The Orient Express Engines
The Night after the Munitions had been Delivered Duchess Corrinne was in a different set of Engine Sheds and they were in Paris the Headquarters of the Kalos Railway. Joining Duchess Corrinne was King Elgar of the Great Western, Alolan Line of the Southern, A Gresley A4 from the London and North Eastern that she hadn't seen in quite sometime and wasn't exactly happy to see for the moment, a BR Standard Britannia Class that she wasn't expecting and an Austerity Tank Engine that she was on good terms with.
Knowing how tense the situation was, the Austerity Tank Engine decided to speak first.
Austerity Tank: Let's get down to business. Duchess Corrinne, it's good to have you back with us. The other engines were a mess while you were gone. The BR Standard Classes were nearly lost without your leadership and so were the other LMS engines but surprisingly Abigail and Princess Aurora managed to steady the team while you were away.
Duchess Corrinne: Well it's good to know that Abigail and Princess Aurora were able to step up Gideon. So what else has been happening?
The Hunslet Austerity known as Gideon spoke again.
Gideon: Well when William Belmonte heard how Union of South Africa, King Edward II, Clan Line, The Sherwood Forester, and Edward stabbed you in the back to say he was beyond outraged was the biggest understatement in the entire history of France. The first thing he did was put Johnathan in charge before personally going to Sodor and he didn't yell at the Fat Controller, he roared at the Fat Controller so loudly that the entire United Kingdom heard him and so did Lord Brenton, and Lord Fox for that matter and all of the relatives who went with them before threatening to do the same to the other Railway Controllers of Sodor. Even the owners and the board of directors weren't spared from their wrath and neither were their relatives.
Duchess Corrinne: Well that sends a big powerful message but continue.
Gideon: Very well then, they even did the same to the entire staff at the Sodor Dieselworks. But before he left he severely punished King Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line by dumping them on goods trains for the duration of your absence and he did the same to all their classmates. Needless to say, all of the King, A4, Black Five, and Merchant Navy class locomotives all shared all of your punishments for the two years that you'd been gone Duchess Corrine which meant that Princess Aurora and Abigail had to take the Orient Express.
Duchess Corrinne: Well it's good to see that I can count on Princess Aurora and Abigail to step up to the plate and the Belmonte Clan to back me up when I say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. Unlike some engines I can think of namely Clan Line, Union of South Africa, The Sherwood Forester, King Edward II and Edward for that matter. This is the punishment for treason!
At that King Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line were frightened to the frames knowing that their respective siblings had been the cause of them facing Lord Belmonte, Lord Brenton and Lord Fox's wrath and Duchess Corrinne's rage and the fury of the BR Standard Class Locomotives and their crews for that matter.
Duchess Corrinne: So, does anyone care to tell me why Abigail is here? She's usually been at the LMS section of the Kalos Railway covering my duties while I was gone?
The BR Standard Britannia in question decided to speak up.
Abigail: The Kalos Controller finally decided it was time to move me in with you guys since I'm gonna be running the Orient Express but for the record how long am I gonna be running the Orient Express?
Gideon: King Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line have been severely punished as have all their respective siblings along with Edward and the Sherwood Forester and her siblings until further notice. Based on all that's happened then you know why.
Abigail then couldn't help but sneer at the locomotives in question for what their siblings did to her mentor Duchess Corrinne causing them to feel even worse before Gideon spoke again.
Gideon: Abigail. You've got the backbone to speak up and take the lead. You've also got the potential to be a fine express locomotive. That's why the Kalos Controller decided to choose you to join Aurora, Corrinne, and Claire in running the Orient Express for the time being on a rotational basis.
Duchess Corrinne: What about Reginald? Is he gonna join us on the Orient Express?
Gideon: The Kalos Controller's been giving him plenty of training on express trains but he has yet to decide on when to let Reginald join you four on the Orient Express. Now Listen closely. As you're all aware Lord Arcanon has returned and his organization and the crows are beginning to weave their webs across the land and most of the threads are tied to multiple factions of the Criminal Underworld across the entire planet.
Silver: How could we forget? Word on the tracks is that Coi worked for Lord Arcanon and is the only warlord that she's ever afraid of even to this day.
King Elgar: And now her daughter Camille is already picking up where Coi left off and thanks to Social Media her network is even larger than Coi's criminal network ever was which means that the Crows are even stronger than ever.
Alolan Line: And Chantal Payne hates our guts like she hates all steam engines. Still there is a faint bit of good news. All the Controllers of the Minimum Gauge Railways have agreed to back Duchess Corrinne up and all the clients here in France are refusing to do business with Payne Industries any longer. Elgar, Silver, and I managed to get the fleets we lead to do that.
Abigail: Finally, a bright idea from you three which is more than I can say for your backstabbing asshole relatives! Even Hassan, Noah, or Malcolm could come up with a better idea and they're LMS tank engines!
Gideon: Abigail we get it. We know you have a grudge against Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line because of what their siblings did to your mentor.
But there is still the matter of Lord Arcanon his organization and the Crows and the other organizations that Arcanon's weaved his threads into.
Duchess Corrinne: And it's not just the British Mainland and Continental Europe, Arcanon's got webs weaved all over the globe across the United States and even on Sodor.
Silver: If what you say is true and Arcanon's influence has gone global then what are we supposed to do about it?
Duchess Corrinne: Fortunately, there is still hope. The Gold Dragons. A Secret order created to act as the hidden arm of the Intelligent Network for the Nations that were allied during the cold war were formed to pass information and train students in combat, intelligence gathering and to act as extra muscle for anti-terrorist squads and as a countermeasure if the Crows or Arcanon's Organization were ever to grow as powerful as it is now and contract out to anybody who calls upon them.
King Elgar: How would you know that?
Alolan Line: Because you helped create the Gold Dragons didn't you Duchess Corrinne. You and Gideon to be precise.
Abigail: (Surprised) Gideon, Duchess Corrinne. Is this true?
Gideon: It is. We did create the group for situations such as this and to observe the staff in the schools to pick out which ones were strong in body and will and which ones were not.
Duchess Corrinne: But to become a Gold Dragon is not easy. The biggest rule I have is that if a potential recruit has any relatives that are in street gangs that have ties to the Crows or Arcanon's organization or if they are members of the crows or Arcanon's organization then they cannot join. In your hearts you all know why that rule is in place and it's been heavily enforced in the past 30 years.
Silver and Alolan Line were at a loss but Gideon, Abigail and King Elgar knew why for they could well remember the dreadful accident Duchess Corrinne suffered at the hands of her enemies and the worst part was that she had been betrayed by somebody she thought was her friend.
Abigail: So, what's the policy on the Gold Dragons when handling school yard problems?
Gideon: The same as it is handling terrorists.
Duchess Corrinne: Brute Force and no mercy or tolerance. Namely the punishments of those who dare to defy the Gold Dragons are brutal and extreme as are the ones that have been handed. Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line should know.
Elgar, Silver and Alolan Line knew full well how dangerous getting on the bad side of the Gold Dragons could be considering all their siblings had done to undermine the founder of the group and the brutal punishments they had to endure but as bad as they had it the punishments were much worse for the diesels and their crews so that in turn gave them comfort.
Duchess Corrinne continued through the night until it was time to snooze. Next morning she discussed her plans as it was nearly time for the Orient Express.
Duchess Corrinne: Alright Gideon whose turn is it for the Orient Express?
Gideon: Abigail's due out for the train today. I better get the coaches.
On that note Gideon left to go get the coaches for the Orient Express. They had all been cleaned and given new coats of paint. The Hunslet Austerity was careful not to bump them as they followed him smoothly into the station but he couldn't help but overhear them discussing that the London Midland and Scottish Railway Engines had been taking them out constantly and that they knew Lord Arcanon was to blame for all that had happened which was the reason they hadn't seen King Elgar, Silver, or Alolan Line for quite some time.
Gideon could also hear the passengers chatting about why only Steam Engines from the London Midland and Scottish Railway were pulling the Orient Express as of late but they didn't mind. The ones that wore Gold Dragons on their outfits knew that the other engines were being severely punished because Edward, King Edward II, The Sherwood Forester, Union of South Africa, and Clan Line had betrayed Duchess Corrinne, the overall leader of the Kalos Railway Fleet and the Leader of the British Steam Engines and their crews were sharing the same fate but they also knew that the Diesels and their drivers were getting the worst of it.
Gideon: (to himself) Looks like my work here is gonna be done for the day. Time to get the trains of the others.
Gideon was about to leave before the Guard for the Orient Express called out to him.
Guard: Gideon wait. There's something I need to tell you.
Gideon: What is it?
Guard: The Coaches have been hearing things and they wanted me to tell you that they're beginning to miss, King Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line and I'm starting to miss the staff that work with those engines. When will they be back?
Gideon: That's up to the Kalos Controller and he's in no mood to forgive Edward, King Edward II, The Sherwood Forester, Union of South Africa, and Clan Line for betraying Duchess Corrinne, the overall leader of the Kalos Railway Fleet and the Leader of the British Steam Engines. He's also in no mood to forgive their siblings as well and neither are Lord Brenton and Lord Fox for that matter. Basically, their punishments are open ended and so are Sophia, Greg and Blaine's.
Guard: I figured as much but what would it take to reverse the punishments?
Gideon: At this rate I'm not sure but I better go.
Gideon left but not before the Guard was able to pass on some information to his driver that the coaches had given him. The Austerity Tank then moved to another platform as Abigail backed down onto the train.
Abigail: Goodbye Gideon. Hopefully I'll do well for my first time.
Abigail was coupled up and off she went with the coaches.
Gideon watched the train disappear before he resumed his duties. He pushed some cars into their proper sidings and went to go arrange the goods trains for Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line but not before he went to go get the coaches for Duchess Corrinne's train.
Speaking of whom King Elgar, Silver, Duchess Corrinne, and Alolan Line or the Orient Four as the Staff knew them because they were the four engines called upon to take the Orient Express were discussing Abigail.
Alolan Line: And Abigail's off with the Orient Express. Usually that would be one of us pulling out with that train.
Duchess Corrinne: I know and with all that's happened as of late I fear for her safety considering that I'm the closest to her and the Crows, Arcanon's Organization and those who hire them know it.
Silver: Abigail needs to learn to stand on her own wheels without you there to hold her buffers all the time. As you said in these dark times we need strong engines that can step up to the plate and stand on their own.
Duchess Corrinne: I know that Silver but still Abby and her crew may have been given the same amount of training as me and my crew have been given but they don't have as much experience.
King Elgar: We know Duchess Corrinne and it takes years of discipline and experience but if Abigail is to survive this then we had to train her in less time than it took us to be trained.
Alolan Line: And besides you are the closest to her so it's understandable that you fear for her safety. Either way Gideon's arranged the coaches for your train. Better go get them.
Duchess Corrinne went to go get her coaches as the other engines were saddled on goods trains like the rest of their siblings knowing that the only way to reverse the issue was to attack the root of the problem.
King Elgar, Silver, and Alolan Line said nothing else knowing that most of the engines in their sections of the Kalos Railway blamed their relatives and by extension them for the state of things and say that it would serve them right as they went to collect their goods trains. They only comfort they had was that regardless of what happened to them, Lord Brenton, Lord Fox, Lord Belmonte and the Gold Dragons would make sure that the diesels and any and all who preferred diesel to steam would suffer even worse than they did. Those who hated steam engines and anybody who liked steam engine such as Diesel and his driver's demon spawn of a daughter would suffer worse and that things would get better soon.
The three then headed off to work knowing that they were gonna be busy for quite a while.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. A little thing called life distracted me. Please Read and Review. Thank you that is all.