Run Aground
Based on the Buzz Books story of the same name
Adapted by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer
As you may recall from the previous story, Peeper Pipes had Zak and Zeus docked for the rest of year for threatening Zip, Zug and Zilly with an 'accidental Final Firing'. For a sentient vessel, being docked means that they've been incarcerated. On average, the most a sentient boat can be docked is thirty days, but the sentence can vary, depending on the circumstances. Because Zak and Zeus had threatened Zip, Zug and Zilly into keeping quiet just so O.J. could be scrapped, Peeper Pipes decided that they should be docked for the rest of the year. For Captain Zero, this meant that he was down two tugs and he wasn't getting as much business as he would have liked.
One morning, he addressed this issue with the rest of the Z-Stacks.
"Now listen to me and listen good!" he boomed. "No thanks to Zak and Zeus getting themselves docked for the rest of the year, we're not getting enough business. So get out there and find some! I don't care how you find it; just find it!"
With that, the Z-Stacks went off to work. Big Mac and Warrior were leaving the Star Dock right at that very moment, followed by Ten Cents, O.J. and Hercules.
"Last one to the quarry is a sunken buoy!" challenged Warrior.
"Try nae tae cause ony wakes 'n' I'll beat ye," laughed Big Mac, and the two of them chugged off.
"Have fun up the coast, Hercules," smiled Ten Cents. "Tell me if you see any whales."
"I promise, ol' darling," said Hercules. "And you be good for O.J. up river."
"You know I will," chuckled Ten Cents.
"Come along, Ten Cents!" called O.J.. "Moonlight needs help with shifting some barges to Mittsvillie."
"Right," said Ten Cents.
"See you, Hercules!" he and O.J. called.
"Bye, Ten Cents; bye, O.J.."
Zug looked on with a frown. "I wish Zeus would treat me like that…" he muttered. "But no. He just threatens us and Zilly with scrap! Some brother he is! It's not fair," Zug grunted, turning to Zip. "The Star Tugs feel like a family. Ten Cents and Hercules have a healthy brother relationship, as do Big Mac and Warrior. O.J. is like the grandfather figure to Ten Cents and Sunshine, I could go on and on. Yet the only relation in the Z-Stacks is me and Zeus, but it's toxic. With such a healthy family dynamic, it's no wonder the Stars keep beating us."
Then, a smirk came across his face. "Oh, yes," he chuckled. "This is perfect."
"What's perfect, Zug?" asked Zip.
"Oh, aren't we clever this morning?" said Zug. "Listen carefully, and do exactly what I tell you."
Hercules had escorted the Duchess back out to sea and was preparing to return to the port when Peeper Pipes came up alongside.
"Good day, Peeper Pipes," greeted Hercules. "How can I help you?"
"We've received word that a storm is on its way to Bigg City tonight," replied Peeper Pipes. "Can you warn the rest of the Star Fleet to finish their jobs early and return to the Star Dock?"
"Of course, m'dear," replied Hercules.
"It's tugs like you, Hercules, that help keep Bigg City Port afloat," said Peeper Pipes as the ocean-going tug left.
Later that day, Zug found Big Mac at the coal yard. He was scared of the big tug and tried to sound as calm as he could when he said, "Hold on, Big Mac. Captain Star says you need to collect an empty barge from the disused quayside urgently." Big Mac frowned and Zug gulped nervously; Big Mac wasn't convinced.
"Hmm," said Big Mac. "Lest time Ah checked, Ah wis meant tae gang tae th' quarry. Ah'd better stoap at th' Star Dock oan th' wey 'n' check wi' him." With that, the Scottish harbour tug left, not noticing the smirk on Zug's face.
On his way to the Star Dock, Big Mac met Hercules.
"Ah, there you are, Big Mac!" called Hercules. "Peeper Pipes has just informed me that a huge storm is on the way. We need to finish up our work early and return to the Star Dock before the storm hits."
"Thanks fur th' message, Hercules," replied Big Mac. With the message of the storm in his head, Big Mac forgot about the Star Dock and headed for the disused quay.
Sunshine was on her way to collect some engineering parts for Scuttlebutt Pete when she saw Zip.
"Hi, Sunshine," she called. "I've got a message from Captain Star. Big Mac needs some help at the disused quayside."
"Oh, right," said Sunshine. "Well, Ah'd better report back to Captain Star first."
"Oh, yeah," said Zip, quickly thinking. "Captain Star's got a meeting with Captain Lucky. It's going to take a while, so he asked me to pass on the message."
"But what about Scuttlebutt?" asked Sunshine. "Ah'm supposed to take some engineering parts for him."
"Don't worry," said Zip. "I'll take care of it."
"Well… okay then," said Sunshine, steaming off. "Thanks, Zip."
Zug arrived at the quarry.
"Big Mac was called on an urgent job," lied Zug. "I'm taking it instead."
"Are you sure these rocks won't be too heavy?" asked Mr. Stone.
"I can handle it, no problem," said Zug confidently.
Zip was at Lucky's Yard, collecting the engineering parts.
"I wonder why Captain Star never informed me about the changes of plan," said Captain Lucky.
"Maybe he was so busy it slipped out of his head," suggested Zip.
Big Mac couldn't find the barge at the disused quay. Then he heard Sunshine's hooter.
"Sunshine, whit urr ye daein' 'ere?" asked Big Mac.
"Zip said you needed help at the disused quayside," said Sunshine.
"That's funny," replied Big Mac. "Zug said Ah wis said tae collect a barge fae…" Then, the two Star tugs frowned.
"We've bin tricked!" exclaimed Big Mac.
"Oh, just wait 'til Ah catch those two!" fumed Sunshine.
Just as they left, they came across Zorran.
"What were you two doing there?" he asked. "No one's used that old quayside for years!"
"Ask Zip and Zug!" growled Big Mac, and he explained about their trick.
"Right!" said Zorran. "Come on! We've got to find them before they cause an accident!"
Zip and Zug met up with their respective barges and sniggered.
"With Big Mac and Sunshine 'busy' at the disused quayside, Ten Cents and O.J. working up river, Top Hat on car floats and Hercules on his usual ocean tug work," Zug said with a grin, "they won't be around to steal our work and Captain Zero will make the money instead."
"Shall we tell Warrior he's at the docks too?" asked Zip.
"No," replied Zug. "We'll leave him to mess things up for the Stars on his own."
With that, Zip and Zug set off with their barges. Unfortunately, the current was too strong for Zug, and the barge was proving too heavy.
"Oh no, you don't!" he said, revving his engine to full power, but it only caused his tow line and the current pulled the barge away.
"Hey! Come back!" yelled Zug, turning around. The Z-Stacks' number four tug gained chase.
Zip was so busy thinking how clever she and Zug were when Davy Jones shot by.
"Hey, watch out!" Davy Jones shouted.
"Sorry!" Zip called, swerving suddenly. This caused her towline to snap and her barge shot forward, crashing into Zug's barge. The two barges sank and their loads were lost.
"Oh no!" Zip and Zug groaned in dismay.
"Oh no? OH NO?! 'Oh no!' doesn't begin to describe how much trouble you two idiots are in!" snapped a voice. Zip and Zug looked up in horror to see Zorran, Big Mac and Sunshine, looking angry at them. Zip and Zug gulped; they were in for it now.
"ZIP AND ZUG!" Captain Zero roared at the tops of his lungs. "YOU TWO HAVE REALLY GONE AND DONE IT THIS TIME! I'VE GOT TO PAY THE QUARRY AND CAPTAIN LUCKY FOR THE STONES, ENGINEERING PARTS AND BARGES YOU TWO IDIOTS LOST!"
"But we only did it so we could get you more work," insisted Zug.
"Oh, you'll certainly be getting more work, alright," said Captain Zero in a dangerously calm voice before yelling, "SIX MONTHS OF DREDGER DUTY WITH SCUTTLEBUTT PETE!"
Zip and Zug raced out of the Zero Dock in fright.
"Ugh! I swear these tugs are going to be the death of me!" grumbled Captain Zero as he slammed his window shut.
Back at the Star Dock, Sunshine and Big Mac had returned, feeling embarrassed and cross.
"We're sorry, captain," said Sunshine. "We were tricked."
"Whin Ah see that Zug again," growled Big Mac, "Ah'm going tae hae some cross wurds fur him!"
"Alright, settle down," I said. "I know you two are upset, but taking it out on others won't help. Anyways, Zip and Zug have already been punished by Captain Zero after causing the accident. But, as I've told you two before – ignore the Z-Stacks. I'm your captain and I give the orders."
"Yes/Aye, sir," the two tugs replied; they hated letting me down.
"Never mind, you two," I replied. "Now, remember, Sunshine; Lillie Lightship needs an urgent fuel delivery first thing tomorrow. She's really low, but she's got enough for tonight and she'll need it with this storm coming up. It could be a big one."
As Zip and Zug were dredging, they looked at each other with depressed looks on their faces. News had spread about the accident, and everyone, including the Stars and other Z-Stacks, were glaring crossly at them. From their drydock, Zak and Zeus snickered at the disgraced switchers.
"Can't believe you're even brothers with one of them," said Zak. "He's useless!"
"They both are," remarked Zeus. "Once screw-ups, always screw-ups!"
"Zug," asked Zip, not bothering to notice the bigger tugs' taunting, "do you think we're screw-ups?"
"Until now, I would have said, 'no'," sighed Zug. "But after this, maybe we are. Heck, Captain Zero never liked me…"
"Is this some kind of joke?!" snapped Captain Zero.
"No, Captain Zero," replied Zug. "I'm the new tug you ordered."
"I didn't order a runt like you!" shouted Captain Zero. "I ordered another harbor tug! I've been scammed! I'm going to get my money back, and then you'll be going back to where you came from!"
Captain Zero slammed his window shut. Minutes later, he stuck his megaphone out again.
"It turns out that the man who sold me to you has done a runner! That means I'm stuck with you!" He growled before continuing, "If anyone needs me, I'll be having one of my moments!"
Captain Zero slammed his window shut again before going into another 'angry tears' moment.
"And then, there was the argument I had with my brother the day Zorran, Zebedee, Zak and I were fired by the Moran Towing Company," sighed Zip.
"What were you thinking, Zip?" snapped Zion. "Trying to pull a smuggling ring! That could land the company in serious trouble!"
"It was Zorran's idea!" argued Zip. "I was just following orders!"
"You could have said 'no'!" retorted Zion.
"I was too afraid he'd yell at me!" snapped Zip.
"That's the problem!" shouted Zion. "You're too afraid to stand up for yourself! If you keep this up, you're going to lead yourself down a dark path from which you'll never return!"
"I don't have time for this!" snapped Zip. "I have to go and join the others!"
"Good luck finding a captain who will want underhanded crooks like you!" argued Zion as the two siblings parted ways.
"Maybe we should just leave Bigg City Port," suggested Zip. "We've caused nothing but trouble since you arrived."
"Yeah," agreed Zug. "Maybe Captain Zero can get another switcher and that harbour tug he wanted."
"Assuming he can find any with names beginning with the letter 'Z'," said Zip. "But still, we're leaving Bigg City tonight."
That night, out in the bays beside Bigg City Port, the storm arrived, which proved to be fierce. As a result, poor Lillie was in trouble. The stormy seas tossed her from side to side, causing her last drop of oil to fall over and slither away to the sea. What little oil was left in her light burned away and her light fizzled out. Then there was darkness.
"Oh, this is terrible!" said Lillie. "What shall I do now?"
As the long night went on, the weather got worse. A huge freightliner was making its way up Dem Der Rocks for Lillie's light to guide her past the rocks. Desperately, Lillie sounded her foghorn in warning, but the strong winds carried away the sounds. The freighter bumped Lillie hard and slid onto the rocks with a horrible crunch. It keeled over to one side completely stuck.
"Oh dear!" she gasped. "My light just had to go out now… and I can't go for help…"
Zip and Zug had refueled at the coal yard, ready for their long journey out of Bigg City Port. Because of the storm going on, they were frustrated by the wind and rain.
"Maybe we should have waited until morning to leave," said Zip.
Zug was about to reply when he saw it – the red light of distress signals in the sky.
"We'd better go and see what's wrong!" said Zug.
The two ventured out into the storm towards the bay.
"Help!" yelled a voice.
"What in the - Zug, look!"
"Oh my!" gasped Zug. "It's Lillie!"
"This frightliner struck me!" she cried. "And now my light's out. Please, Zip and Zug, go for help!"
Without another word, the switchers raced back to the Zero Dock.
"Zorran, listen!" Zug spluttered. "There's a freightliner in the estuary stuck on the rocks, Lillie Lightship's light has gone out and she's been damaged!"
"Oh yeah, and I suppose the sea's turned pink!" snarled Zorran. "You can't fool with that game, you idiots, especially after what happened today!"
"No, no!" pleaded Zip. "It's the truth! Honest!"
"Scram, you two!" snapped Zorran. "I haven't got time for your stupid jokes!" Zorran turned and went off in the opposite direction, trying to get a good night's sleep as far away from Zip and Zug as possible. Zebedee, however, had overheard the duo, but he knew they needed backup.
"Zob…" he whispered. "Zob…"
"What is it, Zebedee?" he yawned.
"We need to check on Lillie," Zebedee told him. "Zip and Zug said her light went out and she was dented."
"Hmm…" Zob muttered. "Well, those two did lie before, but if Lillie really is damaged, we're in for a world of trouble."
"You go to Lucky's yard for supplies and a barge, and I'll get Mighty Mo."
The two Z-Stacks slipped quietly out of the dock. It was a good thing that Captain Zero had gone to bed.
Zip and Zug decided to try the Star Dock in the hopes that one of the Star Tugs would listen.
"Big Mac! Sunshine!" called Zug. "There's an emergency! A freightliner has crashed onto Dem Der Rocks, Lillie Lightship's light's gone out and–!"
"Anither yin o' yer wee games, Ah wager?" said Big Mac.
"No, it's not!" Zip insisted. "We're telling the truth, honest!"
"Do you expect us to believe you, especially after what almost happened with O.J.?" snapped Ten Cents.
"And Zilly isn't off the hook either," added O.J.. "Be thankful he isn't with you at present."
Zip and Zug wanted to argue, but they couldn't come up with anything, so they kept quiet.
"I thought not!" grunted Ten Cents.
"Ye shuid be ashamed o' yourselves, tricking me 'n' Sunshine lik' that. We dinnae wantae talk tae ye richt noo, sae dae us all a favour 'n' JUST GO AWAY!" snapped Big Mac.
"Those two are more trouble than they're worth," muttered Top Hat. Sunshine just looked on at the Z-Stack switchers with a sad expression as they turned away.
"The Stars don't trust us," said Zip, trying not to cry. "And it's all because we tricked them one time too many. It's hopeless."
"No, wait!" cried Zug. "There were two Star Tugs missing – Warrior and Hercules! They're our last hopes! Warrior may be clumsy, but he's also strong and helpful in times of need!"
"And Hercules cares deeply for Lillie!" agreed Zip. "Come on!"
Because Warrior had helped the clean up operation from the accident and it had taken him all day, he decided to moor up near the old quay. Hercules was also there, coming back late from the coast and keeping him company.
"Warrior… oh, Hercules!" called Zug. "Thank goodness you're both here!"
"What is it, Zug?" asked Warrior, suspiciously.
"We're not in the mood for games," grunted Hercules.
"Look, you two won't believe what we're about to tell you," said Zip.
"Yeah, probably not," said Warrior, "but go on."
"Listen, Warrior, Hercules," said Zug. "We're sorry for all the times we were horrible and nasty to you Stars. But this isn't a trick. A freightliner is out there trapped on the rocks, Lillie's light went out and she's damaged."
"We can't manage it, but we thought we could bring it in together," said Zip. "I know we played that dumb trick, but we promise we'll never do anything devious ever again. Please help us rescue the freightliner. It'll be your salvage."
"Alright, you two," said Warrior. "I'll do it. But if this is another trick, I'll report you to Captain Zero."
"I'd do anything to help Lillie," said Hercules, "but Warrior is right. If Lillie is fine and there is no tramper, I will rip you two a new one."
With that, the four tugs set off to find the freightliner.
Soon, they arrived at the scene of the disaster.
"Suffering stacks!" exclaimed Warrior. "You were telling the truth!"
The freightliner wasn't too badly damaged, but spending a night moving about on the treacherous rocks would completely destroy her.
"This is going to be difficult, m'dears," said Hercules as he and Warrior attached towlines. "Warrior and I will pull her off! You two keep her steady!"
The switchers complied. Warrior and Hercules revved their engines up to full power and pulled with all their strength to get the freightliner off the rocks. Zip and Zug kept her steady as she listed into the water.
Slowly but surely, Warrior, Hercules, Zip and Zug brought the freightliner into port where she would be docked before being taken to Lucky's yard in the morning.
"Now I'll go check on Lillie," Hercules said.
"Want one of us to come with you?" asked Warrior.
"I'll be fine on my own," insisted Hercules.
The ocean-going tug rushed over to Dem Der Rocks and was very surprised by what he saw.
"Gracious me!" he exclaimed. "Zebedee, Zob, Mighty Mo! Thank the Moonlight Oceans Above!"
"Ah, well, Zip and Zug tried to tell Zorran and Zebedee overheard," Mighty Mo said modestly.
"Er… just don't let this get around," Zebedee said quietly.
"Oh, you three were wonderful," smiled Lillie. "Thanks for lending me a hand."
"That's alright," said Zob.
"Well, I'm glad you're in safe hands, m'dearest," smiled Hercules. "If you're okay out here, I should be getting back to the Star Dock."
"Of course, my love," said Lillie. "I'll see you later."
The Star Tugs and Z-Stacks later gathered around the Star Dock to congratulate the heroes.
"Well done, you lot," they said.
"Listen, ye twa," said Big Mac. "We're sorry we didnae hawp ye, 'n' Ah'm sorry fur snapping at ye lik' that."
"No, we're sorry," said Zug. "We shouldn't have played that dumb trick on you."
"From now on," said Zip, "we're going to become better tugs and not play any more tricks."
"Good for you two," said Sunshine.
"You know, we were thinking of leaving port," admitted Zug, "but maybe that would be hasty."
"Yes…" said Zorran with an unusually soft expression on his face. "Listen, you two; you may screw things up from time to time, but you should never run away from your problems, and I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Since you did a good job with helping Warrior and Hercules, I won't tell Captain Zero we were working with two of the Stars."
"Thanks, Zorran," smiled Zip.
"And Zebedee and Zob," continued Zorran, "good job checking on Lillie. If not, things would have been disastrous."
"Thanks, Zorran," said Zob.
"Yeah… thanks," Zebedee added.
Later, Zip was at the coal depot, and Ten Cents met her there.
"Er… Ten Cents," Zip said quietly. "I… I was wondering… if we could start over."
"You mean, rebuild what we once had?" asked Ten Cents. "Well… today is a good start, Zip. I think we can one day be friends again. However… I don't think we'd ever…"
"You're right," said Zip. "After all, if Zug and Zorran ever heard about what happened between us before, we'd never hear the end of it."
Ten Cents laughed. "Yeah. Now that is a barge of oysters I do not want to open. Top Hat would probably lose his monocle."
Zip had to laugh too.
True to their word, Zip and Zug never did anything devious again. Whilst they still screwed up their work from time to time, they became friendlier towards the Star Tugs and their teasing became more playful as time went on. But it just goes to show that if you lie about something to someone multiple times, you shouldn't expect them to believe you when you're telling the truth. Zip and Zug were lucky this time. Just think what might have happened to the freightliner and Lillie if Warrior and Hercules hadn't believed them.
The End
Arthur's notes: This is a bit shorter than the last story, but I think it's an effective one. It's the redemption story for Zip and Zug, or a big step toward that redemption. In the original story, it was just Zug and Zorran who got involved in the scheme. But in this story, it's Zug and Zip who pull it off; Zorran scolds them. In fact, this whole story seems to be Z-Stack focused. We get more hints of redemption for Zorran, and we get Zebedee and Zob once again pulling through. Warrior and Hercules both help Zip and Zug this time around. And perhaps the biggest twist of all, we learn that Zip had a thing for TEN CENTS back in the day. That'll be delved into in a prequel series.
Next time, the tugs and the engines have to handle Loading Grain.
