace has returned to Bigg City, but it won't be long...