Aftermath
Written by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer
Warning: This story contains attempted suicide
One thing I forgot to mention in the previous story was that there was a unanimous number of voices calling for all those who participated in the rescue mission to be awarded medals. Not only did that only happen, but Zorran was given his medal posthumously.
After the war ended in 1945, Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules and Zip were honorably discharged from the Navy with their flotilla disbanded, and the four tugs set off for Lucky's Yard. I had also bought Moonlight off the Salvage Fleet, after which Captain Salvage not only purchased Robin off her owners, but even gave her a job in her fleet as well with Robin taking over Moonlight's number seven. Venus was also honorably discharged from the navy and sold to me. Zip, Zob and Zebedee had already been bought two years prior after Captain Zero's death; his son, Chris, shut down Zero Marine following the sale, and he and his family left Bigg City with Skiff, wanting to start anew.
Now, Zip had an idea for her number in the Star Fleet, and she spoke to us about it first. She asked to become the new number four, both as a tribute to Top Hat who sacrificed his life to save her, but also Zug as well. We all agreed that enough time had passed since Top Hat's passing, so Zip became the Star Fleet's new number four. Zob chose to be the number nine as a reference to his past as PRR No. 9, Zebedee became number ten, Moonlight number eleven, and Venus number twelve. Just as Ten Cents, Big Mac and Hercules were repainted in their Star Fleet corporate livery, the new recruits were given that livery and their new numbers as well. Grampus had even decided to get repainted into the Star Fleet colours as well to fit in more with the family.
After that, they made their way to the Star Dock where Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules and Zip were given a hero's welcome. It was announced that Meridian, Henney, Lexi, Placido and Maeve would leave for the United Kingdom at the end of September. Theodore, Emily and George were to return to Canada and Tillie to the Indian Valley Railroad at the same time. With Zob now in the Star Fleet and Ten Cents having returned, Ariel and Penny soon had the clover leaf insignia placed on their funnels, indicating they were now owned by Captain Lucky. Ariel was also given the number one and Penny now sported the number two. Lillie Lightship was also back to her normal spot near Dem Der Rocks.
Of course, whilst the physical damage was repaired, we had to adjust to a new normal, as was evident with the briefing I gave.
"Good morning, Star Fleet," I boomed through the megaphone.
"Morning, Captain," the tugs called.
"Here's the order of operations for today. Ten Cents and Zip, Lillie Lightship needs some fuel."
"Hey, Ten Cents," said Zip with a wink. "Remember when we competed for that contract during my first days in Port?"
"Oh yeah," agreed Ten Cents. "We kept getting there a mere few seconds before the other did so we could split it 50/50." Both switchers started chuckling.
"Sunshine, Moonlight, go to the estuary with Little Ditcher and Pearl," I continued.
"Alright, good," said Sunshine happily. "Ah like Pearl and Little Ditcher."
"Heh, guess I'm stuck with the girl gossip group today," remarked Moonlight.
"O.J., Warrior, Big Mac and Zebedee, you four are on logging detail," I continued.
"Aye, sir," replied Big Mac.
"I wonder if we'll see the Salvage fleet up there and see how Robin is getting on," O.J. commented.
"Or Sea Rogue and O'Malley," put in Zebedee.
"We'll definitely say hello if we see them," agreed Warrior.
"Well, tell them I said hi, then," called Moonlight.
"Meridian, Theodore, Emily and George," I said, "there's a delivery of stone needed for a tramper."
"Yes, sir," the four tugs replied.
"Hercules and Venus, you're up the coast looking for ships who need a tow," I continued.
"It's good to have company up the coast," smiled Hercules.
"I know what you mean, sweetie," agreed Venus.
"Grampus, you're on patrol of the harbour," I said.
"Right, sir," said Grampus.
"And Top Hat, you're on car floats–" I put a hand to my mouth as the tugs all glanced up sadly. "…I mean… Zob, you're on car floats. I'm sorry, Zob."
"It's alright, Captain Star," replied Zob. "Zebedee, Zip and I are getting used to taking orders from you and not Captain Zero."
"Or not having Zorran, Zug and Zilly around," sighed Zebedee.
"I guess we'd get to work before any more mistakes are made," said Zip sadly. Everyone else agreed and they set off. As they left, I looked up at a picture and sighed.
"This fleet hasn't been the same since you left this world, Top Hat," I said sadly. But that wasn't the only after-effect we had to deal with.
The engines at the Dock Railway were getting ready for work.
"Okay, Kirke," Puffa called. "I'm ready for… oh…" Henney looked like she wanted to cry.
"Shh," whispered Porter. "Kirke did a brave thing. He's watching us from the Great Railway above."
"I'm sorry, guys," sighed Puffa.
"It's alright, Puffa," replied Porter. "We're still trying to come to terms with it ourselves."
Although the Salvage Fleet had survived the war, they still had a massive change in their ranks.
"It just feels so strange not having Moonlight with us," said Ember.
"Yeah," agreed Misty. "I know he's working for Captain Star now, but still…"
"I don't blame him, though," sighed Stormy. "The war rattled poor Sunshine up and Moonlight felt he needed to give her emotional support."
"Still, with Robin joining us," said Hail, "we've become an all-female team."
"Yeah," sighed Scorpio. "No more winding Moonlight up with the girl gossip."
"It's a big change to be sure," agreed Pisces. "We do appreciate your help, Robin."
"Thanks, Pisces," replied Robin.
Just then, they saw O.J., Big Mac, Zebedee and Warrior coming towards them.
"Good morning, Salvage Fleet," greeted O.J..
"Hey, Stars," called Ember. "How's it going?"
"Well, we're glad to have Ten Cents, Big Mac and Hercules back," replied Warrior. "And Moonlight is doing well – he says hi, by the way."
"Venus seems tae be settlin' in too," said Big Mac. "But… Ah think Zebedee, Zip 'n' Zob are havin' a bit o trouble settlin' in."
"It's not that we're ungrateful," insisted Zebedee. "We're glad Captain Star took us in after Captain Zero died, but…"
"We understand," said Stormy sadly. "Losing Zug, Zilly, Zorran and Captain Zero is a bitter pill to swallow."
"You're right," sighed Zebedee. "And then there's the matter of Top Hat. When Captain Star gave our orders this morning, he said Top Hat's name instead of Zob's by mistake."
"Oh dear," whispered Misty. "It sounds like he misses Top Hat."
"Aye, we all do," sighed Big Mac. "We do indeed…"
Just then, they saw Sea Rogue and O'Malley arrive with two unfamiliar tugs, both of whom had deadpan expressions.
"Ah, Big Mac, Warrior, O.J. and Zebedee," called Sea Rogue. "Good to see you four."
"Good to see you two as well," asked O.J. before noticing the two unfamiliar tugs. "Who are these two, by the way?"
"Ah, yes, we forgot to introduce them," replied O'Malley. "These are Chimera and Alonso, the new tugs in charge of the breaker's yard."
"Oh… really?" O.J. said, feeling unnerved. "Sorry, it's nothing personal, but…"
"We understand," replied Chimera. "Our predecessors tried to murder you."
"Rest assured," put in Alonso, "that we will never try to scrap you, O.J.. We only ever scrap tugs that have been damaged beyond repair or willingly go through the final firing, or boats that were never sentient at all. We also make sure to give a boat about to be scrapped a proper send-off."
"That's a relief," sighed O.J..
"Oh, by the way," said Zebedee, noticing Sea Rogue and O'Malley's funnels, "did you two get new numbers?"
"Oh, yes," replied Sea Rogue. "We decided to get numbers after the hostage incident. I chose the number two and O'Malley is number one. Likewise, Chimera is number one and Alonso is number two."
"That's a good idea," replied Zebedee.
"Ye know, it's a shame thon we lost Billy Shoepack," sighed Big Mac.
"Oh, I agree," replied Sea Rogue. "Life up river feels a bit dull without him and his obsession with explosives."
Then Chimera noticed Warrior looking away with a downcast expression.
"Is he okay?" she asked.
"During th' war," explained Big Mac, "Warrior accidentally killit another tug – a German ane namit Otto. Otto wis advancin' on me, but Warrior pullit him an rammit him against the dockside. This causit a barrel o black water tae tip ower an pour intae Otto's system. If it wis greem… then…"
"It's true," Warrior said sadly. "It feels like what happened with Zelda all over again. Maybe I should just retire and put myself in a museum before someone else gets hurt."
"Warrior!" gasped Big Mac. "Ye can't dae thon!"
"Would you want to work with a tug who kills others out of sheer rage?" asked Warrior.
"Perhaps we'd better go," said O.J.. "It was good seeing you again, Sea Rogue, O'Malley, Salvage Fleet, and meeting you, Chimera and Alonso."
With that, the four Star tugs continued on their way.
Poor Warrior, thought Hail. He can't just give up and confine himself to a museum. He'd be bored. I wonder… yes, I'll talk to her later.
Zob was at the Railhead, collecting freight cars off Placido.
"Well, Placido," said Zob, "soon, you, Lexi, Maeve and Henney will be heading to the United Kingdom with Meridian."
"Eeyup," replied Placido. "Maeve and I are going to work on Sodor with Meridian. She'll be dropping Lexi and Henney off at Liverpool on the way."
"I'm going to be working at Bridlington," explained Lexi. "I hear there's a steelworks nearby whilst Henney is bound for a colliery near the Midlands."
"Then I'll be off back home," said Tillie. "Hopefully, my friends have made it through the war."
"Hey," asked Maeve. "Has anyone seen Little Owl?"
"There's a barrel of Black Water missing," said Puffa, noticing something. Then a horrifying thought crossed their minds.
"Guys," gulped Henney, "you don't think…" The engines quickly rushed off to the sheds. Zob looked on with a worried expression.
Little Owl's engineer and stoker looked nervous. They didn't want to do this to their engine, but she had insisted.
"Okay, old girl," said her engineer, trying not to cry. "Do you want the full barrel or just a few drops?"
"STOP!" shouted Lexi as she and the other engines rushed in.
"Little Owl, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Porter.
"Ending my life, that's what!" shouted Little Owl.
"What is going on here?" asked Mr. Lloyd, also rushing in, before gasping in shock. "Were you two trying to give Little Owl the Final Firing?!"
"S-she asked us to," insisted the stoker.
"It's true," Little Owl said. "I don't deserve to live!"
"What do you mean?" gasped Maeve.
"It's because of me that we lost so many of our friends!" Little Owl replied, tears forming in her eyes. "Zak and Zeus were incarcerated on the dry dock, and when they were speaking with Ursula Zero, I didn't think much of it, thinking it was just another of their idiotic plans. But no! It turned out that they were scheming to take over Bigg City, even going so far as to align themselves with the Nazis, of all people! And then the attack on Bigg City took place, all because I was blinded by my dislike towards the Z-Stacks! Kirke was right all along; I really am a birdbrain!" With that, Little Owl burst out sobbing.
There was silence from everyone. They had no idea that this had happened.
"Little Owl," said Mr. Lloyd, "I am disappointed that you didn't speak about this sooner, but suicide is not the answer. It never is. All it does is bring pain and anguish to those who love you."
"Mr. Lloyd is right," agreed Puffa. "If you do this, Little Owl, we'll be heartbroken."
Little Owl just looked away with guilt on her face.
"You two, take that barrel back where you found it," Mr. Lloyd instructed. "I will not have a Final Firing on my watch."
The engineer and stoker obeyed. Then Mr. Lloyd turned to Little Owl.
"I'm going to speak to Captain Lucky about giving you some counseling," he said. "I don't want another incident like this happening again."
With that, Mr. Lloyd walked back to his office. Zob, Frank and Eddie had overheard everything and were shocked.
"She was trying to commit suicide?!" cried Frank.
"Little Owl, for all her faults, doesn't deserve that," said Eddie.
"No, you two, you're right," sighed Zob. "Captain Lucky will know what to do… hopefully…"
Hail had arrived at Lucky's Yard where she saw Ariel and Penny.
"Hi, girls," she called. "How are you two settling in?"
"It's great, thanks!" said Penny happily.
"What brings you here?" asked Ariel.
"I need to speak to Captain Lucky," replied Hail.
"She's on the phone at the moment," replied Ariel. Presently, Captain Lucky came out with a pale look on her face.
"That was Mr. Lloyd," she said. "Apparently, Little Owl overheard Ursula Zero plotting with Zak and Zeus, but she didn't say anything because she assumed they would mess it up. Only… she had no idea that they were scheming to take over Bigg City Port. She felt so guilty about everything that had happened, she tried to commit suicide via the Final Firing."
"What?!" the three tugs exclaimed in alarm.
"I'm afraid so," she sighed. "So Mr. Lloyd's asked me to give some counseling tonight."
"Poor Little Owl," gulped Penny. "It must have been eating away at her the past three years."
"Oh, by the way," said Hail, "Warrior needs counseling as well. He's been feeling depressed after the incident with Otto and is considering confining himself to a museum. Do you think you could give a talk as well, Captain Lucky?"
"Of course," replied Captain Lucky. "I'll arrange a double session at 5:00 tonight."
So Captain Lucky called me up and I agreed to it.
Warrior had just returned to the Star Dock when I informed him about the double session.
"So you want me to take Little Owl as well?" asked Warrior in surprise.
"Normally, I would ask Zob to transport the engines," I explained, "but since you're both going to attend this session, it would make more sense for you to do it."
"Oh, okay," said Warrior. "Shall I go and collect her then?"
"You do that," I replied.
"I'll be coming with you for emotional support," said Hail.
"Okay," said Warrior. "Thank you, Hail." With that, the two tugs set off.
"Good luck, Warrior," I called.
Ten Cents, Zip, Hercules and Venus were heading back to the Star Dock when Venus noticed something.
"Zip!" she called. "Where are you going?"
"Huh?!" asked Zip, before realising she was heading for the disused Zero Dock. "Oh…" Quickly, Zip turned away from the Zero Dock and came towards the Star Dock.
"Are you alright, Zip?" I called.
"I don't know what happened," she said as a sad expression crossed her face. "Unless… my heart hasn't left the Z-Stacks."
"Zip, why don't you come with me for a sail around the harbour?" suggested Venus.
"Okay," sighed Zip. "But I don't know what good that will do."
With that, Venus and Zip set off.
"What happened there?" asked Venus. "You should know that Captain Star is your owner now."
"I know," replied Zip. "But I've been a Z-Stack for the longest time that it's taking a long time for me to adjust to being a Star. Plus, Captain Zero's death was just so sudden."
"And did the losses of Zorran, Zug and Zilly also make things worse?" asked Venus.
"Yes," sighed Zip. "But there's another Z-Stack you don't know about. Her name was Zelda and she was the fleet's original No. 4. She was Zebedee's sister and Top Hat was in love with her."
"My goodness!" gasped Venus. "If… Zelda was the first Z-Stack No. 4…"
"We… we lost Zelda in a fire and her death affected everyone." Zip bit her lip. "Captain Zero wanted to forget Zelda as much as possible to the point where he banned us from ever mentioning her name and hastily replaced her with Zug, including the number four. We think that losing Zelda contributed to Top Hat not attending the munitions disaster of 1922. As for me, well, I lied about being misnumbered so as to respect Captain Zero's wishes and never told Zug, Zob or Zilly the truth. Nor Zeus, but I doubt he'd have cared."
"That… explains quite a lot," sighed Venus. "But… that also means that Zelda and Top Hat are together once more."
"Yeah… they are," Zip whispered. "And then there's Zion. Although he was never part of the Z-Stacks, he is a link to my past with the Moran Towing Company."
Venus thought for a moment. "You know," she said at last, "when you and I first met, I promised myself I would protect you if ever you felt threatened. That's why I stood up to Zeus. I wasn't going to let a bully like him hurt someone as precious as you. Plus, you also have Ten Cents, Big Mac, O.J., Warrior, Hercules, Sunshine, Grampus, Zob, Zebedee and Moonlight to support you."
"Well," Zip replied, "Moonlight was really comforting to me after Zorran was killed and I've really come to appreciate him for how kind and thoughtful he is. In fact, I've been growing romantic feelings for him. As for Ten Cents, well, we used to have feelings for each other until Zug tore our friendship apart. Ten Cents and I have rebuilt our friendship though, but obviously not the romance part. Everyone has been kind and welcoming to me, Zebedee and Zob and Captain Star has taken good care of us, which was Captain Zero's dying wish. You're right, Venus. I am lucky to have been saved by Captain Star, but even luckier to have a great sister like you."
Venus smiled at the compliment, before her eyes widened in surprise. "You and Ten Cents?! I wouldn't have seen that coming."
"Oh, you'd be surprised," said Zip. "I'll tell you about it later."
"You know," said Venus, "it's a good thing that neither of us got together with Ten Cents and Hercules. It would have been awkward, otherwise." Zip chuckled at that remark. Neither of them noticed that Sunshine had overheard them.
So that's why Top Hat didn't help out with the Munitions disaster, she thought. He lost the woman of his love to another fire…
Sunshine told Ten Cents, Hercules and Zob about it.
"And we were angry with Top Hat for what happened that night," sighed Hercules.
"I had a feeling that Zelda's death had something to do with it," sighed Ten Cents. "He was so rattled in his guilt, he lashed out at Warrior for it. But deep down… he hated himself. Ugh, we really let our feelings get the better of us after the munitions disaster, didn't we?"
"That… explains so much…" gulped Zob. "Why didn't he tell us? Or see Captain Lucky?"
"Ah guess what almost happened to Ten Cents worsened the guilt," sighed Sunshine. "Plus, Captain Zero banned you lot from mentioning her name."
There was a long silence as the four tugs wished they hadn't been so cross with Top Hat that night. The worst part was that Top Hat was now gone from this world as well, and they wouldn't get the chance to apologise for not understanding.
Over at Lucky's, Warrior and Little Owl's counseling session was about to get underway.
"Thank you both for coming," Captain Lucky said. "This is a good sign. You clearly want to resolve your issues."
"That's if we can resolve them," sighed Little Owl.
"Okay, let's start with you, Little Owl," said Captain Lucky. "Mr. Lloyd said you tried to commit suicide."
"Yes," sobbed Little Owl. "I overheard Zak and Zeus plotting with Ursula whilst they were in dry dock again. I didn't think it would be worth reporting since they normally messed things up. But look what happened – Zug was murdered via a Final Firing; Top Hat, Zilly, Kirke, Sally Seaplane, Mr. Krieger, Captain Star's mother and your parents were killed in the attack; Billy Shoepack was murdered via his dynamite; Captain Zero was shot dead by his own wife protecting Captain Star; O.J., Warrior, Zebede, Stormy, Hail and I were taken hostage; and then… Zorran ended up suicide bombing a building just so that Zak, Zeus and Ursula would never cause harm again. Why didn't I say something then? All this pain and heartache could have been avoided if I did worry. I should have cared, but I didn't because of my stupid grudge towards the Z-Stacks. I'm no better than those monsters…"
Captain Lucky wiped a tear away from Little Owl.
"Listen, dearie," she said gently, "whilst it's true this could have been avoided if you had said something, commiting suicide doesn't solve anything. You say that you're no better than those monsters, but here's the difference – you feel ashamed of your actions and the grudge. Zak, Zeus, Corona, Burke, Blair, Hans, Otto, the Poison Plant trio, Ursula Zero and Mr. Broke never felt any remorse for their actions. But listen, if you had gone through with commiting suicide, you would let your guilt consume you. Feeling no remorse is bad, but feeling too much remorse is also dangerous. Would it be fair on your friends if you did this?"
"No… it wouldn't," replied Little Owl. "If I had killed myself, my friends would be even more upset."
"Exactly," replied Captain Lucky. "Now, Warrior, tell me about what happened with Otto."
"Well, after Big Mac saved me from that oil barge," explained Warrior, "I became concerned for his safety, especially when he signed up for the Navy. This meant that when Otto tried to hurt Big Mac, I had to protect my brother. I didn't know about the barrel of Black Water. I rammed Otto too hard and the barrel spilled the Black Water into his systems, which killed him. I know I can be clumsy, but to kill someone because of it? It's worse than what happened with Zelda."
"And do you really think that confining yourself to a museum will solve anything?" asked Captain Lucky.
"It would certainly mean I won't be clumsy anymore," said Warrior.
"But we would all be upset if you did this," said Captain Lucky. "Listen, Warrior, it's true that you're clumsy, but your big heart more than makes up for it. You were willing to help Ten Cents catch Zeus when he poisoned Hercules with the bad coal; you were a big help when Hercules bought Vienna in; you were a hero when that log jam was heading for Uptown, and again when Izzy Gomez crashed onto those rocks; you were a big help during the munitions disaster of 1922; you and Sunshine put aside your fears of Jimbo to help him after his accident and told Top Hat off for his rude comments; and let's not forget when you, Hercules, Zip and Zug rescued that tramper who ran aground in that storm, when you helped with the cleanup operation after the earthquake, when you helped to look for Sunshine after she was kidnapped, when you helped Ten Cents, Top Hat and Penny to rescue Delta Queen and when you helped Top Hat, Sunshine, Zip, Zug and Zob to save Little Owl from that fire."
"Captain Lucky is right, Warrior," agreed Hail. "If you confined yourself to a museum, we would all miss you. Zeus might have viewed you as a big dump ape, but he was the dumb one. If anything, you're like a giant teddy bear who cares for his friends and family, and Captain Star is very lucky to have someone like on his team – kind-hearted and selfless, something that Otto never was."
"You know something?" said Warrior, a small smile forming on his face. "You're both right. Confining myself to a museum won't solve anything. Yes, I am clumsy, but the more I think about it, Otto should have secured that barrel – or carried it on a barge, because carrying it on his deck was not the best place."
"No, it wasn't," agreed Captain Lucky. After a few more minutes, Warrior and Little Owl's session was finished and both were ready to go.
"Thank you, Captain Lucky," said Warrior. "I've decided that I'm not going to confine myself to a museum. If something like this does happen again, I'll come and talk to you straight away."
"And next time I hear or see something concerning," said Little Owl, "I'm going to report it to Mr. Lloyd or Peeper Pipes and his team straight away."
"That's the spirit, dearies," said Captain Lucky. With that, Warrior, Hail and Little Owl set off.
"Thanks for suggesting this, Hail," said Warrior gratefully.
"I know what it's like to give someone an accidental Final Firing," said Hail, "but Captain Lucky helped me after that, so I thought she would help you as well."
"And she did," smiled Warrior. "You know, Hail, I always had something of a crush on you."
"Y-you did?" Hail asked in surprise.
"Yeah," chuckled Warrior. "You can talk too fast for the rest of us, but you have a big heart and always do what's right for the Salvage team."
"Well," said Hail, blushing a bit, "I've always had a crush on you as well."
Little Owl beamed at this, knowing that Warrior and Hail had become a couple.
That evening, the Stars all went to sleep with myself at home, unaware we were about to have a shared dream. We were outside the old dock where the Munitions disaster had occurred in 1922. To our surprise, the engines, Mr. Lloyd, the Salvage Fleet, Sea Rogue, O'Malley, Captain Salvage, Captain Lucky, Ariel and Penny were there too.
"Why are we here?" asked Sunshine.
"We must be dreaming," replied Pisces. "But why are we sharing the same dream?"
"Guys, look!" gasped Zip.
We looked in the distance to see six tugboats, a submarine, a seaplane and an engine with the same shape as Porter and Henney coming towards us. We instantly recognised them.
"Top Hat! Zorran! Zelda! Zug! Zilly! Sally! Kirke! Billy!" Ten Cents exclaimed.
"And Zion!" cried Zip.
"We're not alone, either," said Zorran, motioning to some figures on his deck. Captain Lucky and I gasped in astonishment. The figures onboard Zorran were my parents, Jonathan and Kristi Star, Captain Lucky's parents, Jordan and Eliza Tugg, Corporal Harry Lucky, Mr. Oscar Krieger and last, but not least, Captain Sean Zero.
"Ah," said Captain Zero happily. "I'm glad to see you've taken Zebedee, Zip and Zob into my fleet, Patrick."
"It has been quite hard settling in, though," admitted Zip. "But thanks to Venus here, I feel like I can adjust to the change."
"Glad to hear it," smiled Captain Zero. "Now, you three, I appreciate your loyalty, but I'm no longer your captain and haven't been for two years. Captain Star is your captain now."
"We understand that," replied Zob, before turning to Top Hat. "Listen, Top Hat, we're sorry for not understanding about Zelda."
"It's quite alright," replied Top Hat. "We were forbidden to mention her after all."
"And I strongly regret that decision," sighed Captain Zero. "Especially since it led to me lashing out at Zug so unfairly."
"Guys," Little Owl said, "I'm sorry I didn't speak up about Ursula, Zak and Zeus sooner. If I had, you would have still been alive."
"Don't worry about it," Top Hat said gently. "The important thing is that those villains have been defeated and have been sent to the deepest, darkest pits of Davy Jones' Locker… except for Corona, of course."
"Though, to be fair," smirked Stormy, "her fate is very much a living Davy Jones' Locker. Heck, Boomer even said that Corona is the jinxed tug now."
We all had a good laugh about it.
"Zion," Zip said, "I'm sorry for what happened when we last met. You were right. I should have tried to stand up for myself, but…"
"Say no more, Zip," said Zion. "I heard about your turnaround and I'm proud of you for it. I'm sorry that we never got the chance to make amends before the attack on Pearl Harbour. And Venus, you've done a fantastic job of looking after our sister. I saw how you defended against that bully. Heh, hard to believe Zeus was Robin and Zug's brother."
"He was no brother of ours," Robin said in an unusually dark tone.
"Too right," agreed Penny. "What sort of brother would murder their sibling like that?"
"Patrick," my father said, "I just want to say I'm proud of you for the way you looked after my fleet after I passed away and how you took in Sunshine, Grampus, Zebedee, Zip and Zob to save them from scrap, or target practice in Grampus' case."
"I couldn't just stand by and let them suffer a horrific fate," I replied. "Just a pity I had to lose you, Top Hat."
"Captain Star," Top Hat said, "I might be gone physically, but I still exist in your memories."
"As do me, Captain Zero, Zug, Zelda, Zion and Zilly live in your memories, Zebedee, Zip and Zob," said Zorran.
"Porter and Henney," said Kirke, "I'll always live on inside you, and Little Owl, I may have called you a birdbrain, but you turned yourself around to better relations with the Z-Stacks."
"T-thank you, Kirke," replied Little Owl, who had felt like a weight had been lifted off her buffers.
"Zelda," said Zebedee, "I'm sorry Zip and I gave into the darkness after you died."
"Don't worry, Zebedee," replied Zelda. "You, Zip, Zorran, Zug and Captain Zero did an excellent job at turning yourselves around. It was Zak, Zeus and Ursula's treachery that mucked things up. And Zob, thank you for guiding them away from the dark path."
"Zug, Ah'm sorry Ah couldn't confess my feelings to you before you died," Sunshine said with a tear in her eye.
"And I'm sorry I couldn't do the same for you, Sally," sighed Moonlight.
"Don't worry, you two," said Sally. "We had feelings for you as well."
"Don't give up hope either," assured Zug. "One day, you two will find someone else to love."
"And remember," said Captain Zero, "we'll always be looking down from the Moonlight Oceans, or Great Railway Above in Kirke's case. If ever you need any guidance, we'll visit you in your dreams."
"Thank you, Sean," I replied. With that, the spirits of our fallen friends headed back for the Moonlight Oceans and Great Railway Above.
At the end of the month, we gathered at the Railhead to bid Meridian, Theodore, Emily, George, Tillie, Henney, Maeve, Placido and Lexi a fond farewell. Meridian had Henney, Maeve, Placido and Lexi on one car float whilst Zob had Tillie on board Frank. Theodore, Emily and George had just been refueled, ready for their journey back to Canada.
"Well," said Tillie as Little Owl helped her on board Frank, "I guess this is goodbye."
"Tillie, Maeve, Placido and Lexi," said Mr. Lloyd, "I thank you four for your help during the war. Henney, a special thanks goes out to you for all the faithful years of service you've given to my railway. I have no doubt wherever you go, you will be a credit to any railway."
"It's been an honor working for you, Mr. Lloyd," replied Henney, trying to fight back tears. "I'm going to miss you, Porter."
"I'll miss you too, sis," said Porter, a small tear coming from his eye, "but I'll draw you and Kirke close to my heart."
"Meridian, Theodore, Emily and George," I said, "thank you for the help you've given us during the war. Meridian, I hope you enjoy your new life on Sodor, and Theodore, Emily and George, we hope you can come back and visit us in the future."
"Thank you, Captain Star," replied Meridian. "I promise I'll keep in touch with you."
With that, the tugs and engines all gave whistles of goodbye as Meridian, Theodore, Emily, George, Tillie, Henney, Maeve, Placido and Lexi left Bigg City Port. Of course, Theodore, Emily and George did return to Bigg City, but that's another story.
One thing was certain; as long as we had each other, we would be able to navigate the new world we were now in, and our fallen friends and family would be looking down from the Moonlight Oceans and the Great Railway to give us guidance.
The End
Arthour's notes: Well, this was a lot to take in. The combinded fleet of Stars now have to weather it alone, and the losses have hit everyone very hard. And yes, the Z-Stacks did have a number 4 before Zug - Zelda. She will be featured in the prequel series, which will be out as soon as the last of these stories are.
Next time, the tugs may have to deal with a UFO in Bigg City!