14 - Little Gresley

James found Green Arrow working on the Little Western with Duck and Oliver in the afternoon. Normally they would have requested Donald and Douglas but the two were at Barrow-in-Furness the entire day and so Arrow had gone up to help his little Great Western friends.

Oliver was still a bit wary of the bigger engine but Duck's ease around him made him feel a lot better. Green Arrow himself didn't seem at all bothered by Oliver's hesitance, instead he ignored it and helped the small engine happily, even being pleasant to Toad.

"Hello, Mr James!" Toad greeted the red engine. "Don't see you up here that often."

James didn't reply, looking nervously at the bigger V2 engine who was sitting with Duck as the humans busied themselves around them.

Green Arrow was watching him patiently. Arrow knew that Edward had most probably told him to find him and apologise and so he waited.

James approached Green Arrow nervously.

"Hello James," Arrow greeted the engine warmly. "I apologise for my behaviour yesterday. It was rude of me."

"Funny, because I came here to apologise to you," James admitted. "I'm sorry for constantly bullying you and calling you names."

"Apology accepted James," Arrow smiled. "Just stop comparing me to Gordon all the time, it does hurt my feelings."

"Alright," James said. "I'll do my best, not to. I might slip now and again though."

Arrow just smiled at him.

"I wasn't stealing your jobs James, I just did the work the Fat Controller gave me," Arrow said.

"I know, I guess I just felt threatened," James said with a sigh. "I haven't been getting as many jobs as I used to."

"That's unfortunate," Arrow said. "Maybe ask the Fat Controller to give you some more?"

"I'm going to," James said. "I still don't like you, Green Arrow."

"Understandable," Green Arrow said, surprisingly accepting. "There's a huge club of engines who dislike me."

James didn't know how to respond to that. He looked over and saw Duck watching the interaction.

"You've made other friends at least," James commented and Duck smiled.

"Despite being of LNER stock, Arrow here has the firebox of a Great Western!" Duck said proudly.

Green Arrow just blushed.

"Well, Truro says that too so I guess there must be some truth to it," Arrow said.

Arrow and Duck suddenly glanced at each other and suddenly became very quiet and nervous. James frowned but said nothing.

Duck had been spending a lot of time with the Arrow and didn't care for whatever it was the two green engines were doing.

"Where's Tornado?" James asked and once again the two engines glanced at each other.

"She's on the mainland doing business," Arrow said smoothly and cooly. James couldn't tell if the bigger engine was lying or not.

"Now? With Gordon on the Mainland?" James asked incredulously.

"She's a famous engine James," Duck said. "She can't always be around to steal attention from you."

James huffed and pouted at Duck before steaming off. He did try to smile at Green Arrow before he left however but it came off as incredibly awkward and he hurried away even faster.

Duck and Arrow watched him leave before Duck turned to gaze at Arrow.

"Any word from Tornado?" He asked. He knew Oliver was there but he could rely on his confidentiality in such matters. As was the Great Western Way.

"It's taking a while for her to organise the engines she needs to assist, but then again the Royal Twins were always a snooty bunch," Arrow said with a huff.

Duck suddenly went bright red and made a funny noise that sounded like both a choke and a sneeze.

"The King Edward's?" He spluttered in shock. "She's called in the Great Western Kings?"

"Come on now Duck, don't go all fanatical on me now," Green Arrow rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough when you gush about Truro."

"I know, I know I apologise," Duck said his face still bright red. "But the King Class is very famous among us Great Westerns, especially the twins. They're royalty in their own right."

"Royal pains in the ass," Arrow muttered. "You'll change your tune once you meet them. They're very nitpicky and like nothing more than looking down on everyone else as 'peasant classes."

Duck glared at Arrow but said nothing.

He hoped that Arrow was wrong about the engines he looked up to, but with how even Truro occasionally spoke of them off handily, he somehow knew that what the LNER V2 was saying was true.

"Speaking of fanatical," Arrow suddenly said as he heard the sound of a diesel coming towards them.

Duck stared up ahead as the D7101 or 'Bear' as he had come to be known, came into view and approached them. He had a look of wonder on his face as he saw the steam engines.

"Hello!" He said excitedly looking at Oliver, Duck and Green Arrow.

"Um, hello?" Oliver asked confused by the diesel's excitement. "What are you so excited about?"

"Oh I'm sorry, Sir Topham did say to turn down my fanatical side as some engines don't like it," Bear said guiltily. "But I so rarely got to see steam engines where I worked on the mainland, coming to Sodor and seeing so many is just amazing!"

Duck chuckled. "We're very glad that we could amaze you, uh Bear was it?"

"Yes! People call me Bear because of the sound of my generator," Bear said and Oliver gave a thoughtful look.

"It really does, that's kinda cool," he said and Bear blushed. The Diesel then looked over to Green Arrow and his eyes suddenly widened.

"You're Green Arrow! I shunted some trucks for you once on the mainland!" He said excitedly. "I was sad I didn't get to talk to you then, the yard manager yelled at me for trying to abandon my job to get a better look at you. It's nice to finally meet you in person sir!"

Green Arrow blushed pink and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Never thought I'd be complimented by a diesel but thank you!" Arrow smiled at the excitable diesel.

"What you be doing up here though Bear?" Duck asked curiously. "Green Arrow by himself is strong enough to stand in for both Donald and Douglas."

"Sir Topham, he sent me and Emily to assist you as he wanted Green Arrow to return to Knapford Station," Bear answered.

"Did he say why?" Arrow asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, he just said to get back as quickly as you can," Bear said. Arrow and Duck exchanged a glance at each other.

"Hopefully it's nothing too serious," Duck said and Arrow said nothing, instead he chewed his lip anxiously.

"Hello dear Scotsman," Sir Nigel greeted the man as he entered the sheds. "Are you doing well?"

Scotsman shrugged and drew his jacket around his shoulders tighter. "I wouldn't say well, merely coping."

Gordon looked at his brother worried.

"Is something wrong Scott? Has something happened? Is it Great Northern?" Gordon bombarded him with questions and Scotsman waved him down. He then turned his attention back to Sir Nigel.

"Did you always know about myself being a source of Gold Dust, 4498?" He asked and Sir Nigel simply stared at him calmly. "Did you always know Sir Gresley's plans for me?"

Gordon's eyes widened in shock and he spluttered incredulously at Scotsman's questions but he was ignored as Scotsman focused on the A4 Pacific before him. Sir Nigel gazed back at him his expression calm.

"Not always, but Great Northern knew," He explained. "He promised Sir Gresley himself to protect you."

"I know, I saw," Scotsman said quietly.

"You saw?" Sir Nigel asked confused.

"I keep seeing my old memories and I keep seeing into North's memories," Scotsman said nervously. "Was it because he was present when my soul was bonded to my engine?"

"I am… unsure," Sir Nigel mused confused. "I've never heard anything like this before. I am aware of the workings of Gold Dust but not something like this."

Scotsman frowned and gazed down at the ground frustrated.

"I just… I want to know what's going on! Why do I keep seeing ghosts and other people's memories! Why was this kept from me for so long!? Has everyone been lying to me this entire time?" Scotsman began shouting angrily.

He clutched at his head and gave a small whine of pain.

"I don't know who I am anymore," he whimpered, starting to curl into a ball on the ground.

Sir Nigel stared down at him unsure what to say. He wanted to comfort his confused cousin but he just didn't know what to say.

"You're my brother," Gordon declared. Scotsman turned his head and gazed over at Gordon who was watching him carefully. "You will always be my brother, regardless of anything else or what form you take. I don't care about whatever this Gold Dust nonsense is, you are my brother and I will always love you."

Scotsman sniffed and remained still for a few long seconds before looking up at Gordon, tears staining his face.

Slowly he made his way over and climbed onto his brother's running board. He sat down and leaned against the smokebox, feeling comforted by his brother.

"Thank you, Gordon," he mumbled to his brother and Gordon smiled.

For a long while, Sir Nigel, Gordon, Scotsman and Sylvia sat in silence, the air slowly calming after Scotsman's outburst.

"I'm sorry I got angry I'm just… so confused," Scotsman finally mumbled.

"That's completely understandable," Sir Nigel smiled kindly. "I'll answer any questions as best as I can but Great Northern knows a lot more than myself."

The Scotsman scowled. "I'd rather not talk to him," he said.

"Then I'll tell you what I know," Sir Nigel said. "It's not much but I'll try."

"Is there anyone else like myself?"

"A few exist on different railways, Your partner Truro is one actually," Sir Nigel said and Scotsman looked surprised. "Duchess of Loughborough and a few others are out there too."

"Truro?"

"Yes, he also didn't know for the longest time but eventually I believe the Twin Kings told him," Sir Nigel said. "Truro told me that he suspects you are one too but he never revealed it to you because he was never sure."

Scotsman stared dumbfounded.

"Truro, is like me?" He repeated flabbergasted. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"He probably thought you wouldn't have believed him," Sir Nigel smiled. "Don't take it personally, Scotsman, Gold Dust is a highly sensitive topic, even between the closest of us."

The Scotsman looked thoughtful for a second.

"Why keep it a secret from us?" He asked. "Why not tell us so we may be able to use it appropriately."

Sir Nigel frowned and glared for a second.

"So you don't become like Mallard," he said coldly.

"Mallard?" Scotsman asked confused. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Well, for one, so you didn't become a narcissistic monster as he did when he become one," Sir Nigel growled. "And two, so that Mallard didn't know who to look for."

"What do you mean?"

Sir Nigel sighed and closed his eyes.

"Gold Dust, like the burning flame that keeps our engines running, has a shadow," he explained. "A very dark and nasty shadow, like the smoke that billows from our chimney. The more gold dust that was used, the more a dark byproduct was produced that began to stain the golden wells."

"Dark Smoke, it's not a gas or a liquid but it looks and acts like both," Sylvia squeaked. "It's terrifying and it can destroy our souls or severs them from our engines, Mr Scotsman!"

"I- I-" Scotsman suddenly shuddered as he remembered the nightmares, the feeling of the cold iron sleep slowly creeping into his boiler for the past several years. "I think I've felt it, my nightmares, the cold iron sleep."

"Yes, it's responsible for the cold iron sleep and humans can sense it too. They'll avoid an engine infected with Cold Iron even if they don't quite understand why," Sir Nigel said grimly. "It was responsible for destroying the souls of sone engines who were sent for scrap long before the cutter torch even touched them."

Scotsman began trembling and Gordon looked aghast and terrified of what was being told. Sylvia had gone back into her birth and looked as pale as a sheet.

"But what does Mallard have to do with this?" Scotsman eventually asked.

"After his record, Mallard became boisterous and increasingly nasty. British Railways wanted to preserve him as he is the fastest Steam Locomotive in the world but they greatly disapproved of his attitude," Sir Nigel said. "And so, they stuck hin on a plinth and waited until Cold Iron Sleep took him."

"But it never did-" Scotsman realised what Sir Nigel was insinuating.

"No, it didn't. He produced the Gold Dust like you so it was hard to quell his soul. Mallard's willpower was far too strong for it to take hold and so-"

"They used black smoke to artificially preserve him and sever his soul from his engine," Scotsman finished his sentence.

Sir Nigel grunted disapproval.

"Mark my words, I did not approve of this when it happened. Regardless of how nasty or how much of a problem he has been, Mallard is still my little brother," Sir Nigel ground out. "All of his brothers and sisters were against this, even North was. But still, they did it anyway."

"But it failed," Scotsman said and Sir Nigel gave a deep sigh.

"Mallard's gold dust was replaced with Dark Smoke," Sir Nigel said shakily. "We didn't notice it at first but now… these past two decades, Mallard's presence has become more insidious. He's after Gold Dust, he craves it like some kind of drug, as the humans say."

"Is that… is that why he was after me, trying to get me scrapped?" Scotsman asked, frightened. "Because he wanted to consume my soul like some kind of demon?"

"Yes," Sir Nigel said regretfully. "North thinks that because his gold dust was stained and tainted Mallard now desperately wants his soul back and he's draining engines of their gold dust in an attempt to gain it back."

"Other engines? You mean he's stolen Gold Dust before?" Gordon asked horrified.

"At first it was a few of the coaches near his plinth," Sir Nigel said. "Then the Rocket replica. It wasn't until Lady Hamilton started to show signs of Cold Iron that they realised what was going on. Mallard was moved into that special room away from the other engines."

"Until Cain came along," the Scotsman growled. "No wonder several engines started to start acting out of sorts. I thought it was a case of engines getting older."

The engines sat in silence for a long while before a loud noise outside disturbed the tension.

Sylvia let out a piercing shriek and slammed herself into the buffers at the back of the shed while Sir Nigel gave a deep sigh.

"You can stop lurking North, I know you're there," He called and Gordon and Scotsman glanced at each other.

Slowly North entered the shed looking a bit ashamed before straightening himself up, expecting the repercussions of his actions.

Scotsman glared down at him while beside him he could feel Gordon start grumbling.

"I know my presence displeases you both, I was just curious as to why Scotsman was appearing in my memories while I slept and sought answers," North said gracefully. "I apologise for being deceptive."

He moved to leave but Scotsman called out to him.

"Wait! I have a request for you," he said and North looked back at him.

"Yes?"

"I want you to apologise to Gordon before you go," Scotsman said and North stared up at the blue engine who glared down at him.

Before North could speak, however, the blasting whistle of another A4 echoed through the grounds of the Gresley Manor.

The engines looked over to see Spencer storming over to them in almost a panic.

"Spencer?" Gordon asked very confusedly, "What are you doing here?"

"It's Mallard! He has Truro!" Spencer gasped out of breath as he rolled to a stop before them. "I came all the way from Sodor! Mallard's draining his soul we have to do something!"

"He's WHAT?!" The Flying Scotsman thundered angrily, suddenly becoming enraged and panicked. "HE HAS TRURO!?"

"Scotsman, don't do anything irrational-" Sir Nigel scolded but stopped when Scotsman glared at him.

"Oh, is Scotsman a human now?" Spencer asked but was ignored as Scotsman rounded on him.

"Take me back to Sodor, NOW!" He demanded but North stepped forward.

"If you go to Mallard you will die!" North snapped coldly.

"I don't care! He has Truro!" The Scotsman shouted at him.

"Don't be an idiot, Gordon and Olivia brought you here so that you wouldn't fall for Mallard's trap!" North argued. "You need to stay here where you are safe!"

Scotsman looked up at Gordon who seemed very concerned.

"Did you know about this?" Scotsman demanded and Gordon immediately denied it.

"No! No, I didn't! Ms Olivia didn't tell me anything!" Gordon said quickly. "But I agree, you should stay here, safe from Mallard."

"Shut up!" Scotsman yelled at him taking Gordon by surprise. "Don't you dare tell me what to do after you've LIED to me!"

Gordon stared at Scotsman, deep hurt in his eyes but Scotsman didn't seem to notice, he was so filled with panic and desperation.

"That's enough!" North barked at Scotsman. "You were brought here for your safety! You will stay here!"

"Why do you even care about me, you worthless engine!? Why don't you go and crawl back into the manor and sit amongst your false shrine to me!" Scotsman shouted slowly, sounding more and more unhinged.

"Scotsman you need to calm down and stop, this will not help Truro!" Sir Nigel implored the distressed human engine. "We cannot blindly run into a situation like this!"

"I need to save Truro!" The Scotsman ignored Sir Nigel and began to run towards Spencer's cab. "Take me back to Sodor! You need to take me back right now!"

"North stop him!" Sir Nigel yelled at Great Northern but the man was already running after the Scotsman.

North grabbed Scotsman and tackled him to the ground, sending ballast everywhere.

Scotsman screamed and tried to fight North off but the elder man was surprisingly strong and pinned him as the Scotsman struggled and flailed.

"Get off of me you monster!" Scotsman howled at him. "You worthless excuse of a brother!"

North felt deeply hurt at Scotsman's words but held firm, not releasing his grip.

"I'm sorry, little brother," he said quietly as he gave a sudden and quick strike to the back of Scotsman's head and the struggling man suddenly went silent and still, everything going black for the engine turned human.

North released him and carefully placed him in a safe place in the shed. A bench for some of the crews. He gazed at Sir Nigel and then looked at Gordon before going over to him.

"Gordon, I- I'm glad to see that you're well," North said and Gordon just stared at him, still rattled by what had just happened. "I, I need to apologise for treating you as I did when I was younger. I was a fool. I'm sorry."

He looked back at where he had laid the now unconscious Scotsman.

"Mallard won't give in until he's found Scotsman," North murmured. "And he doesn't know I'm still alive. He probably doesn't know what Scotsman looks like."

"Great Northern no-" Sir Nigel said. "Please, there has to be another way."

North shook his head. "Maybe, maybe I can redeem myself."

North smiled up at Sir Nigel with a kind and warm smile.

"Thank you for being my friend, even though I never did anything to deserve it, Sir Nigel," North said with a sad smile.

North turned towards Spencer who sat watching them warily and hesitantly.

"Silver Link, please take me to Sodor old friend."

…

Find Lady

…

"Olivia Gresley! Come out this instant!" Roman snarled through the corridors disturbing Great Northern from his Hornby Flying Scotsman model. He frowned and went to the door as Flying Scotsman watched confused.

"North!" Roman rounded on Great Northern, the short stout man going red in the face. "Have you seen the girl? She's hiding from me!"

"With how aggressive and nasty you're currently being I don't blame her," North said cooly and Roman tried to get in the man's face but North, as short as he was still towered over the man.

"Listen here you! You're not even human! You don't talk back to someone like me!" He snapped. "I am a Gresley! I practically own you!"

"You are not a Gresley and you do not own me," North said coldly. "If Sir Nigel Gresley was still alive he wouldn't even allow a man like you anywhere near his daughter. Now, you can stop being an abusive father to your daughter or I'll inform Lady Gresley of your shady night activities."

Roman looked ready to punch or threaten North but he thought against it and stormed off, yelling and snarling like a mad man. North watched him go with a look of disgust on his face before gently closing the door and quickly locking the door to his quarters. He stood silently, listening for a little while longer until retreating into his quarters and going to the bedroom.

He stood at the foot of his bed for a second before bending over and checking under it.

A small girl was curled up underneath it, covered in dust as she hid, trembling with tears sliding down her face the small toy of an engine clutched in her hands.

"It's alright, it's me, Uncle Nathan," He said softly, holding his hands out to her. "Your father's gone now."

Slowly the girl crawled out on her hands and knees, still clutching the little model. She stood up before North who gazed at her sadly.

"Are you alright Little Olivia?" North asked and the girl shook her head as tears still streamed down her face. She approached him and hugged him which North rigidly and awkwardly hugged her back, clearly not comfortable with the embrace of another.

"What happened?" North asked after a while.

Olivia looked at her shoes, her hands tightly gripping the toy engine. It was a children's one based on a famous line of storybooks, based on Gordon that he'd gotten for her as a birthday gift

"He found your gift Uncle Nathan," she sniffed. "He said, 'girls aren't supposed to play with trains' and he tried to take it from me so I ran away."

She wiped away her tears harshly but began crying again.

"Did I do something wrong, Uncle Nathan? Am I not supposed to like trains?"

"You did nothing wrong," North assured her. "And your grandfather was famous for making trains. He loved them and you should too."

Olivia looked up at North, her face wet and barely able to see with the number of tears in them.

North quickly pulled out a handkerchief and began to dap and wipe her face dry gently. It was clear, with how hesitant he was that he was still very uncomfortable dealing with such a small child.

"Father says I'm supposed to be ladylike. Trains are not ladylike. He says my brothers will like trains, I will not," Olivia said sadly. "But, but I can't help but like them."

"Your father is a fool," North said. "Don't ever let him tell you what you can and can't like."

Olivia looked at North and nodded.

"I want to drive them when I grow up," Olivia said with a small smile returning to her little face.

"Really? Do you have a particular engine you want to drive?" North asked.

"Flying Scotsman!" Olivia said excitedly. "He said hello to me! And he's said I could drive him if I behaved!"

North chuckled.

Lady Jaqueline had been part of a rail event, invited by Sir Alpine. Although the mother and her sons had enjoyed the event, they hadn't shown the passion for the engines as Olivia had.

Olivia had been completely and utterly entranced by the Flying Scotsman as he had appeared. She was shy and frightened by just how large and loud the engine was but after he had talked to her kindly, Olivia had been captivated by him entirely.

She'd almost thrown a tantrum when Scotsman had to leave but the engine had promised her that if she behaved when she grew up she could be his driver.

North stared down lovingly at the young girl. Her passion was infectious, she craved his collection as much as he did, demanding to see every new piece and constantly asking where Scotsman was.

It gave him hope that he could one day make up for being such a horrible brother.

"I'm sure that one day, you will be a skilled engineer that Flying Scotsman will always remember," North said kindly.

Olivia looked sad though.

"But father doesn't want me to," she said sadly. "He says I'm to marry into a rich family and my brothers will drive our family's engines."

North gazed at her sadly.

"Olivia," he said kindly and Olivia looked up at him. "It doesn't matter what he wants. It matters what you want. You are your own person and when you are old enough, you can make your own choices.'

"But father says we have to obey him," Olivia mumbled. "That I don't have a choice."

North gave a deep sigh.

"You know, the Flying Scotsman wasn't always as confident and charming as he is today, when he was younger a lot of his siblings bullied him to the point he'd hide away and cry."

"Really? But he's so strong!"

"Not everyone starts off as strong, little Olivia," North said. "Even the biggest oak trees start from the tiniest seeds."

Olivia nodded, seeming to understand.

"His elder brother, Great Northern, tried to control him because of their designer's wishes. Their designer, your grandfather was like a father to them," North explained, his voice almost cracking. "Great Northern was hurtful and nasty to the Scotsman but he didn't mean to be. He realised too late what he'd done. In the end, Flying Scotsman became the strongest and most famous engine in the world and Great Northern became the biggest joke to the other engines."

"Serves him right!" Olivia said loudly. "His big brother sounded like a big bully!"

"But my point is, Scotsman grew strong, he survived where so many others failed," North said gently, taking Olivia's little hands in his. "I think that you'll be fantastic, whatever you decide to do in future."

Olivia smiled and hugged North tightly.

"Thank-you Uncle Nathan," she said into his jacket. "I'll make you proud, I promise!"

"I have no doubt that you will Little Olivia," North said, hugging her more tenderly this time.

Flying Scotsman stepped closer, pulling Great Northern from memory and into an almost shared mindscape-like place.

North had tears running down his face.

"You need to return to your engine and be whole again," North said quietly. "Olivia would be heartbroken if she lost you before she even got to be your engineer."

Scotsman just stared at him dumbfounded.

"I'm doing this for not only you, but for Olivia," North said quietly. "You both mean the world to me. I'm sorry I never showed that to you. But, I guess in my final act I will."

"Final act?" Scotsman croaked, his voice was hoarse.

"Mallard doesn't know what you look like as a human, he also doesn't know that my soul still remains attached to the few remaining pieces of my engine," North explained. "I have enough Gold Dust in my soul to trick him into thinking that I am you."

Scotsman fell his blood run cold. He was going to give himself to Mallard in place of himself. He wasn't going to survive if he did.

"Good-bye, Flying Scotsman "

"Wait, North STOP!" Scotsman called out trying to grab his elder brother but his brother faded into a mist of Gold Dust.

"NORTH NO PLEASE!"

The Scotsman collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

He was vaguely aware of the presence of that small red and gold engine nearby but he didn't care, he ignored it and pushed it away as it tried to comfort him.

He wanted his big brother back.

For updates, extra lore or to ask questions or discuss the fic, you can find me on tumblr at tornadoyoungiron or on twitter as BakunawaArt.