Chapter 2: The Invasion Begins

The following morning, Stormy had brought in a broken down tramper and dropped it off at Lucky's Yard.

"Thanks, Stormy," called Zelda. "We'll take it from here."

"No problem," replied Stormy. "See you."

As Stormy headed back for Mittsville, she heard some creaking.

"What was that?" she asked. There was no answer. "Hmm, I must be imagining things." With that, Stormy set off again and decided not to dwell on it anymore.

Hercules and Venus had been up by the coast after escorting a tramper out to sea. The two ocean-going tugs had made good time, so they decided to pay a visit to Lillie Lightship.

"Hi, Hercules," said Lillie. "Hello, Venus."

"Hello, Lillie, m'dearest," smiled Hercules. "I see you've done a marvelous job at keeping all incoming and outgoing vessels safe as usual."

"I have indeed," said Lillie, before remembering something. "Something unusual happened last night. Whilst I was looking out for any incoming vessels, I couldn't help but notice a fleet of unfamiliar tugboats heading towards Bigg City."

"That is unusual," mused Venus, "and on top of Oliver's disappearance as well."

"We'd better speak to Peeper Pipes and his team about this," said Hercules.

Gabby and Melody had an evening job in delivering engineering parts to Scuttlebutt Pete so he could start work in the morning. It was a joint contract between both fleets which had become more commonplace since the end of World War II. Once the two diesel tugs had finished her work, they headed for home, but started to feel low on fuel. Then they saw a couple of tanker barges nearby.

"Good," said Gabby. "We can refill now and be back in time for the morning briefing."

"Um, are you sure it will be safe?" asked Melody.

"Of course it will be safe," said Gabby. "Now come on."

Of course, Gabby was in such a rush that she and Melody failed to check what was inside. Just as they were being refueled, they began to feel strange.

"I'm feeling… sleepy…" Melody yawned as she fell into a deep sleep.

"Me… too," yawned Gabby as she did the same. Nearby, two other tugs watched on and smirked.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" said one of the tugs. "Julissa will be pleased," she added nastily as she threw a towline on Gabby whilst the other tug, a large ocean-going tug, threw his towline onto Melody.

"If this was what Captain Zero bought after I left the Z-Stacks," he muttered, "it's a miracle his fleet hasn't fallen apart. Ugh, what was he thinking, firing me?! Me?! The best thing that ever happened to him!"

"Oh, you poor darling," said the first tug. "Cut the rant and let's get out of here!" With that, the two evil tugs towed Gabby and Melody away.

Jimbo was out on patrol around the harbour when he felt something strike him in the wheelhouse, causing him to black out almost instantly. Another tug was lurking nearby with a wicked grin.

Theodore's fleet was sound asleep and didn't notice three nasty looking tugs approaching their dock. The three tugs were carrying barrels of Green Water on their barges.

Over at the Dock Railway, three steam engines were approaching the sheds with barrels of Green Water inside a freight car.

"There they are," whispered the first one, a Reading 0-6-0ST.

"Do we really have to do it?" gulped the second one, a Duke Power 0-4-0ST.

"If we don't, Addison will shut us up for a long time," replied the third one, a Virginian Railway SA Class tender engine.

"Besides," said the Reading tank engine, "it was the diesels' fault that this railway got dieselised in the first place. Now come on!"

Reluctantly, the other two engines followed him.

At 6:30 the next morning, I got ready for the morning briefing.

"Good morning, Star Fleet," I called. "Before I give the orders out, let's number off."

"One!" called Ten Cents.

"Twa!" called Big Mac.

"Three!" called O.J..

"Four!" called Top Hat.

"Five!" called Warrior.

"Six!" called Hercules.

"Seven!" called Sunshine.

"Eight!" called Grampus.

"Nine!" called Moonlight. There was a long pause.

"Gabby?" I asked. "Gabby, that's your cue!" Still, no answer.

"Wait… where is Gabby?!" asked Grampus.

"I'm not sure," Top Hat said in concern.

"Wasn't she with Melody last night?" asked Moonlight. It was at that moment the Z-Stacks came up with worried expressions on their faces and Ariel looked like she was crying.

"Ariel!" gasped Ten Cents. "What's wrong?"

"It's Melody," sobbed Ariel. "She didn't come home last night."

"Oh no," gulped Sunshine. "First Gabby, and now Melody!"

"What?! Gabby's missing too?" gasped Zug.

Just then, we heard a horn and looked to see Theodore with a worried expression.

"Has anyone seen Hank, George, Emily, Foduck, Jasper and Benjamin?" he asked. "They didn't come home last night."

"What?! Them as well?" exclaimed Warrior.

"What do you mean 'as well'?" asked Theodore.

"Gabby didn't answer during the 'number off'," replied Ten Cents.

"Neither did Melody," replied Zorran. Then they heard whimpering and looked to see Zip looking pale.

"N-no!" she gulped. "I can't lose Hank!"

"Don't worry, sis," assured Venus. "We'll find him."

"Zebedee! Top Hat!" called a voice. Everyone looked to see Zelda and Zion looking urgent. "Have you heard the news? Jimbo went missing whilst out on patrol last night!"

"Great Neptune!" gasped Hercules. "Salty's fears were correct."

"We must call a code red indignation meeting!" said Zob.

All the tugs from the Port and Up River, as well as Grampus, Zilly and Northumberland, gathered at the Ferry Terminal. The Coast Guard team was there as well. Once everyone was present, Zob blew his hooter to get their attention.

"Alright, everyone," he said seriously. "This morning, we woke up to a crisis. Nine of our friends have gone missing: Gabby from the Star Fleet, Melody from the Z-Stacks, Jimbo from the Naval Base, and Hank, Emily, George, Foduck, Jasper and Benjamin from the V-Tugs."

"Did anyone see or hear anything suspicious last night?" asked Ember.

"Well, I didn't see anything," admitted Northumberland, "but I heard some steam tugs passing the naval base. I was asleep at the time, but I assumed it was either some of the Star Tugs or some of the Z-Stacks making a late night delivery."

"Th' ainlie Star Tug wha wis oot lest nicht wis Gabby," said Big Mac. "'N' she's a diesel tug. Plus, she wis making a delivery tae Scuttlebutt Pete."

"Melody was on the same job as well," said Zug. "Plus, she was the only Z-Stack out last night and she's a diesel tug too."

"On our way home to the Breaker's Yard last night," said Chimera, "we noticed something unusual near Mittsville."

"It looked like a smokestack with a lightning bolt," explained Alonso, "and we assumed it was a fleet being set up. Now, we wonder if it had anything to do with this."

"This could be an important clue," said Constance, "especially given the information Lillie gave Hercules and Venus yesterday. Anyone who spots a tug with a lightning bolt is to report it to us immediately."

"Do you think that the tug Northumberland heard has anything to do with this?" asked Robin.

"That's a possibility, Robin," remarked Hail, "because it does seem strange that a steam tug would come in unannounced and then Jimbo would just go missing and other diesel tugs go missing as well."

"Well, my number one suspect is Addison Darnell," said Stormy.

"T-t-that psychopath?!" stammered Zilly, who was more frightened than usual. He and the others had heard about Addison from Salty's pen pal, Annabelle Regaby, and how she transformed from a sweet girl to a cruel-hearted monster, particularly the incident where Addison almost gave Duck the Final Firing.

"She's more likely to carry out an invasion on Sodor considering she's more into railways than boats," replied Scorpio.

"True," said O.J., "but that doesn't mean to say that she doesn't have someone else working for her who would lead this invasion."

"That's a very good point," said Zion.

"Indeed," said Top Hat. "When Ursula Zero attempted to overthrow Captain Zero back in the Second World War, she had Zak and Zeus as her inside tugs. Then, after the attack, Mr. Broke sent Corona and Hans to 'help' in Zug and Zilly's absences."

"I'd hate to imagine what the Z-Stacks would have looked like had she succeeded," sighed Zug. Everyone else had to agree. The old rivalry between the Stars and the Z-Stacks was pretty fierce, but had Ursula succeeded and had replaced Zorran, Zebedee, Zip, Zug, Zob and Zilly with Nightshade, Oleander, Foxglove, Corona, Hans and Otto, the rivalry would have been far more venomous. But they knew now was not the time to think about what almost happened in the 1940s. This current crisis was more urgent.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Warrior. "Do we need another curfew?"

"Possibly," said Zob. "But we need to go one step further. From now on, all diesel tugs must remain with a steam tug at all times."

"We can take care of ourselves," retorted Tex. "I don't need no steam tug babysittin' me."

"It's for your own safety," Venus said sternly. "In times of crisis, we cannot afford to take any chances. I'm not just talking about the attack on Bigg City or the Pearl Harbor attack. I'm talking about the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. Those events should serve as a reminder of how essential security is."

"Well said, Venus, m'dear," said Hercules. Then he had an idea. "As an additional means of security, I suggest we take a leaf from Captain Zero's book."

"You mean the flare trick from 1921?" asked Zip. "I like that idea!"

"Yes, it was one of the few good ideas Captain Zero and any of us Z-Stacks had before our turnaround," said Zebedee.

"Now, this was a few months before I arrived," said Zob. "So I'll need to be filled in as to what happened."

"It was during the time O'Malley was held hostage by Flotsam and Jetsam," explained Sea Rogue, "and I was forced to steal barges as a result."

"Certain barges were rigged with flares that would be triggered before they were even touched," added O.J.. "Although thanks to Top Hat's insight and Grampus, they weren't needed."

"And I accidentally set one of them off, much to Zorran and Top Hat's annoyance," chuckled Warrior.

"You know," said Zorran, "after the Munitions disaster of 1922, I've really come to appreciate you."

"You have?" Warrior said in surprise. "Why?"

"Because you always mean well," replied Zorran. "I'm sure a certain Salvage Fleet switcher would agree to that."

"You've got that right," replied Hail. Just then, Salty and his friends came running up.

"We've just had a call from Ms. Stevens of the Dock Railway!" said Salty urgently. "All five diesels have gone missing as well!"

"What?!" everyone else cried in shock.

"Okay," said Grampus, "it looks like someone is connected with Addison."

"We'd better start organizing which tugs go with which fleet then," said Hercules.

It was decided that Zob would work alongside Molly at all times since they were both railway tugs. Hercules and Venus decided to guard Owan and Tex. Now, the latter was reluctant, but agreed since Venus had made a strong argument. Hail swapped places with Donald so that Robin and the other Salvage Tugs could guard him. Sea Rogue swapped with Lucy and got O'Malley to guard her. Since Theodore worked with Warrior on garbage runs, he stuck with him at all times. Guysborough was grumpy about it, but then again, Guysborough is grumpy about everything, so no one took any notice.

After the tugs settled into their new routines, Misty noticed a worried look on Pisces' face.

"Are you okay, sis?" she asked.

"Not really," sighed Pisces. "Just when things had become peaceful here in Bigg City, some of our friends went missing."

"That's understandable," replied Ember. "I think we're all worried about our friends. Plus, it brings back bad memories of what happened… back in the 1940s."

"Ugh, don't remind me," groaned Scorpio.

"Hey, Alonso," called Hail. "Did you and Chimera encounter any troublesome tugs before coming here?"

"Not to the extent those monsters went to," replied Alonso. "But we did encounter quite a few bad apples."

"Even so, this new threat feels too unpredictable," said Chimera.

"Well then, we'd better keep it at it," said O.J.. "And remember; keep your eyes out for any clues." With that, the tugs all headed into separate directions, keeping a lookout for trouble.

Athour's notes: Sorry for the wait. I was really busy the last few days. Anyway, not too different. Of course, couples and characters are slipped in accordingly... which includes Addison's larger fleet of tugs.

Next time, we'll find out what has happened to the tugs and engines who had been Captured!