Sunny and Zipp arrived back at Purbeck House later that day, with the copy of Izzy's book firmly under Sunny's arm.

"Here's hoping this works," Zipp said.

"It should do," Sunny smiled. "Mom's pretty chill most of the time."

"The time you've been spending with Pipp is clearly rubbing off on you," Zipp replied. "You'll be speaking in hashtags next."

"That wouldn't be fun," Sunny answered, sighing. "I used to get enough crap for using American English as a kid. There was this girl called Mandy who called me an idiot for calling biscuits cookies and 'using American words'. Well, why do you think that I use a mixture of British and American English?"

"Because your mom's American?" Zipp ventured.

"Rhetorical question, Zipp."

Just then, they arrived in the main dining room. Argyle was sitting at a chair, going over a book. "Rumours of an engine underneath the main line," he mused. "Could be worth looking into. I know Awdry wrote about something similar, but this could be worth studying."

"Hey dad," Sunny said.

Argyle looked up from his book and smiled. "Hey Sunny!" he said. "Have a nice time at the beach?"

"Pretty much," Sunny replied. "Hey, have you seen mom anywhere?"

Just then, a door opened, and Goldie walked in. She looked a tad hot and bothered. "That has to be the most perdantic client we have ever worked with," she grumbled. "He was constantly correcting me on my use of US English."

"Was he British?" Argyle asked.

"No, German," Goldie replied. "And one trait many Germans have is correcting other people's languages for them- even if the corrections are wrong." Her face softened when she saw Sunny. "Hello Sunny. How are things?"

"Mom, I was wondering if you could help us with something," Sunny asked. "Izzy and I found this strange book on the beach, and the language it's written in is one we can't understand. Zipp read some out and it sounded kinda like German."

Goldie nodded. "Well, I'll give it a look." Sunny slid the book down the table to her, and Goldie opened it up. "Wow, this is dusty." She turned to the first page and started reading aloud. "Dit is het verhaal van de Vliegende Hollander, een figuur wiens naam door de zeeën spookt. Als je hem ziet, bereid je dan voor op gevaar." She shook her head. "I'm not too sure of that one myself. I recognise quite a few of the words, such as zeeën, which in German means sea, but other than that I'm a bit lost."

Then Lord Haven arrived. "Ah! Zipp! There you are!" he said. "Good to see you. What's going on here?"

"Trying to translate a very odd book," Zipp said. "We asked Sunny's mom to take a look, but she's having difficulty understanding the text."

"May I take a look?" Lord Haven asked, and leaned over Goldie's shoulder. "Dit is het verhaal van de Vliegende Hollander, een figuur wiens naam door de zeeën spookt. Als je hem ziet, bereid je dan voor op gevaar." He smiled. "Well, that was simpler than I anticipated. It's Dutch. Translated, it means this is the story of the Flying Dutchman, a figure whose name haunts the seas. If you see him, prepare for danger."

Zipp looked over. "Didn't know you speach Dutch, dad."

Lord Haven nodded. "I sort of do and sort of don't. As most of you probably know, I'm originally from South Africa. My ancestors were amongst a group of Dutch settlers who came there in the 18th Century, and over time the language shifted from Dutch to Afrikaans, which I speak. It has come in handy quite a few times. With luck, I should be able to translate most of this book for you."

Argyle glanced over. "Apologies for probing, but I must say that Haven doesn't sound particularly like an Afrikaaner surname."

Lord Haven smiled. "It's alright. Intellectual curiosity never hurt anybody. I actually opted to take my wife's name when I married Elizabeth, and my original name was Opwinden." He then glanced to Zipp. "Before I go, have you seen Pipp anywhere? I thought she was supposed to be going live with a new song soon, but I can't seem to find her anywhere."

Once the light had faded, Pipp soon realised she was in a bit of jam. A sticky situation, you could say.

For one, she was currently underwater. For two, she was currently in a heavy diving suit with an oxygen tank stuck to the back.

Pipp looked about in a panic. "Izzy? Izzy! Where are you?"

"Right next to you!" Another diving suit suddenly floated in front of her, similarly heavy and stocky. Pipp could clearly see Izzy's face through the glass of the helmet. "Why are you looking so worried, Pipp?"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know, it may be the tiny little detail that WE'RE UNDERWATER?!"

"It could have been worse," Izzy said. "We could have dropped in without diving suits and had to swim to the surface." She pointed upwards. "And swimming there would probably take a really long time, and-"

"Stop talking."

"Pipp, isn't that a bit ru-"

"I'm serious. I can hear something overhead."

Suddenly, the light from above them was cut off, and a large object passed overhead, blasting its whistle as it did so. Another large object passed nearby, its propellers churning up the water.

Pipp looked at Izzy. "Those are ships. Somehow we are out at sea!"

Izzy grinned. "Do you think we'll meet mermaids?"

"I'm more concerned about getting thrown about by the wake of ships! We need to get out of here, and fast!"

Suddenly, a voice spoke behind them. "You two aren't supposed to be here, are you?"

Both girls turned around and screamed at what had appeared before them. Sitting there was a long, black submarine, with a conning tower and long base, with propellers and a rudder at the back. But this was not what had caught the attention of Pipp and Izzy.

The submarine had a face, with a pair of goggles over his eyes. He laughed. "Is that how you say hello where you're from?"

"How did you sneak up on us?" Pipp asked.

The submarine smiled. "I'm a submarine! Sneaking up on things is part of the job." He dropped his smile. "But I can sense you're lost. This waterway isn't safe for divers, and Lake Michigan appears to be very busy at the moment, so I can transport you two to safety in the city." A hatch opened on the top. "You'd best be getting into the decompression chamber."

Both girls, knowing the alternative was probably getting smashed to bits by shipping, agreed, and swam over and into the hatch. The hatch closed, and the water drained out, allowing them to exit the chamber and take the diving suits off.

Pipp, understandably, was relieved to see the clothes she had been wearing were still there under the suit, and took a seat on one side. "This is really cramped," she said.

"I was built for military service," a voice said, that of the submarine. "Let me introduce meself. I'm Grampus of the Star Fleet."

Izzy, however, seemed to be musing. "What was that strange book about though?" she asked. "I can't figure out who this vligiende hollander was. Is it a person? A ship? A type of sauce?"

"I don't know many Dutchmen round here," Grampus said, "but I'd be more than happy to take you to see somebody to help you out. Off we go!"

With that, Grampus' engines rumbled into life, and he set off through the waters of the lake.

Pipp looked around and noticed something. "Izzy, something unusual is going on," she said.

"What's that?" Izzy asked.

"Grampus doesn't have a driver," Pipp said. "He's moving by himself!"

"They're called pilots in the navy," Grampus said, suddenly. "People in the navy who fly planes are called aviators for that reason."

"Hence why Tom Cruise jokes about landing on boats rather than sailing them in Maverick," Izzy said.

"Still haven't gotten round to watching that," Pipp said.

As they continued to move along through the water, the scenery seemed to change, and suddenly they felt upwards movement.

"We're at the port now, so we need to surface," Grampus said. Moments later, he stopped, and some hatches opened. "Have a nice time up there! If you need a water taxi, just ask for Grampus."

Pipp climbed out of the submarine and into a glorious open sky. Once on the dock, she saw a vast skyline of towering buildings and mighty structures. And her heart filled with excitement when she saw it.

"I've always wanted to come here!" she said.

"Where are we?" Izzy asked.

Pipp turned around, grinning. "Izzy... we're in Chicago!"

Suddenly, Grampus spoke again. "Sorry about this, but I seem to have dropped you off at the wrong dock. I'd forgotten that Zero Marine had moved premises recently. Hop back aboard, and I'll take you to the Star Fleet dock."

Author's Note

Hello folks, and welcome back to a new chapter! This time around, our heroes find themselves in other places whilst the mystery continues to deepen.

Argyle's book is referencing the Lindal railway incident, where a locomotive fell into a sinkhole that opened up in some sidings. The engine was never recovered and was confirmed to still be down there by ground penetrating radar scans. Recovery, however, would be rather difficult as the line through Lindal is pretty busy.

Goldie's complaint about German is a reference to a road sign I once saw in France with corrections. Germans are notorious in Europe for correcting signs with mistakes in them, even if they are in other languages. Whilst seeing this sign covered in corrections was admittedly pretty funny, what made it even funnier was that the German corrections to the English were themselves wrong. Sunny's earlier comment is partly based on my own struggles with adapting back to life in the UK; if somebody asks me if I'd like chips I still often visualise crisps rather than fries.

But now we have our first Tugs character, Grampus the submarine! Grampus is based on the Plunger-Class submarines built between 1900 and 1903. Primarily intended as training vessels for submariners, they remained in service until 1921, when most were blown up for target practice (Grampus himself nearly suffering this fate in the show). Grampus having no crew is an allusion to the fact we never see any humans in Tugs; the show implies the waterborne craft can move by themselves without crews, which directly contradicts what is established in Thomas and Friends.

Finally, we have our setting- the stunning city of Chicago. I originally planned to set the story in New York, but know Chicago better, and a key component of my writing is trying to capture the spirit of places I have been. Thus, the Windy City shall be our setting for the next two weeks or so. See you tomorrow for more adventures!