Marine Playing on the Shore

“Aw, Blaze. You don’t have a ship, do yas?” Marine said as she took up the HMS Muffingtops from out of the water and raised it up to Blaze. “You can ‘ave the HMS Muffingtops, free of charge of course. She’ll be your ship. Take good care of ‘er, cause she’s been a worthy vessel all me life, and I reckon she’ll serve yas well…”

“No thank you, Marine.” Blaze said as she casually observed her. “I don’t play with toys.”

“Huh?” Then Marine looked back down at the Muffingtops and then back at Blaze. “They’re not toys, Blaze, they’re worthy sea-faring ships!”

“They’re toys, Marine.”

“Well...maybe they are, but...you can still play with toys. After all, what are big ships, but big toys? Aye? Are you SURE you don’t want the Muffingtops, mate?”

“I’m quite sure, Marine.” Blaze sternly said. “One day you will put toys behind you as well.” Marine was aghast at the thought that she would ever part from playing with toys.

“Strewth, I’ll always play with toys, Blaze. Even as a big girl. After all. What are ships, but bigger toys?”

“Real ships most certainly are not toys.” Blaze said with a sigh.

“Yea nah, if they weren’t toys then I reckon they wouldn’t be half as fun, mate.”

“That’s the precise mentality that caused you to run the Ocean Tornado into the Grotto’s gate.” Blaze said as she shook her head. ”If you don’t respect these massive vessels, Marine, then they certainly wont respect you.”

“Aw, Blaze, that was an honest mistake.” Marine said in her defense. “How was I supposed to know that I needed more thrust to break through the gate? I don’t even know why the grotto needs a gate anyways. I reckon it woulda looked better without one.”

“Well, now you have neither a working ship, nor a working gate, “Blaze said as she turned her gaze towards the sea, “and I don’t even want to get into what you did to the other vessels…”

“Strewth, It wasn’t me fault, Blaze!” Marine said as she began to rummage through her bucket of toys. “All technical mistakes that anyone could make!”

“Marine, you are hopeless. Of course ANYONE could make those mistakes, that’s why it isn’t just ANYONE that should be commandeering super massive ships. They demand training AND experience.”

“But Blaze, I already got heaps of experience. What do you think I’m doing now? And when Sonic and Tails were here, I was always running ‘round the ships doing this and that. I knew what I was doing. I was a true blue captain’s shipmate. The best in the business!”

“Tails was our pilot,” Blaze continued, “and he was the only one that really knew what he was doing. You and I had smaller duties which corresponded to our knowledge of things, and that’s what you need to accept, Marine.” Then Marine looked up from out of her bucket of toys and looked at Blaze. 

“Blimey, you saying I’m not ready to steer a ship?”

“What you did to the Ocean Tornado is proof of that, Marine.” Blaze said as she turned her gaze back to Marine. Then Marine grumbled and turned away from Blaze.

“Blaze, I offered you the Muffingtops at mate’s rates, but you decide to insult me seamanship instead?” Then Marine sat back down in the water and minded her toy ships. “No worries, mate. She’ll be right. I’ll prove yas wrong one day, Blaze.” And then Marine placed all her ambition and hopes within the toy ships that she played with, and saw a vision of herself gliding above the waves in her very own ship.

“You see me ships be small for now, but one day I’ll ‘ave a fleet of me own. And I’ll get off this smelly island, and rule the waves. Just you count on it, mate! They ALL doubted me, but I’ll show 'em just what it means to have a raccoon soul dwelling inside. Having a raccoon soul means failure is not an option, ya know. It's the greatest power imaginable. But don't you worry. I'll live up to its name!”