When Gordon woke up again, the first person he saw was Diesel. The Devious Count smirked upon seeing his fellow Count's angry and irritable expression.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," he teased mockingly. Gordon pushed him to the side, and sat up, trying to remember what happened to him. His body felt like it had been hit by a wrecking ball. The last thing he remembered was a pink beam of light speeding towards him….

At last, he remembered everything-and he remembered who had shot that beam.

"Thomas…" he growled. He looked around to see that both Thomas and Percy were gone, and that the barrier had disappeared. He balled his hand into a fist, enraged.

"Yeah, they got away with the page after Thomas pretty much buried you into the hill," Diesel said. "Henry and James are coming around in a little bit, and are they mad!"

"I have no need for your commentary, Diesel," he said. When he got up, Diesel 10's image appeared on hologram. The expression on his face was dangerous, and Gordon knew that he was screwed.

"Gordon, you, James and Henry must come to my office immediately. There are things that we need to discuss," the Diabolical Count said.

"Y-Yes, sir. We'll be on our way," Gordon replied weakly. Once Diesel 10's image had disappeared, Diesel started laughing.

"Boy, are you three in for it," he said

"Shut up, Diesel." James came over then, with Henry in tow. The sour look on his face could be seen for miles. "Just get the dimensional transport ready."

"Alright, alright. No need to rush," Diesel said. He summoned his magic circle under his feet, and recited the coordinates for their home base.

"Take us to the Society of Darkness, on point!" At once, a large blue portal appeared over their heads.

"I hope Diesel 10 doesn't use the Punisher on us again," Henry said. No one replied as they were sucked into the portal.


(Many people think it'd be awesome to have magical powers. They usually forget the problems associated with them, however…)

Iheartgod175 proudly presents:

Sodor Magic Crusaders

Story Created: July 25th, 2012

Story Written: July 12th, 2013

Published: July 13th, 2013

This Chapter: September 30th, 2013

Rated: T (fight scenes, depressing moments, small romance)

Summary: Seven pages of an immensely powerful book called the Book of Transformation are stolen by two mages named Edward and Percy, and in an attempt to escape from a sworn enemy, Percy heads to the Island of Sodor to hide, causing mages- both good and evil- from another dimension to bring their dangerous war there. When university student Thomas gets caught up in the fight, he is soon forced to become a mage to protect himself- and help Edward and Percy prevent the end of the world as we know it.

Author's Note: Act 7 brings in character development, and the reason behind Duke giving that 'head-cooling' to Charlie. There is some abuse and mentions of blood. Feel free to skip if you must.

Before I start, I just want to give thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the reason that I'm still here and able to create stories like this one. Thank You for giving me this talent, which I will use to glorify Your name. Amen.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Thomas or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, AT ALL. Thomas belongs to Hit Entertainment, Britt Allcroft and the Awdry family-the late Rev. W. Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry. Nanoha belongs to Masaki Tsuzuki and Seven Arcs. I only own this story, and my original character, Amy.


Act 7: An Important Experience

Toby nearly leaped out of his seat at the sound of the portal reopening. Thomas and Freddie walked in, with the latter carrying Percy on his back. The blond mage was slumped over, unconscious and covered in various bruises.

"Thomas! Are you alright?" Toby ran over to his friend. The holes in his jacket and the tears in his shirt let Toby know that the battle they had been through was not an easy one.

"I feel a little cooked, but I'm alright," he said. "I'll need an ice pack for my bruises and all. But it was all worth it."

"You actually got the page?" Toby asked. Thomas nodded.

"We'll need to take that to Peter Sam. He'll have to put a special seal on it so it won't go out of control again," Freddie said. "I'll take Percy to the medical bay. You two stay put."

"Okay," Thomas said. Once Freddie and Percy were gone, he turned to Toby. "So, what have you been doing while I was gone?"

"Mostly worrying about getting home," Toby said. "It would also be awesome if I had magical powers of my own. Then, I could help you in this fight. Speaking of which, who did you end up fighting anyway?"

"We were fighting against those Counts who had shown up to Tidmouth- Gordon, Henry and James. Percy ended up getting knocked out, so I took care of Gordon and Henry. Afterwards, I managed to secure the page," he said.

"A 3-on-2 fight, huh?" Toby mused. "Well, it's a good thing none of the other people were there. They're a little busy with something important."

"What's that?"

"Edward and Charlie came back from their mission, and apparently, they didn't do so hot," Toby said. "I think the problem was that Charlie went overboard with his powers. He nearly destroyed a power plant fighting Diesel, Thomas. I think that's pretty serious."

"I'd say." Thomas sighed as he deactivated his Barrier Jacket. Raising Heart returned to its jewel form, and Thomas placed the jewel in his pocket. "So, what did you tell Mr. Coulson?"

"I told him that both of us ended up getting sick, but that we'd be ready to go December 16th," Toby replied. He shrugged. "I didn't really know what else to say, really."

"Well, that's better than saying that one of your friends became a mage before exams started," Thomas laughed. The door opened, and Freddie returned carrying an ice pack.

"Here you go Thomas. That should help with some of the bruises for a while, until Peter Sam can come in to heal you," he said.

"Thanks," Thomas said. "I'll feel so much better when I get home."

"Don't forget that we have to go home and study for our exams, Thomas," Toby pointed out.

"Thanks for reminding me, Toby," Thomas growled.


(Diesel 10's Society of Darkness)

When the Counts walked into the room, they were surprised to see that Diesel 10 wasn't there yet. Normally after they had failed a mission, their boss would be in the room, waiting to chew them out or even give them several good whacks with the Punisher. Apparently, he was doing something else at the moment.

Diesel saw their stunned expressions, and scoffed. "Don't look too surprised. He's checking up on the rest of his experiments. Wait here. I'll go get him." The Devious Count was soon out of the room.

Henry turned to Gordon, an anxious look on his face. "What could he possibly be up to now?" he asked.

"I don't think I want to find out," James said. He tossed Graf Eisen on the table and collapsed into the chair. "The least we can do is to just sit back and relax until he gets back."

"I don't know if we even can relax. You know how the boss is with failure!" Henry said.

"Got any better ideas other than panicking?" James retorted.

"Alright, that's enough both of you," Gordon said tiredly. He wasn't in the mood for another argument. "When Diesel gets back, we'll figure out his mood from there."

His question was answered when the door slid open and Diesel 10 walked in. The look on his face was dangerous, and in his right hand was the weapon that all of the Counts feared: the Punisher. James leaped up from his spot in the chair and stood at attention. Henry went pale in the face, and Gordon stared straight ahead, his body rigid.

Diesel 10 stopped when he was about a few inches from the three. His sunken eyes were dark with rage.

"Gordon. Kindly explain to me why you're here after failing to recover the page," he snapped.

"It wasn't my fault, sir. I gave it everything I had, but we didn't count on Percy and Thomas showing up," he said.

"Don't give me sorry excuses!" Diesel 10 roared, and in a swift motion struck the Sword Count hard with the staff. The crack resounding through the air sent a visible shiver through Henry as Gordon crumbled to the floor. Diesel silently made his way out of the room, muttering something under his breath.

"You're supposed to be the undefeatable forces of my society. You work under the most powerful mage in the history of the Dream Dimension, no less!" He swung the Punisher at Henry, knocking him down with little effort as well. The Crossfire Count let out an involuntary scream of pain as he was hit.

"But now, you come to me with these sorry excuses, allowing yourself to be beaten by a mage who's barely had any basic training! You've been trained here for years! You should have beaten them!" he yelled. He picked James up by the front of his jacket and tossed him to the other side of the room. The Iron Count hit the wall with a sickening crash.

"I've told you three over and over, 'Only actions can show the strength of your loyalty'. But alas, you come to me with pitiful excuses that are signs of your weakness. I can't accept that, not with knowing how important the Book of Transformation is to my plans. I will not tolerate such insubordination!"

Diesel 10 walked over to the other side, and pulled James to a sitting position. He dragged the Iron Count to where Gordon and Henry were starting to recover. He threw James in the middle, sending him sprawling to the ground. The Diabolical Count walked in front of the three then, holding the Punisher up to his face.

"It seems that further instruction is required. A reminder for what happens to those who fail me," Diesel 10 said.

Gordon grimaced. He knew what was coming. He clenched his jaw shut, steeling himself for impact.

CRACK!

The first person to let out a scream of pain wasn't Henry, but it was Gordon. Diesel 10 hit the same spot on his face where he'd been hit earlier with more force.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

It wasn't long before each of the Counts was writhing in pain. Their wounds felt like they were on fire as Diesel 10 hit them in a row.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Gordon slumped forward as the beating was finally over. He could barely see with the film of blood in his eyes. Beside him, he could feel James shaking, and Henry was stifling a sob. However, his head hurt so much that it took all it had in him to think straight.

"I trust that you've learned your lesson?" Diesel 10 asked quietly.

"Yes sir," Gordon managed. James said nothing and Henry merely sobbed a reply.

"Good. I'd hate to put my Counts in any more pain than necessary. I have my men searching for the next page as we speak. When we find it, I want you to go down there and find it. If anything gets in your way…crush it. Show no mercy or kindness-especially to your former comrades. If you fail me again, the consequences will be much worse. The more pages you get, the bigger of an advantage you'll have," Diesel 10 said. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir," the three said in unison.

"Good. I'd hurry if I were you. The clock is ticking, you know," the Diabolical Count said. He walked out of the room without even looking back at the three Counts.

Once his footsteps had disappeared down the hall, Henry let out an anguished cry of pain. He crumpled into a massive heap, sobbing uncontrollably. On his left, James was beginning to shed tears of his own. He slammed his hand on the ground and began to swear profusely.

Tears were also starting to form in Gordon's eyes. His boss had never been this angry before; not for him to use the Punisher like this. It must be a very serious thing for him to react this way if the pages were needed that badly.

But then he remembered that there were only seven pages that had been ripped out. If Thomas, Percy and the others kept retrieving the pages, it wouldn't take much for them to lose the battle. And from what Diesel 10 had been saying, he wanted the pages back in a certain amount of time.

Gordon rose to his feet, nearly falling forward as he did so. He walked over and stood in between Henry and James. It devastated him to see his two friends like this, but he had to get them going. He had to be the strong one. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Guys, come on. We need to get to bed. Tomorrow, we can decide on what to do about this," he said. That got them up on their feet, and Gordon steered them towards the door on the other side of the room.

"Why…why does he have to be so cruel?" Henry muttered as they went inside. Gordon exhaled softly as they went down the halls to their rooms.

That's a question I should ask him, Henry.


(DDAB's Medical Center)

Charlie watched curiously as Sir Handel pulled down the projector screen. On it, there were two pictures of Duke- one from when he was younger, and one where he was wrapped up to his head in bandages. Edward covered his mouth with shock.

"Oh, my goodness, he looks awful in that picture," he said.

"If you thought that looked bad, you should've seen him when he was in therapy. He was practically screaming in pain," Sir Handel said. His voice was serious.

"W-What happened to Duke for him to deserve that?" Charlie asked.

Sir Handel looked over at the Enforcer with a saddened expression on his face. Then he said, "If you really want to know, there's some footage that we captured back then. There's lots of blood involved, so if you're squeamish, you may not want to watch."

Edward swallowed audibly. "I-I don't think I want to," he stammered slightly. Sir Handel looked over at Charlie, but he didn't need an answer to tell that the Enforcer wanted to. Sighing, he hit the play button on the remote.

"Fifteen years ago, there had been a problem called the Dark Fragments Incident. It was a time where Diesel 10 had managed to take control of a powerful artifact called the Dark Enigma. If you remember the legend correctly, the Enigma was split into pieces. Duke found the fragments the same way you found the Book, Edward, and tried to split the fragments up one by one," Sir Handel explained.

"Well, was he able to?" Charlie asked.

"Unfortunately, no. He was only able to hide two pieces before Diesel 10 sent his spies to track him down," Sir Handel said. "Duke lived in Sodor at the time, and he was working for the Duke of Sodor as his butler. Having no other place to hide them, he magically sealed the fragments below the Duke's house."

"That was where he made his mistake." Everyone turned around to see Peter Sam standing in the doorway, holding a clipboard at his side. One look at his face told Edward that he was reliving the entire experience all over again. The officer cadet hastily wiped his eyes.

"Peter Sam! I thought you were supposed to be making sure Percy, Thomas and Toby got back to Tidmouth safely," Sir Handel asked.

"I already did. Duke told them to be careful, and he said that he'd contact them again if they see another page," Peter Sam said. "I was going to come in and tell you that, but I find you in the middle of telling Edward and Charlie about Granpuff's history."

"Would you like to explain the rest of it, Peter Sam?"

"I'll explain parts of it," he said. He stepped inside the room and sat on Charlie's bed. His expression was grim. "Somehow, Diesel had tracked down the fragments to the Island of Sodor. It turns out later on that the sealing spell that Duke had put on the fragments was starting to wear off. Duke didn't know about this, but by then…it was too late." Peter Sam swallowed a hard lump in his throat. "Sir Handel, if you please?"

"The Duke of Sodor and his family were home the day Diesel showed up. He told Duke that he was a carpenter who was hired to install new flooring. Duke didn't believe him, so he told him to show him what the carpet looked like. He went outside, and then, Diesel knocked him out. When Duke woke up, he was in the hospital. He asked about the Duke of Sodor, and the doctors told him that…" Sir Handel paused, holding his head in his hand. He really hated having to explain this part of the story. With a slight tremor, he finished his sentence. "They told him that there had been a house fire, and that the Duke and his family had been killed in it."

His words had a profound effect on Charlie, whose eyes widened in horror and shock before they started to fill with tears. Edward stared down at his hands, his chin trembling. A loud sniffle came from the other side of the room, and they all turned to see Peter Sam crying. Soon, the officer cadet quickly walked out of the room, shaking his head as he did.

Sir Handel sighed. "Peter Sam was the one who was called to investigate the incident, so he's dealt with it personally. Anyway, when Duke found out what had happened, and why Diesel had shown up, he nearly went ballistic. After he got out of the hospital, he was determined to kill Diesel. Not arrest him; he wanted to kill him. He began to train extensively, strengthening himself and learning many dangerous one-hit kill spells for months. He and Diesel met each other again during the Saint Germaine Incident…and then that's where everything went downhill. Duke used nearly all of the one-hit kill spells in addition to his own. The result: he and Diesel nearly died," he explained. He changed the screen to a picture, and Edward thought he would faint.

Duke was lying in a pool of blood, his eyes lifeless brown pools. His Device lay at his side, damaged and covered in blood. Peter Sam and Sir Handel were hanging over him, shouting at him to wake up. Out of the corner of Sir Handel's eye, he saw Charlie's jaw drop.

"Oh my goodness…" he muttered.

"When we got him to the hospital, he nearly died on the operating table since he had lost a lot of blood. Thanks to a blood transfusion, he made it, but since he'd overextended himself, they said that he would never be able to walk, use magic, or even speak again." Sir Handel changed the slide to a picture of Duke in the hospital. He wore an oxygen mask, and was wrapped head to toe in bandages.

"That's horrible," Edward said.

"Even then, Duke was tough. He decided to go for therapy, even when doctors went against it. He was there for almost a year undergoing physical and speech therapy. I don't even want to get started on the emotional toll. A month before he got out of the hospital, he broke down and cried often. He blamed himself for what happened to the Duke of Sodor and swore that he would never do what he did again. After he got out, he attended the Duke's memorial service. He was really torn up then, and before they started he started crying. After that, he went back to the Dream Dimension, and never came back to Sodor again," Sir Handel said. His voice was filled with tears.

Charlie's face was wet with the hot tears rolling down. Edward was holding his head in his hands, making soft sobbing noises as he did. For a long moment, the three said nothing as they cried for their captain and all that happened to him.

The door opened then, and in walked Duke. Judging from his earlier reaction, he was much more subdued and sympathetic. When he saw that all three of them were crying, he felt a pang of guilt hit him. Sighing, he cleared his throat, which got Sir Handel's attention.

"Sir! I thought you were at the bridge!" replied the officer cadet, nearly jumping to his feet.

"At ease, Sir Handel. I came in here to talk to Charlie," he said. Charlie wiped his tears away, and Edward looked up in surprise. Duke walked over to the bed and stood over Charlie.

"Judging by you reaction, Sir Handel and Peter Sam told you about my history. It's something I'd rather not talk about, and if I could go back and change the past, I would. But it happened, and I can't do anything about it," he said. "But now that you know everything, do you understand what I meant earlier by conflict of personal interest?"

"Yes, sir. And I understand what you mean by attacking recklessly and overextending yourself. I guess that head-cooling helped after all," Charlie said.

"I had more than just a head-cooling to learn from my mistake," Duke replied. "But you should thank God that you weren't in the same position that I was in. I have nothing against you being strong, but you have to take responsibility for your powers. If you only want to be strong just because, then what's the real point? Strength is reserved for people who know how to use it properly."

"I understand that now, sir. And the reason I want to get stronger is so I can protect other people I care about," Charlie said. "I lost my entire town, and my family, to Diesel's rampage during the Saint Germaine Incident. I want to protect the people who matter to me the most, and I don't want other families to feel the same pain that I felt."

Duke smiled. "That's a very noble cause, Charlie, which is precisely why I upgraded you to Enforcer status. For the next week, however, you're going to take some time off. I think you've been through quite enough." He turned to Edward. "Edward, I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Charlie and the others. I may have a job for you while we're here."

"I'll make note of that, sir. Does this still mean I'm on probation?"

"I'm officially shortening it. Percy is currently helping Thomas recover the pages, and I'll need you to help with the search as well. After all, you are the one who started it," he said. Edward made to protest, but there was a mischievous gleam in the captain's eye that let him know he was only teasing.

"Thank you for this opportunity, sir," he said.

"Yes, thank you," Charlie said. "And…I'm sorry. I was acting way out of line, snapping at you like that, Captain. Can you forgive me?"

"I believe you've already been forgiven, Charlie," Duke said. "I'll expect to see you two in about two days." He gave a salute to all three, which they returned. And then he left.

Edward sighed. "Well, at least I can give Percy something to cheer up about," he said.


Present day: December 2nd, 2012, Sodor University Dorms

Thomas looked in the fridge, unsatisfied with what he saw. There was barely enough in here to feed everyone. He turned to Toby. "How do you feel about having tacos?"

"I doubt the meat's still good. How about we order some pizza?" he said.

Thomas shrugged. "You read my mind. Hold on while I call Marco's," he said, and pulled out his phone, dialing the number.

Toby was currently sitting in the living room with Percy. The blond mage had managed to wake up not long after he had been brought to the Bureau. Peter Sam had managed to apply a powerful healing spell that had taken care of most of the injuries. He was still a little sore, though.

"So, how long is it going to take for you guys to find the pages?" Toby asked.

"I can't give a straight answer for that. It could take a couple of weeks, maybe even months. But the most important thing is, we can't let Diesel 10 and his Counts get them before we do. There's no doubting that they're going to work even harder to beat us," Percy said.

"Is it hard knowing that you're going up against your former friends, Percy?" Toby asked.

Percy nodded. "Yes. I know that deep down, they're good people, but their pride keeps them from admitting that," he said sadly. "It's much harder on Edward, though. He feels partially responsible for the incident that drove us all apart."

"I see. I probably shouldn't ask any more questions about it, since it's kind of a bad topic," he said.

"Oh, you don't have to go and do that. It actually helps if I talk about my problems. I don't like bottling them up," he said.

"You're pretty much my opposite. I don't want people to know about my problems," he said.

"I can understand if it was personal, but you should tell others, no matter how much you worry them," Percy replied.

"I have to tell him the same thing," Thomas said. "Back when we were kids, he used to have problems standing up for himself since he was so shy." The doorbell rang, and he ran to the door to answer it.

"I admit, I used to be really insecure. But when I became friends with Thomas, I started coming out of my shell, and I'm more open to talk about my problems-most of the time," Toby relied.

"Well, that's good to hear," Percy said. At that moment, Thomas came in with a large box of pizza. "What kind of pizza is that?"

"Supreme," he said. "I'd order more, but I didn't want to spend too much money on three boxes. They went up on the large."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!" Toby said. He opened the box, and soon the night was filled with pizza, laughs and talk amongst friends.

To be continued…


Next act:

James: Hey, Gordon, can we talk? I can't get to sleep.

Gordon: What is there to talk about, James?

James: Well, for some reason, I can't seem to stop thinking about the day we were first hired here.

Gordon: Are you regretting your decision?

James: Well…

Diesel 10: I must have those pages back, because if I don't, I'll never continue living!

Diesel: And you say this for what reason, sir?

Diesel 10: For the past few years, nothing-absolutely nothing-has made me happy.

Whiff: When the DDAB gets word of this, I'll be in jail for the rest of my life!

(He then sees that there some top secret files on the other side of the room. He gets up and heads over to the files.)

Whiff: "Project E"? What in the world?

Stay tuned for Act 8: The Reason for Living

Ah, yes. Character development is always a blast to write. Now that we've got Duke and the others out of the way, the bad guys get the next episode. We'll learn about Diesel 10's motives, and what exactly is this 'Project E'.

I hope you enjoyed! Read and review!

God bless, iheartgod175