Chapter 7: Let the Games Begin!
I live! Probably not the best wording to put here with everything else I've uploaded between these two chapters. But hey. It's finally here! Chapter 7 with a whopping 10315 words! The biggest I've ever written (Until I decide to finish Splatoon Island, but we won't speak of that yet!). once again, sorry for the major delay and I hope you enjoy this behemoth of a chapter. Because I certainly did (When I was writing it!)!
"He did what?"
Percy was at the showgrounds, helping with the final touches before the big day tomorrow. He was talking to Rosie, who'd arrived with the last of trucks for the shunting challenge just as the sun was beginning to set. Rosie repeated herself.
"He crashed into Norman while trying to pull a big train. He's at the Steamworks now, but I don't think they'll fix him until tomorrow."
"What's stopping Victor from replacing a busted buffer beam?"
"Not what, who. Gordon's still there getting his final checks before the race."
"Oh."
"Oi Percy. Where do you want these trucks mate?" Shane pulled up alongside Rosie, who jumped at the sudden input. Percy chuckled.
"Over on siding 6. We need more trucks there." Shane whistled.
"Right o' mate. I'll have em' sorted." Rosie finally found her voice.
"One, how dare you come up and scare an unsuspecting lady. And two, who are you?" Shane laughed.
"Sorry miss. The name's Shane and I'm the Australian rep for the strength challenge. I've been hangin' around with Percy this week because he's been kind enough to show me around. And struth, he's been doing a great job." Percy chuckled.
"Well, I do live on the island…" Rosie hummed before changing the subject.
"Hey, have you noticed all the power poles they've been putting up along the main line this week?" Percy gasped.
"I know! It's as if their setting up for some sort of electric run!" Shane laughed.
"Sort of. Their setting it up for Etienne. He's an electric train and at the moment, the champion of the Great Race." Percy chuckled.
"Then he hasn't met Gordon yet. He'll give him a run for his money." Rosie nodded in agreement. Shane sighed.
"We'll see mates. We'll see.
…
The cloudless moonlit sky could be seen around the entire island. Even through the skylight at the Dieselworks. Diesel 10 sighed. He might be one of the more uncooperative engines of Sir Topham Hatt's fleet, but he still had a soft spot for a little bit of star gazing. From what he could see through the skylight. He let out another sigh.
"This is so frustrating. I can't see anything from in here." He closed his eyes. "Surely Den and Dart can install a bigger one when they get back…"
"Done!" Diesel 10's eyes snapped open when he felt the hatch to his engine slam shut. A lone workman wandered around to his front.
"All fixed. You'll be back in business tomorrow." He grinned. "Why don't you head out and sleep under the stars?" Diesel 10's face lit up as his engine spluttered to life. He rolled onto the rising turntable and made his way outside. He couldn't help but crack a wicked smile.
"Your days of relaxation are over Amber. Tomorrow, I will crash your party and finally get my revenge. Just you wait!" He began to laugh mechanically. The workman sighed.
"I've been awake for too long. I need to go to bed."
…
I awoke to the prodding of a finger to my side. I cracked an eye open to see Matt grinning.
"Come on Amb's. Don't want to miss the show now do you?" I let out a yawn and pushed myself up.
"No. No I don't. What time is it?" I glanced to the clock. It read 8:30am. I huffed. "Oh, come on. Can't let me sleep a little longer?"
"Nope. We've got to get the others up." I gave him a mischievous smirk.
"Or…" I grabbed him as I fell backwards back to my pillow. We flopped down with his face inches away from mine. "We could let the others sleep in a little longer and we can spend some quality time together…"
"Well, I guess I can't complain with that." I smirked again and planted a kiss on his lips. After a moment I pulled back and wrapped my arms around him. Matt chuckled.
"Someone seems a little flirty this morning."
"Gee. I wonder who."
"Awww. You two are so cute!" Matt sighed.
"And the mood is ruined." I let go and sat up again to see, surprisingly Sam, standing in the doorway. He let out a chuckle.
"At least you weren't throwing clothes around the room. Tat would kill me if she found out I interrupted your quality time." I let out a yawn again and swung my legs over the edge of the bed.
"I'm going to assume you're here to wake us up?" Sam shook his head.
"No actually. I just got up and I heard you two talking. Tat and the others are still asleep." There was a thump and I looked back to Matt. He'd rolled over and had fallen off the bed. I raised an eyebrow.
"You ok?"
"Yep." Came a muffled reply. As I crawled across the bed to investigate, he pulled his hand out from under the bed with an item of interest in his hand. "As the saying goes…" He raised Tat's long forgotten air horn up in the air as if he'd just found an item in The Legend of Zelda.
"Karma's a bastard!"
"I thought it was…"
"Don't ruin my moment Sam!"
…
If you were to say that Tat got what she deserved, you'd be right. Matt snuck into her room and sounded the air horn. Tat jumped up in fright and tripped over the edge of her bed, earning Matt the lovely sound of Tat falling flat on her face. To say she was angry was an understatement, but she calmed down when she was told what it was for. She even chuckled, slapping Matt on the back and congratulating him. Taylor and Victor were last to get up, along with Primarina and Dusk. Once we were all sitting at the kitchen table and eating breakfast (Bacon and Eggs curtsy of Matt, Sam and Vic.) I spoke up.
"Ok. I'm planning on leaving before lunch to go meet up with Thomas at the Steamworks and we'll watch the Great Race from there. By the time that's over, Thomas' buffer beam should be fixed, and we'll head back to the show hopefully we'll get there just after the shunting challenge starts. I'll meet up with you lot and once it's over, we'll come back here. Sound good?"
"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"
"I'll be fine. We're just going to watch TV. You guys will get to see it in person. I'm giving that much up."
"Well, when you think about it, a TV would get all the better angles…"
"What did I say about ruining moments Sam?"
"Sorry…" Tat gave Matt a confused look.
"Anyway, should we finish getting ready? The sun's out but it's still rather windy so I'd say to rug up again." Everyone nodded while Victor let out a huff.
"I still think this is a bad idea. Going around together I mean." Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Oh, lighten up you." Victor looked away, slightly annoyed that he was out numbered.
While Tat helped Sam clean up the table, the rest of us dispersed to get changed. I put on another black T-shirt and my warm pants, before grabbing my new jacket that I'd bought last night. It was a zip-up blue and orange waterproof one that you'd wear instead of a raincoat. I put it on but left the zipper down. I just can't stand wearing zip-up jackets with the zipper up for some unknown reason. Jumpers I can wear, but wearing a closed zip-up? No way. I glanced to Matt, who had his green and black jumper back on, along with grey tracksuit pants. Honestly, while I appreciated him lending it to me yesterday, I think it looks better on him. Matt caught my gaze and smiled.
"What?" I looked away, embarrassed that he'd caught me staring.
"Nothing." He shrugged as Taylor poked her head around the door.
"You two ready? We're about to go." I nodded.
"Yep. Let's get the show on the road!" I swiped my snow boots up from the door and clumsily hopped around the living room trying to put them on. I ended up flat on my back on the couch, my right shoe half on. Taylor laughed.
"Sit down and put them on. You'll break an ankle bouncing around like that." I let out a half-hearted chuckle as I slipped them both on and tucked my pant legs into them.
…
Thomas watched sadly as the workmen put the final touches onto James' paintwork. He, who was almost bouncing around the Steamworks with excitement.
"This is going to be so much FUN! I know I'll win the best decorated parade for sure!" Emily chucked half-heartedly.
"Well, you don't know what everyone else will look like. There are other well painted engines around the world you know. Take Ashima for example."
"Pardon? Did I hear my name?" Thomas spotted Ashima making her way up to the three engines. Thomas' face lit up.
"Hello Ashima! What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how you were doing Thomas. I see you're still up there." Thomas' bright face fell again as he let out a deep sigh.
"Victor says I won't be fixed until midday. He's short on staff today because of the show. And those staff that are here, are either finishing Gordon's safety check or blowing James' ego up to new heights."
"Hey!"
"It doesn't seem fair though. There was something fishy about those trucks."
"Yeah. Almost as if…" Emily let out a whistle.
"Best not put yourself down any further than you already have Thomas. Care to introduce me to your new friend?" Thomas put his worries aside as he introduced the two girls to one another. As the three engines chatted, James let out a huff.
"Why can't they talk about my paintwork? It's far better that anything else."
"Oh, put a sock in it James."
"I wasn't asking you Gordon!"
…
Because of the special express that ran from Knapford and Vicarstown to Killdane, we had no problems catching a train when we got to Wellsworth. The express (Pulled by Murdock of all engines.) was quick to arrive and quick to leave after we and other passengers had hopped on. Sam was bouncing in his chair with excitement as we got closer to the Showgrounds.
"This is going to be great! I can't wait to see all the events!" Tat put an arm around his neck to stop his bouncing.
"Sammy, save the bouncin' for later. We don't wanna stir up the kids behind us, yeah?" As much as I wanted to ignore her true intensions of the first part of her sentence, my mind said otherwise and I let out a sigh. Matt chuckled.
"That sounded so wrong." Tat gave him a cheeky look.
"That's because it was supposed to." That shut Matt AND Sam up, both looking away with blushes on their faces. Victor let out a hearty laugh as Taylor just shook her head. I chose to look out the window and stare into the ravine as we crossed the viaduct and made our way through Cronk.
The train reached Killdane Station right on time. I stared at the small fireworks that were popping in the air and was pulled off the train by Matt. I felt the festival air hit me as I exited the train. The music was loud and you could smell the steam from miles around. We crossed the bridge over the line and made our way into the market stall area. We stopped in a small area that wasn't overrun by people. Matt had to shout over the noise.
"I SAY WE SPLIT UP AND HAVE A LOOK AT THE STALLS. THE STRENGTH CHALLENGE ISN'T UNTIL NINE-THIRTY SO THAT'LL GIVE US TWENTY MINUTES TO LOOK AROUND." He earned a nod from everyone.
As you may have guessed we split up into our normal groups. Me and Matt, Tat and Sam, and Taylor and Victor. Matt and I looked at lots of stalls, which mostly consisted of overly priced train merchandise, baby gear and food. We both shared a large orange juice and a bag of lollies as we walked around. You know, like normal couples do. We found our way to the stands, where we found Taylor and Victor already in our seats. Taylor waved to us as we reach them.
"Did you find anything interesting?" I shook my head.
"Nah. Just overly priced junk. You know, the normal stuff you'd find at an event like this." Taylor grinned.
"Same. Although, we did briefly see the end of a balloon artists show. Pretty impressive stuff."
We were shortly joined by Sam and Tat as they jumped into their seats with three minutes to spare. Sam pulled out a flyer he'd grabbed at the entrance.
"So first up is the strength challenge. There's five competitors in this one. That being Henry of Sodor, Vinnie of America, Hiro of Japan, Frieda of Germany and…" He paused.
"What? Who's the last one?"
"Shane of Australia." Matt chuckled.
"Well. Good ol' Australia's in the fight. I can't wait." Taylor grinned.
"He's actually pretty nice. Aside from nearly knocking Tat down with some trucks the first time we met him." Sam whipped his head to her.
"Wait, you've met him? When?"
"When Percy brought us here the first time. Tat and I had just finished unloading one of the trucks, when he bumped into Percy, who bumped into a truck, who then bumped into the truck Tat was standing in. He apologised nicely too." Sam sighed, deflated.
"And I guess that's when I was looking around. Just my luck."
It was then that the trumpets sounded, drawing everyone's attention to the ground, where the five engines were lined up on a slight slope with very heavy looking trucks. The look on Henry's face just screamed out to the world that he was nervous.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to this year's Great Railway Show!" He paused to wait for the noise to die down again. "We've got a big line up of events for you today. Up first, the Strength Challenge! We have gathered the strongest engines from around the world to prove who is truly the strongest."
He went through the competitors before counting down the start of the event. As soon as the gunshot was heard, the five engines began to pull. Henry didn't get a very good start, but he pulled with all his might. Vinnie glanced to him before laughing at his expense.
"Aw, what's wrong? Is this too heavy for ya?" Henry, red-faced, huffed.
"No. I'll manage. And I'm going to put all my strength into beating you specifically." Vinnie laughed rudely.
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try." Henry scowled at him before bringing himself up to full power. Slowly but surely, he pulled closer and closer to Vinnie. Said engine was mildly surprised at his determination. Vinnie increased his power too, but it was far too late. Henry pasted Vinnie at a snail's pace and crossed the finish line inches in front of the American bully. Henry let himself come to a stop before laughing. He might not have come first, but he was glad he wasn't last. Vinnie roared in frustration as Henry chuckled.
"I tried. Heavy trains are nothing to an engine with determination." He said, loosely quoting Percy from all those years ago. Vinnie just growled at that. Henry listened to the crowd's cheering before spotting us in the crowd. He gave us a tired smile. The commentator began to talk, quieting everyone down.
"What a challenge! It was a close call, but the victor of the Strength Challenge is Shane of Australia, closely followed by Hiro of Japan, Freida of Germany and in a stunning display of determination, Henry of Sodor with Vinnie of America barely bringing up the rear. What an exciting challenge!" The crowd went wild before he finished his rant. "Stay tuned for the Best Decorated Parade in fifteen minutes. See you soon folks."
Almost nobody moved from their seat, as the next challenge would take place right in front of them. We were one of them. I let out a chuckle.
"I think Henry did a good job." Matt nodded.
"I agree. It was impressive to see that burst of speed."
"Burst of speed? He passed Vinnie at a snail's pace!" Matt glared jokingly to Victor.
"Oh? Well I'd love to see you pull a train of that size and weight. I'm sure you'll have an easy time." The two butted head in a joking manner as Taylor just shook her head.
"Boys will be boys I guess." I nodded.
We chatted and joked for a little bit, pausing to claim some voting slips from one of the officials. Apparently, we were going to have the chance to vote for who we wanted to win. Not long after that, the second event was underway.
"Alright folks. The Best Decorated Parade has begun! First up, we have Carlos of Mexico, followed by Rajiv of India, Yong Bao of China and Emily & James of Sodor. All of these engines are well painted, but there can only be one winner. Cast your vote's folks and an official will come around to collect them in ten minutes." I watched as the engines puffed slowly by, following Stephen, who was carrying the brass band. They all were rather cool I thought. I voted for Yong Bao, because of the interesting design of the lion on his tender. I discovered quite quickly that Matt had voted for Emily, Sam and Taylor for Rajiv, Victor for Carlos and Tat had voted for Yong Bao too. I let out a chuckle when I realised no one had voted for James.
"Wanted to put a dent in his ego?" I earned five nods from the others. "Ok then. Nice to see we're all on the same page then."
…
"With the votes all cast and collected, we have a winner." James couldn't help but grin.
"It's my time to shine!" Emily rolled her eyes.
"You don't know that yet James."
"Oh, but I do. There's lots of people here who know me. I'm sure I'll get first place, hands down. I even heard Amber and her friends are in the crowd."
"Really? Where?"
"Henry told me he saw them. Somewhere toward the left of the third row, I think." Emily glanced up and quickly scanned the crowd. She was quick to spot us and she gave us a smile. She nearly missed the announcement of the winner.
"I am proud to announce that, coming in first with forty points…" James smirked.
"Could have been better, but oh well."
"…Rajiv of India!" It took a moment for James to process this.
"WHAT?"
"Closely followed by Emily of Sodor with thirty-nine points, Yong Bao with thirty-three, Carlos with twenty-two…" James' mouth hit the floor with a loud clang. "And finally, James of Sodor with ten points. Well done everyone!" James just sat there, mouth open. He didn't even feel Emily buffer up to him and push him away from the main area. Emily gave us a whistle as they passed. I gave a wave back through my laughing. We'd all been laughing at James' reaction a little TOO much. James must have come to his senses because I heard someone scream over all the noise.
"WHAT THE HECK?! I'VE BEEN ROBBED!"
We finally calmed down and I looked at the time on my phone.
"Ok. I'm out. I'll see you lot later." Someone grabbed my wrist but I knew who it was right away.
"You sure you don't want me to…"
"I'll be fine. Seriously, I'm just going to the Steamworks." Matt shrugged.
"You never know." I groaned.
"Fine." In one swift movement, I quickly swiped Dusk's Poké Ball from his pocket. "I'll take Dusk with me." I said smugly. Without waiting for his protests, I quickly made my way toward the stands exit.
Matt was about to get up when Taylor grabbed his shoulder, forcing him down.
"Just drop it. She'll be fine."
"But…"
"No ifs, no buts, no coconuts. Let's go get some lunch. I'm starving!" Matt sighed in defeat as he followed the others out toward the stalls.
…
The ride to Crovan's Gate was quiet. I realised that it was kinda lonely riding on my own. No matter though. I reached Crovan's Gate with no speed bumps. I made my way to the Steamworks just as there was a loud clang. I winced at the loud noise before spotting a busted buffer beam on the floor underneath Thomas, who was still held up in the air by the various cranes. Victor, who was parked in his normal spot, rolled his eyes at Kevin, who'd just dropped the old buffer beam.
"Careful Kevin! I know it's busted, but it doesn't need to be broken anymore!"
"Whoops. Sorry boss."
"My buffers!" Victor rolled his eyes at Thomas.
"Just hold your horses Thomas. It's going to take some time to fix it with the small amount of staff I have here today." I laughed, grabbing the three vehicles' attention.
"He's right you know."
"Amber! Welcome back."
"Hi Amber."
"Amber! Help me! I need to get out here!"
"Oh no. you're staying put until your buffers are fixed." Thomas' face fell as I turned to Victor. "Do we have a TV set up?" Victor nodded.
"Almost. They're just setting it up now." I had to side-step to avoid getting in the way of the two workmen pushing a relatively large TV on a wheelie bench coming toward me. They put it in front of Thomas and turned it on. I marvelled at the size of it.
"Now I was expecting some small crappy box, not a flat screen." Kevin chuckled.
"Sometimes, the workmen like to watch the big football games while they work. It has to be big enough so they can see it." He frowned. "And I'm not allowed to touch it."
"And you know fully well why you can't. I can't have you dropping and breaking it Kevin. The workmen would have a fit!" I gave Kevin a pat.
"I'm going to agree with Vic for this one. I know I'd hate it if someone broke my flat screen TV too." Thomas gave a whistle as the TV was turned on.
"Shh! The Great Race has started!"
"…was an exciting race! The Flying Scotsman beat Axel by a good few metres. Unfortunately, that means Axel is out of the race." Thomas frowned.
"Oh… it's already over." Victor chuckled.
"No, no. The Great Race is being done differently this year. Because there are only three tracks running side by side from Knapford to Vicarstown, Sir Topham Hatt decided to do a tournament styled Great Race. It is The Flying Scotsman and Axel race first, then Gordon and Spencer. Then the winners will face each other before racing Etienne, who is the current champion of the Great Race." I grabbed a chair and sat down in front of the TV. As I settled down, I promptly remembered who I'd brought with me. I pulled the red and white sphere out from my jacket pocket and pressed the button. Thomas was stunned when Dusk popped out.
"What the…! What is that? Where'd it come from?" Dusk lazily looked around the room. When he didn't spot Matt, he slowly began to panic. To prevent the powerful wolf from destroying the Steamworks, I made myself know.
"Hey Dusk. Remember me?" Dusk seemed to relax a little, but still seemed on edge so I persevered. "I was with Matt yesterday. I'm his girlfriend." Dusk stared at me for a moment before relaxing. He sniffed at me curiously.
"I'll ask again. What is that?!" Thomas whisper-shouted. I chuckled.
"This is Dusk. He's… How do explain this? "Have you ever heard of Pokémon?" Thomas gave me a blank stare. "Obviously not. Basically, he's a wolf that can use rocks to fight other opponents."
"Why does something like that exist?"
"He's not supposed to. Matt brought him over from the other world he was in over the last four months." Thomas' face brightened.
"Oh! So, Lady sent him to a world full of battle monsters."
"Basically, yeah." I paused. "Wait… How'd you know he was in another world?" Thomas quickly realised his mistake and began to do the engine equivalent of sweating.
"Uh… Well…"
"You knew? And you didn't say something?" My voice was calm, but I was slightly irritated with the paint splodged tank engine. Thomas was saved by the sound of a horn going off on the TV.
"Oh! Gordon's racing!" I gave him one more glare before flopping back down into my seat. Dusk let out a sigh and curled up at my feet. True to his word, Gordon had just started his race against Spencer.
…
"Now we can really see who is the fastest Gordon!"
"My name is Shooting Star! Why can't you people get it right?!"
Despite a false start on Gordon's end, which left him trailing Spencer, he was slowly picking up the pace. Spencer had a relatively good lead on him but he wasn't going to let the silver engine beat him. He had to make it to the finals! The two engines thundered through Crosby and passed the loop line entrance as people cheered on from the sidelines. Gordon huffed at the lack of first place he was getting.
"Come on Shooting Star! You know this island better than anyone. You can beat him!"
The two engines battled for first as stations and fields flashed by. Gordon's hill was no trouble for the two this time as they flew over it and were down the other side in a flash. They crossed the viaduct and flew past Cronk. Before they knew it, they were racing though the showgrounds. People cheered and whistled as the two engines streaked by. Spencer chuckled.
"You know Gordon, you should just stop now and talk to them. You're not going to win." Gordon glared at his cousin wearily.
"One, it's Shooting Star! Two, perhaps you should stop. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself going this fast."
"Ha! I've been streamlined longer than you have, so I know I can keep this up. You on the other hand, are red in the face." Gordon huffed.
"I will beat you if it's the last thing I do!"
"Well it probably will be. I cannot afford to lose. The Duke and Duchess' pride is on the line!"
By now, the two had reached Kellsthorpe Road and were showing no signs of slowing down. They barrelled up toward Crovan's Gate and were gone just as quickly. As they passed through Henry's Tunnel, Gordon knew he needed to pick up his game.
…
"Oh! Here they come! It seems as if Spencer is in the lead! No, wait! Here comes the Shooting Star, living up to his name and coming in like a literal shooting star! Its neck and neck folks!
"Come on Gordon!"
"Go Gordon!"
"Wait. I thought he was called Shooting Star?"
We watched on as Gordon and Spencer reached the final stretch into Vicarstown. Amazingly, similar to Henry, Gordon gave one more burst of speed and just narrowly broke the ribbon before Spencer.
"And that's it! Shooting Star has done it! He's beaten Spencer at his own game! Shooting Star moves onto the next round against The Flying Scotsman. We'll be right back after this ad break. Don't go anywhere!"
There were cheers all round at the Steamworks. Dusk had no idea what was going on, so he stayed where he was on the floor. Thomas whistled with joy.
"I knew that bossy boiler could do it! He's onto the next round."
"But now all he needs to do is beat the Flying Scotsman." I put in. "Then he has the chance to race Etienne." Victor chuckled.
"Anyway, you should get back to fixing Thomas' buffer everyone. While the ad break is on." Thomas peeped in agreement.
"Yes please. I want to get out there now!"
"Calm down. We're working as fast as we can Thomas."
"No, you're not."
"Do you want it fixed or not?"
"Yes. Sorry."
…
Back at the showgrounds, sitting around a plastic table, Matt was sulking. Not only had I left him behind, but I'd pinched Dusk too. Taylor put an arm over his shoulder.
"Aw, come on Matty. Surely you're not missing her that much."
"Please don't call me that. And of course I miss her. She's my girlfriend." Sam chuckled.
"I know she's fine. She was here waaay before we were. She'd know this place like the back of her hand. She's quite capable of handling herself."
"Yeah but I just…" he was interrupted by Tat stuffing a hot jam donut in his mouth.
"Come on Matt. Ah probably haven't known Ambs' as long as you have, but she's ah really smart gal. You just need to trust her." Matt swallowed a bite of the delicious donut before sighing.
"I do. I just have a nagging feeling that something's going to go wrong. Last time I had that, this evil organisation tried to take over a region."
"As far as ah know, there's no evil organisation tryin' to take over Sodor. Ah think we'll be ok." Sam shrugged.
"Well there are the diesels." Taylor sighed.
"As far as I know, Diesel 10 stopped sending his cronies after us when Diesel failed to catch her. We haven't had anyone come after us since."
"That's what worries me…"
"Hey Taylor. Where'd Vic go?" Taylor pulled a pouty face.
"He said he was going to the bathroom, but that was fifteen minutes ago. I have a sneaking suspicion that he's ditched us."
"Aw… that's too bad. Maybe you should go an' look for him. He probably want's ya to." Taylor huffed.
"Yeah? Well, I'm not going to play his game. If he wants to play hide and seek, he can play it when we're NOT at an event like this." Matt smiled.
"I'm sure he's fine. Probably looking out for Sodor, that's all."
"Whatever."
…
Victor had indeed ditched the others. In fact, he was halfway across the island by the time they noticed. He'd caught a ride on a passing goods train and had jumped off at Ballahoo. At the moment, he'd found a nice big tree to sit in just near the Dieselworks junction. He shuffled around a little bit to get comfortable.
"I can still see the Great Race from here. There's no sense in risking the islands safety just because you want to go around together. Is that what they want? A destroyed island?" He grumbled to himself. Secretly, he kinda missed their company, Taylor the most though. "Oh, who am I kidding? Four years of protecting the island on my own and when I finally get some company, I just shoot them down. I'm such a loser."
He sat in silence for a few moments, thinking of Taylor and the rest of us. Slowly but surely, he began to realise him mistake.
"Fuck it. I'm going back. I'm not going to miss out on anymore time with my new friends." He stood up in it tree and adjusted his mask. Sliding back down the tree to the ground, he began to walk the rest of the way to Vicarstown. He paused for a moment as he saw Paxton fly up the mainline and stop at the points toward the Dieselworks. He waited for the signal to turn green.
"Gotta hurry, gotta hurry. Diesel 10'll be mad if I don't make it on time." This peaked Victor's interest.
"Hey Paxton!" The green diesel's eyes looked toward Victor. "What'cha up to?"
"Oh hi! I was just going to the Dieselworks. Diesel 10 has called for a meeting with us diesels. Not sure why though…" Paxton seemed to hesitate. Victor raised his eyebrow.
"You sure? You seem awfully nervous."
"Nervous? Me? You must be dreaming."
"Why is Diesel 10 calling you all to the Dieselworks?"
"Uh… well…"
"Go on." Paxton finally broke down.
"Something about going to Killdane. He didn't say why though. I swear I don't know!" Victor chuckled at how easy it was to get Paxton to talk. On the other hand, something didn't sit right with this "meeting."
"I'll come too. You seem to be pretty nervous."
"Really? Oh, thank you. I was worried he was going to chew us out for what we did to Thomas. But now that…"
"Hang on. What did you do to Thomas?"
"…We said hello to him?" Victor sighed and hopped into Paxton's cab.
"Tell me later. For now, let's go to this meeting. Don't want to be on the mainline when Gordon and the Flying Scotsman come through, do you?"
"No. I don't think I do."
The signal turned green and the two headed down the left track. Passing through the tunnel and crossing the desert-like plain, Victor watched as the Dieselworks came into view. He slunk down further into Paxton's cab as they rolled up to the back of a small crowd of diesels, all parked in front of the entrance. Victor took a quick peek to see the familiar "Warship" sitting in his usual place in the Dieselworks. He was waving his claw around and laughing mechanically.
"…Only steamies! The Great Railway Show should be only for us diesels! So, in mere hours, we will head out and crash their little party! We will make the Great Railway Show a diesel excusive event!" There was honking form some of the diesels. Den spoke up.
"But… uh… we all… uh…"
"What e' means is, we all know your true motives behind this party crash." Diesel 10 glared at Den and Dart.
"Shut up. Yes, that may be my main goal, but I want to make a better place for us diesels too. For years, us diesels have been sitting in the steamies shadows. But after today, we will become the island's main source of transportation!" More honking. Victor just sighed.
"But won't that just make the Fat Controller angry? How is this going to make a difference?" Paxton jumped a little when Diesel 10's eyes locked with his.
"Ah Paxton. Glad you could make it. True, Sir Topham will be cross, but that wont matter. We will be showing the world how independent we are! Then everyone will want a diesel that can get the job done."
"Oh. Ok. But, won't that all go down the drain if you hurt Amber or something?" From in his cab, Victor froze.
'Hurt Amber? What does he mean?'
"Maybe so. But it won't hurt any of your chances if it only hurts mine now will it?"
"I guess not. Doesn't mean it's right though." Diesel 10 let out a loud sigh.
"If that's what you think, then leave now. In fact, if any of you are having cold wheels about this, back out now. I can't have anyone chickening out at the last second. I also can't have anyone running around telling people our plan, so you'll all need to stay here until its over." Several of the diesels backed up away from the crowd, including Paxton. Diesel (Who was sitting next to Diesel 10.) honked his horn.
"Those of you who are coming, get ready. We're going to crash the party just as the shunting challenge starts."
…
"What are you going to do?"
Paxton sat in a remote siding behind the Dieselworks sheds as Victor paced around in front of him. The man in question tapped his chin.
"There's no way I can get back to Killdane by foot before they get there and you have been shut in here. I could call Taylor, but I don't think the officials will listen to a member of the audience. Amber's at the Steamworks with Thomas and the mainline will be closed by now for the semi-finals of the Great Race, which are underway now I think. I don't think there is anything I can do."
"But… But there's got to be something we can do! We can't just sit here!"
"I know, I know! I just don't know what."
"At least let someone know!"
"Fair point." He pulled out his phone and brought up his contacts. Finding Taylor's name, he quickly tapped the call button. He sighed. "I think it's just best to wait now. Hopefully, something will happen, and we'll be able to get out and help."
Back at the showgrounds, the Semi-finals of the Great Race was almost finished. Everyone watched the big screen in anticipation as Gordon and his brother battled for first place. Everyone was cheering and hooting as they approached the Knapford Station Finish Line. Matt and co were cheering as well. Thankfully for Sodor, Gordon pulled through and beat the world-famous engine by a good metre or so. The crowd went wild.
"Gordon!"
"Yeah!"
"We're going to win this!" Matt laughed at the crowd's enthusiasm.
"This place is nuts! I'm so glad I'm here!"
"Ya sure? Ah few minutes ago, ya were all upset about Amber leaving ya behind."
"Put a sock in it." Tat simply stuck her tongue out at him. Taylor on the other hand, was a little hurt about Victor abandoning them. Sam gave her a quick pat on the shoulder.
"I's ok. I'm sure he'll be back."
"Yeah. Once we leave." Sam would have said more if Taylor's phone hadn't rung. Thankfully, she felt it vibrate in her pocket otherwise she'd have never heard it ringing over all the show noise. Glancing at it, Taylor's face lit up. "One sec. Gotta take this."
Excusing herself, Taylor made her way up and out of the stands. Finding a quiet spot next to a tree, she hit the answer button.
"Hel-"
"We've got an issue. A really big one too. The-"
"Now hold on. Where the hell are you? You must have needed a long toilet break to not be back here by now."
"…Ah. I did run away didn't I? That's why I'm here in the first place."
"Where are you anyway?"
"I'm at the Dieselworks-"
"Why the hell are you all the way over there?!"
"If you stop interrupting me, I might be able to tell you! Geez, what is with you and your friends interrupting me?"
"Ok. Sorry. Go on."
"Thanks. Anyway, we have a situation. I bumped into Paxton after I left-"
"Hello!"
"Argh! Stop it!"
"Sorry." That earned a chuckle from Taylor.
"I bumped into Paxton, who told me of a meeting between the diesels. I tagged along, and it turns out Diesel 10 is staging an… Attack, shall we call it…? On the Great Railway Show! Just before the Shunting Challenge." Taylor's eyes went wide.
"What? Why?"
"Really stupid reason too. Basically, he wants to make people how independent they are."
"That… Is pretty stupid…"
"Yeah. Also, can I ask what Diesel 10 and Amber's relationship is? She may be in danger."
"Uh… I'm not too sure, but I know for a fact that he was made a fool of while Amber was first here."
"So, he want's revenge."
"She'll be fine though. She's at the Steamworks remember?"
"Even so. The diesels are going to make a mess of the show if they attack. I would ask you to let someone know, but I doubt the officials would listen to an audience member that the shows about to be party crashed."
"Why not? If it's the threat of attack…"
"…Perhaps. Let them know if you can. I'm stuck here at the moment because I won't be able to beat the diesels there on foot and Paxton's been shunted."
"We'll work something out. Just sit tight."
"Sure. Thanks."
"No problem. Love ya!"
"Wha… Really?"
"Of course! Talk soon."
"…Ok." The phone was hung up and Taylor sighed.
"Figures something would go wrong while we're here. Oh well."
…
At long last, Gordon was sitting at Knapford Station, next to the Great Race's Champion. Etienne was warming up his engine as Gordon calmed his nerves. He'd made it to the finals. He was racing against a champion. He was going to knock him off his podium. The Shooting Star. Champion of the Great Race. It had a nice ring to it. He glanced to Etienne.
"Well. Good luck I guess."
"Pah. I don't need your luck." Gordon was taken slightly aback at his rude comment.
"Oh. I just-"
"We are not friends. I have no reason to affiliate with you."
"Geez. Now I know how Thomas felt when I was rude to him way back when." He muttered to himself. "Now I really need to win!"
"Here we are folks! The Finals of this years Great Race! We have our challenger, The Shooting Star on one track, and our reigning champion, Etienne on the other!" Etienne made a kissy face to the camera. Gordon rolled his eyes. "Who will come out on top? Only one way to find out! The final stretch between Knapford and Vicarstown will begin shortly, so sit tight!"
"Well I know who is going to win. I don't need some streamlining to be the fastest." Gordon chuckled loudly.
"We'll see now, won't we?"
Finally, the countdown began. Gordon was poised to start while Etienne simply yawned. The signals dropped, and the two shot off.
"See you at the finish line slowpoke!" Being an electric engine, Etienne was quicker to start and was soon flying down the line. Gordon growled.
"Yes. I will!" Gradually reaching a quicker speed, Gordon was quick to catch up. He passed Etienne with great confidence. It was unfortunately dried up when the French Electric increased his speed as if it was just a mild inconvenience. The two kept going faster and faster as the flew through Crosby, Wellsworth, up Gordon's hill and Maron. Gordon was beginning to feel a little bit hot as Etienne overtook him again.
"Give up! You cannot beat me!"
"Never!"
"Suit yourself." Etienne took off again, leaving Gordon very frustrated.
"No, no, no! I can't lose!" As much as he wanted to, he just couldn't catch up. He passed through Killdane as a slightly slower pace. He was pooped.
"Come on Gordon!"
"Don't give up!" Glancing to his left, he saw his friends and supporters cheering for him. He chuckled to himself.
"What am I doing? I am Gordon! I'm the fastest engine on the island! I. Will. Win!" With a new determination, Gordon took off faster than he'd ever gone before. He was flying down the line. Ignoring the protesting that his boiler was making, Gordon thundered on. Balladrine, Kellaby, the Whispering Woods and Kellsthorpe Road were gone in a flash. He was passing Crovan's Gate when he saw someone beside the tracks.
Me! When I realised that he was coming through soon, I'd gone to the trackside to wave out to him. He whistled loudly as he passed.
"Go get him Gordon!" I shouted over the noise.
With the final bit of support, Gordon brought himself up to his limit. Faster than he normally would go on the Mainline with passengers, he finally spotted Etienne as he passed through Henry's Tunnel.
"This is it! I think I can, I think I can… Wait. What am I saying? I know I can!" As quietly as a steam engine could, he slowly snuck up on the snobbish French Engine before pushing himself over his limit. He passed Etienne, who's eyes popped out of his head at the sight and reached the bridge into Vicarstown. "Haha! I've done it! I've…"
To Gordon's horror, Etienne rolled up alongside.
"Aw… you thought you could win? Such a shame." Etienne laughed loudly as he pulled ahead. Gordon tried to go faster, but there was no time. Etienne broke the ribbon and passed into the station.
"And that's it folks! The race is over!" Gordon rolled to a stop at the platform dumbfounded.
"How…? How did he beat me?" Etienne backtracked to the big blue engine.
"Like I said. There. Is. No. Beating. Me!" He rolled away, laughing to the crowd. Gordon sat there for a moment before the rage finally surfaced.
"I refuse to believe that a French Electric can go faster than a Streamlined Engine!" Growling, Gordon moved forward to go to the turntable when there was a squeak. Not a mouse squeak, but the sound of metal would make it fit was crushed. Backing up, Gordon looked down to see that he'd indeed run over a grey metal canister.
"What is this?" He looked around and spotted an official walking toward the front of the platform. "Excuse me!"
"Hello Shooting Star! Tough break that was."
"Yes, yes. Can you tell me what this is? I ran over it after Etienne left." The official looked down to the tracks and saw the canister. Jumping down, he examined it closely.
"This is a canister to hold something hoon cars use to get extra bursts of speed. Nitrous I believe. Why is this here?" Gordon's eyes widened.
"Is it possible for an engine to use it?"
"An engine? I guess it's possible, but don't be ridiculous. Why would-"
"Maybe an arrogant engine that will stop at nothing to win would use it. Maybe… Etienne!" The official stared hard at Gordon.
"And how do I know you're not framing him?"
"You can check me, I've never use this before. Would it hurt to check with Etienne?"
"I suppose not."
Back at the Steamworks, we were discussing Gordon's loss.
"It's a shame. I really thought he was going to win there."
The workmen were putting the last adjustments to Thomas' new buffers as we watched the award ceremony. I nodded.
"Who knew a French Electric could of that fast? I've never heard of it."
"Maybe he was just made to go fast?" Kevin put in. Thomas wheeshed loudly.
"There's always next year."
"Hey Thomas. Who's competing in the Shunting Challenge for Sodor?"
"Percy, I think."
"Hey." Kevin spoke up again. "What's going on?" Glancing back, we all saw the judge being passed a slip of paper.
"What's this?" He asked the person who passed it to him. There was a low whisper from the other person. "Oh! That is serious." He turned to the camera. "It appears that an empty canister of Nitrous was found by Shooting Star. An investigation is currently underway."
We watched as a small group of smartly dressed security stepped over to Etienne. After a brief conversation, one man went into Etienne's cab. A few moments later, he returned with an identical canister. Etienne was red in the face.
"What?!"
"He was cheating!"
"Oh my! It seems as if the French Electric was cheating! This is new. Who knows how long he's been using it! But with that, Etienne has to be disqualified! Which means Shooting Star is the winner of the 2018 Great Race!" The crowd (And I, embarrassingly…) went wild. Gordon's eyes went wide from what we could see on the TV before whistling with glee.
…
Matt looked up to see Taylor sit down next to him with a huff. She seemed slightly irritated.
"What's up?"
"Well, Victor is all the way over at the Dieselworks for a start. Then, he calls me and says that the Diesels are going to attack the show…"
"Huh?"
"AND then, the officials don't believe me about it! You would think a threat of an attack would make them get their arses into gear, but no! they just call security on me and call me crazy."
"Did they really call you crazy though?"
"…No." Matt chuckled.
"I had a feeling something like this would happen. Luckily, I've had my fair share of dangers making themselves known. Primarina and I'll give a hand in holding them off."
"I don't think-"
"It's our only option for now, isn't it?"
"Fair point."
"So, when are they supposably attacking?"
"Just before the Shunting Challenge."
"Yikes. That's any minute now."
"I know." Matt thought for a moment before sighing.
"I'm going to need Dusk back to help. Amber's coming back as soon as Thomas' buffer is fixed, so we'll need to fend them off until they get back."
"I hope you realise I can't do anything against a train, right."
"Oh yeah! And you're going to be the bait."
"Wha! Why I outta…" She gave Matt a hard punch in the arm. Despite the pain, Matt laughed loudly.
"Ah! I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
"You better be squirt."
"Ok, now that's just harsh."
"What are you two shouting about?" The two paused their squabbling and looked to Sam and Tat, who was holding a basket of chips. Matt and Taylor looked to each other before Taylor snorted. That broke them both down into a fit of giggles. Tat shook her head.
"Good ta see their getting' along." Sam nodded.
After a short explanation, Tat let out an angry growl.
"Who do they think they are? Thinkin' they can run the show? We have ta stop them."
"I think Taylor's right though. We can't exactly stop trains with our bare hands."
"Admittedly, that'd be cool though."
"That's beside the point! What's the plan Matt?" Matt chuckled nervously.
"Wait. Why am I in charge?"
"Well ya are the kid with a water shootin' seal. Ya have dealt with this kinda stuff before, right?"
"Touché. I guess… we could let the engines know. We don't have a lot of time, but you know how quick word get's around on this island." Nodding Tat jumped up.
"Ah'll take the north side. Sammy'll come with me. You an' Taylor take the south side." With another nod, we quickly left the stands and headed off in our respective directions. Matt and Taylor approached the gate onto the showgrounds and were quickly stopped by a security guard.
"You can't come through here. This is-"
"Sorry, but we've got a job to do." Matt watched gobsmacked as Taylor brought a foot up and gave the poor guy a roundhouse kick to the side. He landed against a tree, knocked out. Taylor let out a huff. "God that felt good."
"Why?"
"We don't have time. Besides, that guy that tried to grope me as he was escorting me away from the officials."
"Oh. Still doesn't sit right with me, but whatever floats your boat."
"Just… Call out Primarina and let's keep going."
Passing though the gate, they went to the first engine they saw. Which just so happened to be Shane.
"Oh hey! I remember you! You were with the black-haired girl."
"Hi. Yeah, sorry, but this isn't exactly the time to be catching up."
"What's up?"
"We've got a wave of diesels coming to crash the show. We need you to let the other engines know. Preferably the Sodor engines, as they know what the diesels are capable of." Shane nodded knowingly.
"Gotcha. I'll let Perc know." Shane pulled away to find Percy. Taylor gave the thumbs up.
"Right. Next!"
Back at the Steamworks, the workmen finally tightened the last bolt on Thomas' new buffers.
"Alright Thomas. You're good to go."
"Finally!" Thomas was lowered down to the ground, much to his relief. He let out a loud whistle. "Now. Onto the show!" I chuckled at his enthusiasm.
"You really are excited, aren't you?"
"Of course. I've been waiting for this day all week!" I glanced to Dusk, who was stretching out from sitting on the ground for a while. I gave him a quick pat and moved toward Thomas' cab. I'd barely made it up when one of the workmen shouted.
"What the blazing hell is that?"
"It's a portal! We're all going to die!" Sure enough, a golden portal had appeared in front of Thomas. Moments later, a familiar golden-haired girl stuck her head out of the portal.
"Oh good. You're still here."
"Lady!"
"What's going on?"
"No time to explain! We're needed at the Showgrounds." Her face had a serious look to it. "Come on!" She disappeared back into the golden portal without another word. I chuckled at her secretively.
"Shall we find out what's going on?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
"Right, full steam ahead!" With a spin of his wheels, Thomas disappeared into the portal, leaving the workmen stunned.
…
"Welcome back everyone! It's time for the final event of this years Great Railway Show. We've got the best shunters from around the world here for a little friendly competition. Let's meet the competitors."
Off to the side. Gordon was fuming over what he'd been told.
"The nerve of the diesels! They can't just come here and ruin the whole show for everyone. How is our "Defences" looking?"
Said defences were several trucks parked on the points near the entrance to Killdane. Emily wasn't going to sugar-coat it.
"Not good. If the diesels want in, they can just shove the trucks out of the way. Shane said he was organising a bigger train to help block it off, but I don't think we have the time."
"Their supposed to be here any minute now! What are we going to do?"
"Henry! Focus. We can still stop them. We're just going to have to use… unconventional methods…"
"Do you even know what "unconventional" means James?"
"Truth be told? No."
"THEN WHY'D YOU USE IT?" James jumped at Gordon's outburst.
"I though it sounded cool…"
Back over near the entrance, Matt and Taylor stood watch. Primarina was blowing practice bubbles in preparation. Matt shivered with worry.
"Not going to lie, I'm a little nervous. If Diesel 10 was persistent before, I can only imagine how this is going to go down." Taylor gave him a pat on the back.
"I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, Amber's not here so we don't need to worry about anything serious happening."
"I can feel you're hand shaking."
"Ha! Details." Matt rolled his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glint of light bouncing off something. Squinting, he could just make out the sight of the small armada. He gulped.
"They're here."
"Shit. Already?"
"Yep. Showtime." Looking over the bridge they were standing on, Matt called out to Shane, who just reached them with his train. "Diesels incoming!" Shane, surprisingly, grinned.
"Right o'. This is going to be interesting." Taking a deep breath, Shane blew his whistle as loud as he could. It was REALLY loud! Loud enough to go over the top of the all the show noise. The commentator even paused when he heard it. While nobody knew why an engine was whistling so loudly, all the engines did.
"That's Shane! The Diesels must be here."
"Right. You lot know what to do! Let's protect the show!"
"What do I have to do?"
"James." Gordon glared at the red engine.
"What?"
"Don't let the diesels through." James grinned.
"Got it! Let's go!"
To say Diesel 10 was mildly surprised to see that there were trucks in their way would be a slight understatement.
"What are these doing here?"
"No idea. They shouldn't know that we're coming."
"Whatever. Get them out of the way!" Like Emily predicted, the poor trucks were bashed out of the way and the diesels began to pour in, only to be stopped by the Sudrion engines. Gordon stood proudly at the front of the pack.
"This is as far as you'll go. The show cannot be ruin just because YOU want to ruin it!" Diesel 10 laughed.
"And pray tell, how exactly did you know we were coming?"
"That's for us to know and you to never find out!"
"Very well. Keep your secrets. Anyway, we need to get passed so…" Diesel 10 made a swipe at Gordon and barely missed thanks to Gordon's quick reaction. "Move."
"Never."
"Final answer?"
"Yes."
"Your funeral." He pointed a claw to the engines blocking his way. "We'll make you move."
On the other side of the show, Tat and Sam were having less action than everyone else. They were watching the north entrance and so far, no one had come in.
"This is borin'. Where are the Diesels?"
"Just settle down. I'm pretty sure that the diesels will be coming in from the other side anyway."
"Then why are we on this side? Can't we go over ta the other side an' help?"
"They're not here yet though. We don't-" He was interrupted by a loud whistle. Tat perked up immediately.
"That's the signal! Let's go!" Grabbing Sam by the hand, she took off like a bottle rocket toward the other side of the show.
A commotion was bubbling up in the crowd as the Shunting Challenge continued as normal. Matt and Taylor stood nearby, waiting to see if there were any diesels that got by.
"God. These measures seem a little extreme for a story about trains."
"Story? What are you on about?"
"I dunno. Just felt right to say." Upon hearing rushed footsteps approaching them, Matt looked to Tat and Sam as they stopped by them.
"Where's the action? Ah wanna see it!"
"Geez Tat. Take a chill pill. They're over there. We're here to stop any of the diesels if they get passed." She pouted, clearly annoyed.
"Do ya really think their goin' ta get passed? They're trains after all."
"Safety precautions. Don't want the show to be ruined, do we?"
"Fair." The four stood in silence for a moment. It didn't last long as a gold portal opened beside them. A whistle was heard as Thomas puffed casually out. He glanced around.
"Alright! Shortcut!" I jumped out with Dusk.
"She did say we were needed here."
"Amber!" I couldn't help but grin as my friends approached me.
"Hi. Miss me?"
"Of course. It wouldn't be a party without you." I shot Matt a smug smile.
"See. I'm all in one piece."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm your boyfriend. I'm aloud o worry alright?" Thomas gasped upon seeing his friends holding the diesels back.
"What on Sodor is going on?"
"I… I can answer that." Replied a meek voice from atop of Thomas' cab. Victor clung to the roof as if he was going to fall. "I'm never going to teleport ever again. I feel queasy."
"Vic! You're here too?"
"Oops. Slipping. Catch me!" Victor slipped off the roof and landed flat on top of Taylor, who'd gone to help him down. The two lay in a crumpled mess on the ground. Because he wasn't fit to talk, Matt explained what was going on. As he finished, one last portal opened above them. Lady and a large gold blob with a tail superhero landed next to the group. Lady brushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes.
"As you can see, we're going to need all the help we can get."
…
That did it.
What we didn't realise at the time, was that with everyone in the one place at the same time (including the three Pokémon being out of their Poké Balls.), the strain on island finally broke.
All over the island, the once closed fissures began to glow brightly. Despite the seals Victor had placed on them, it seemingly wasn't enough to hold them. They burst open again, pouring excessive amounts of the purple smog out from within.
Over at the Clay Pits, Timothy was getting filled up with oil then he heard (And felt.) a large bang. He let out a sigh.
"I swear. I you two have broken something, so help me from asking Sir Topham Hatt to take your trucks away from you! Bill! Ben! Where are you?" Timothy abandoned the fuelling station and went into the pits. When he popped out of the tunnel, he was shocked to see a column of purple smog rising from the ground. Bill and Ben were arguing about who'd broken something.
"What is this?"
"I don't know Timothy. Bill here-"
"Me? You were the one who-"
"Enough! We'll just get it fixed and we can move along from-" However, he paused when the air began to get thicker. She began to panic. "Seriously. What IS this?" He never got a reply though as the purple smog enveloped them.
The same thing was happening across the whole island. Stanley and Rosie were engulfed at the Vicarstown Sheds, Cranky, Carly, Salty and Porter disappeared with the docks and Daisy and Harwick were quick to be swallowed by it too. The purple smog grew in size, engulfing anyone who got in its way as it began to close in toward the centre of the island.
The Storm was heading toward Kildane and the Great Railway Show.
Dun dun duuuu!
I can't believe I actually got around to finishing this. I mean, every time I opened the file to continue the story, I'd lose interest and find something else to do.
BUT NOT TODAY!
Yes, it may seem a little rushed from the point where Amber and Thomas go into the portal the first time and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to lose interest and leave it to rot again. Just be thankful I finally got my but into gear.
ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO! Bring it on! See you then!
Finish Date: 14/08/19