Epilogue - The Flying Gordon
"Where's Bittern?" Tornado asked as she looked around for the big blue A4. "I've thought a former engine of the Flying Scotsman would want to celebrate the return of steam to the Flying Scotsman express."
"Sulking," Olivia muttered from Scotsman's cab and Scotsman laughed.
"Why is he sulking?"
"Gordon needed a corridor tender to complete the journey," Flying Scotsman explained. "It's 7 hours non-stop from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. So Ms Olivia forced him to give up my spare."
"Ha!" Tornado gave a snort of laughter. "Silly old fool."
The Azuma on the platform next to them giggled.
"You're all silly old fools to us," she said humorously. "All of you except Tornado."
"I am NOT a silly old fool!" Scotsman argued annoyed.
"You're 100 next February," Tornado pointed out and Scotsman just huffed annoyed.
"I am young at heart!" He insisted.
"You should have seen him Tornado!" The Azuma laughed. "We had him in a tender spin over the word, 'boomer'!"
Scotsman's face turned bright red.
"I still don't understand what it means!" He snapped angrily. "All your new-fangled electric terms are so confusing!"
"Well actually no, wouldn't Scotsman be too old to be a boomer?" Tornado pointed out and the Azuma pondered.
"You make a point there Ms Tornado," the electric smiled and the two ladies giggled to each other like schoolgirls.
"Stop it!" Scotsman shouted annoyed but they just giggled even harder. "Lady Gresley, these teenagers are harassing me with their strange made-up words!"
"They're just teasing you," Olivia sighed with a gentle pat on his cab. "And the Azuma's are not teenagers, they're still babies."
"I resent that!" The Azuma nearby declared indignantly.
"You're not even a decade old my dear," Olivia pointed out. "Unlike bratty little Tornado here."
"Hey!" Tornado complained but the Azuma just giggled.
The Azuma stared up at the clock and gave a peep of her horn.
"Well I must get going," the engine said with a smile. "It was amazing to meet you Flying Scotsman, I can't wait to tell all my friends! But I don't want to be late with your train now do I?!"
"Indeed not young one," Scotsman remarked in good humour.
"That would not be, 'poggers' as they say," Tornado teased and the Azuma laughed while Scotsman just gave a frustrated groan muttering, 'young engines'.
"My name is Kana by the way," the diesel-electric engine smiled sweetly as she pulled away.
"Nice to meet you, Kana!" Tornado whistled at her. She then turned to Scotsman. "She was very poggers don't you think Scotsman?"
Scotsman just sighed and hissed a bit of steam in annoyance.
"Alright Tornado, stop annoying Scotsman," Olivia called to her amused. "Let him have a good day to celebrate his brother's birthday."
"Okay!" Tornado said brightly and gave Scotsman a cheeky wink, surprising the old engine.
Every day Tornado was growing ever more confident and boisterous.
"You're becoming more like me," Scotsman grumbled. "I don't know if I like that."
"You only have yourself to blame for adopting silly little me," Tornado jeered and Scotsman chuckled.
"I suppose I do."
Tornado looked at her lamps and shifted awkwardly on her wheels. It was the first time she had seen Scotsman since he had sent her back to Darlington.
"Scotsman I um, I wanted to apologise to you," she mumbled quietly. "About the things, I said when you were, uh, that other form."
"If it wasn't already obvious, I forgive you Tornado," Scotsman smiled at her. "You're still young and you're still learning who you are. I expect you to learn from your mistakes though and not do it again."
"Yes Scotsman," Tornado smiled. "Maybe one day, you'll let me pull the Flying Scotsman too?"
Scotsman laughed cheerily at that.
"Maybe one day! Polly would have definitely let you!" He reflected. "I just wish she was still here to meet you and coach you in her ways. You would have liked her."
"Your sister?" Tornado asked and Scotsman looked away from her with a wistful look in his gaze clearly remembering something.
"Yes, my bossy little sister," he grinned.
"Maybe she survived?" Tornado suggested hopefully. "Like North or the Rooster man who visits Darlington."
Scotsman gave a deep mournful sigh.
"No," he explained quietly. "She succumbed to Cold Iron. Sir Nigel was the last engine that she spoke to. He said she was calm and dignified even in the face of death."
Scotsman looked down, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.
"He said the Polly went peacefully, quietly and with grace," he sounded heartbroken. "I miss her so much. I wish she were here to see Gordon, she would have been so happy for him. She loved the books you see."
Scotsman fell quiet and Tornado sat silently, allowing him to mourn while Olivia gently caressed his cab. For a moment they all sat there, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the rail enthusiasts before in the distance Gordon's whistle blared and both Pacifics perked up at the sound.
"Gordon!" Tornado exclaimed excitedly but then frowned as she saw the engine backing onto the train. "Wait, that's not Gordon."
"I think you'll find it is," Olivia corrected her. "Just maybe not in colours that you're used to."
Scotsman laughed at the shocked look that appeared on Tornado's face as Gordon gently stopped to be coupled to his coaches.
"You're green!" Tornado gasped. "Green Gordon! Greendon!"
Gordon just looked at Tornado an eyebrow raised while Scotsman burst into more laughter at her comment.
The North Western engine was a brilliant green colour with black and white stripes. There was a brilliant red nameplate over his wheel arch with his name and the letters NWR on the tender.
"I must admit, you look rather strange with that sort of tender," Scotsman commented.
"Only because I pull it off better than you ever did," Gordon teased while Scotsman muttered 'rubbish!'
Flashes of cameras and the rabble of the crowd grew as people tried to photograph Scotsman and Gordon together.
Where the Azuma had once been, Thomas pulled in with a cheery whistle with Sir Topham Hatt on his footplate. The shorter man quickly rushed out of the cab, clearly flustered and towards his express engine.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He said profusely hurrying to Gordon. He stopped and admired his engine.
"Goodness Gordon, you look remarkable in LNER Green!" The Fat Controller remarked and Gordon puffed himself up proudly.
"Thank you, sir! It is all thanks to Lady Olivia and the NRM!"
Ms Olivia waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing. Just people dedicated to the history and craft."
"I got lost, sorry," Thomas apologised profusely going red in the face from embarrassment. "London is so confusing! But we got here!"
Scotsman laughed. "Not the first time you've gotten lost from what I heard from Duchess!"
Thomas blushed embarrassed while Gordon rolled his eyes.
"I'm a little engine," Thomas excused himself. "The mainland is a big place."
"Nothing you couldn't handle Thomas," Tornado encouraged and the little blue tank engine grinned.
"And you made it back to the mainland," Scotsman pointed out. "It was something you wanted to do I seem to recall you telling me when we first met."
"You remembered!" Thomas exclaimed excitedly.
"I did indeed!" Scotsman chuckled cheerily.
"Alright enough chitter chatter!" Gordon grumbled annoyed. "Today is about me!"
Thomas and Scotsman exchanged a look before they grinned and focused their attention on the North Western's number 4.
"Remember Gordon, the Flying Scotsman is a test of endurance, not strength or speed," Scotsman advised. "You need to be consistent and steady in your pace and not run yourself ragged too soon and have to stop."
"Don't lecture me on how to pull an express!" Gordon snapped at him. "I've been pulling expresses longer than you have!"
"I'm just giving you advice!" Scotsman wheeshed him. "This is my express line! As I recall you gave me hour-long lectures on how to pull your train!"
"Alright cool it you two!" Olivia shouted at both of them. "Gordon, Scotsman's just trying to be nice."
Gordon blushed and looked awkwardly away.
"I know, I'm just, a bit embarrassed," Gordon remarked. "And nervous. Sorry."
Scotsman just smiled at his older brother. "It's alright, I know that you're not good with displays of affection in public. You'll be great, keep it steady and don't sprint the first leg and you'll be fine!"
"Thank you Brother."
"You'll be great Gordon!" Thomas cheered his ally enthusiastically. "The others wish they were here to see you. Make Sodor proud!"
"Of course, I will little Thomas!" Gordon said grandly. "There is no doubt at all that I will!"
As a cheer went up in the crowd and the guard's whistle blew, echoing around the packed King's Cross. Sir Topham was loudly cheering and praising his engine from the first coach while the crowd began to swell in sound.
Gordon scanned the ground and felt time itself freeze for a moment as he caught a glimpse of Great Northern standing on the platform, leaning heavily on a walking stick while that strange lady in scarlet and gold clung to his arm.
There was a moment of nervousness and Gordon felt himself panic slightly. North had always said that he'd be scrapped, that he would never run a branch line let alone an express.
Would he even be able to endure the 7-hour-long journey to Edinburgh? Would he only get 10 miles and fail? Sodor's express was nothing compared to the Flying Scotsman.
"Gordon," Scotsman had noticed Gordon had suddenly become agitated and anxious and gently blew steam at him to get his attention. "Gordon it's okay. We wouldn't have approved you for this if we didn't think you could do this."
Gordon looked at his brother and found him smiling at him encouragingly. He looked back at North and found the man actually looking concerned for him.
"I can do this," Gordon stated.
"Yes you can," Scotsman affirmed.
"You'll be magnificent big brother!" Tornado cheered as she and Thomas began whistling encouragingly at him.
Gordon's expression changed as a determined look came across him.
"The Flying Scotsman has never been pulled by a better engine!" Gordon declared and Scotsman's grin reached his smoke deflectors as he gazed proudly at his big brother.
Gordon's whistle was joined by his brothers, Tornado's and Thomas's as he glided out of King's Cross and began the long, tiring but momentous journey to King's Cross.
There was a loud banging on the shed door to which a disgruntled engine was abruptly woken up.
"What in the blazes are those idiots doing?!" The large green and gold streamlined Pacific steam engine snapped angrily. Beside her, a yellow and green diesel gave a grunt of agreement.
The banging continued sounding like someone opening up the sheds.
"OI! Knock it off or I'm gonna turn you into a bloody paste you bloody galah's!" She shouted angrily.
"Alright don't crack the shits! The roller door on your shed is stuck!" A voice called out from the other side.
"Then be less of a fucking hoon about it!" The engine snapped while her diesel companion just sat next to her extremely irritated but saying nothing. On the other side of the shed, the Garratt looked extremely annoyed.
With a loud crack and a screech of metal the roller door came up and sunlight streamed into the sheds illuminating the green and gold engine. She was long and had a large tender. She was primarily bright green with gold stripes painted down her sides and across her top. The only thing that wasn't green or gold was her bright red buffer beam with the number 3801 on it.
She glared at the humans standing at the entrance to her shed, tools in hand.
"It's 35 degrees, I'm too much of a fire risk to go out, why are you knocking on my door like a bunch of hoons on the piss?" She snapped annoyed.
She was instead ignored as one of the humans jumped on top of her buffer beam.
"How'd ya like to go to the UK to give Scotsman a surprise for his 100th Grey?" He asked and 3801 glared at him as if he'd insulted her.
"Are you drunk?" She demanded and the man laughed.
"Maybe, but that's not an answer to my question, big girl," he answered.
Grey frowned at him.
"Well I'd love to, but there's a fat chance of that happening," Grey snorted. She then gestured to the Class 42 diesel beside her. "And if I were to go I would want this asshole to come with me."
"So you want 4201 to go with you?"
"Yep, no question 'bout it."
"Alright then, two engines to be shipped off to the UK," the man said as he jumped down from her buffers. "We'll need to change those couplings too."
"Wait, are you fucking serious?" 3801 suddenly said with a glance at 4201.
"Deadly."
"Oh, Scotty's going to be beside himself," 3801 chuckled. She looked at 4201 who smiled thinly, but his eyes showed genuine happiness.
The man began and his cohorts began looking at the door and fiddling with it while Grey turned to 4201.
"What do you think, Gold, you think the British can handle some Aussie drongos on their patch?"
4201 or Gold gave a low chuckle and they said nothing more.
I'm interested to see how people who've never heard how Australians talk react to this. I resisted my Aussieness enough to not drop 'C' words everywhere because I know that'd probably be really offensive if you're not used to it.
4201 isn't mute, they're just an engine of few words. They are 3801's emotional support diesel.
Also, Kana has a cameo.
I'm going to be doing a series of Oneshot short stories based in the Young Iron Universe. There will be a sequel to this but no solid plans just yet.
For updates, extra lore or to ask questions or discuss the fic, you can find me on tornadoyoungiron tumblr
There is also a Tumblr where you can directly ask the characters of this story at Ask Young Iron
