A/N: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter is a bit long, just a heads up. Manchester properly belongs to a Discord friend of mine that goes by the name of Mad James. Anyway, on with the story!

Electra was impatiently sitting on his throne, his fingers tapping the armrests of his throne as he taps his wheels on the floor. His patience was wearing very thin at this point. He stood up as he finally Wrench, and Volta enter the room with the two human children in tow. He crossed his arms, and scowled at them.

"What took you two so long to bring these humans here? I was considering sending Krupp after you two." Electra held back a growl from deep within his chest. Wrench was quick to give him an excuse, no surprise there.

"Sire, Joule just killed a slave that refused to stand up. I forced the two to watch, and witness what happens if they dare to disobey." the repair truck was obviously lying, but Electra seemed to buy it. As long her excuses worked, she had nothing to worry about. Electra was silent for a few moments.

"So, they know what will happen if they dare to disobey any orders?" Electra raised an eyebrow at Wrench. Wrench nodded.

"Yes, sire." Wrench replied. Electra hinted a smirk before looking over the two children. They were too small to do any heavy work around the fortress, but they could clean up the place a bit, and do other small tasks around the fortress. As long as they were obedient, he had no reason to harm them in the first place.

...

Alison was responsible for cleaning the different rooms of the fortress, including Electra's personal suite. Whereas Ethan, was mostly around Electra most of the day, mostly bringing things to him, like food, and his personal hand held mirror to admire his own reflection.

Alison was worried sick about her brother. Ethan was a nervous wreck when he was separated from her. She could only imagine just how Ethan was feeling right now being forced to obey, and stand next to such a huge, and powerful engine such as Electra. Thankfully, she wasn't constantly having rolling stock breathing down her neck, but she was still monitored from a distance by the guards scattered around the fortress. They all looked eager to tear into her like a pack of half-starved wolves staring down a helpless rabbit. She only felt a bit of relief if Wrench, or Volta were nearby. She knew the two components were making sure none of the guards tried anything funny with her, and her brother.

Alison gasped, and flinched as she felt a cold hand on her shoulder, and whipped around to see whoever was behind her, expecting to see a guard, only to see Volta quickly pulling her hand back from the child's shoulder. Volta gave her a gentle reassuring smile.

"I know you're worried about Ethan. I tried to convince him to keep you two together, but he claims to already have an idea in mind. He wants you two to be kept in the cellar... meaning he may be wanting to sell you two together to someone else. He's been hinting he wants to sell you to an old friend. Until then, just.. obey any orders given to you." Volta knew who Electra was planning to sell the two children to was their ticket to a better place, at least in the Storm District. As long as the two children weren't being sold to Greaseball, or CB, she was sure the children would be safe.

"Who is he going to sell us to?" Alison raised an eyebrow at Volta. Volta was silent for a few moments.

"I am afraid I can't say. Electra has told me not to tell you two, but I can tell you two that you will be sold together." Volta replied. She could see the worried look in Alison's eyes. She knew the two children were scared here, especially after encountering her younger sister, Joule. It hurt her to see Joule turn into a monster over the years. She had become unable to separate herself from the beast.

Alison felt a knot form in her stomach. She had no idea what this potential buyer had in store for them. She knew Electra would likely try to get rid of them one way or another. The thought of being sold as no more than property made her feel sick. They were insignificant, easily expendable. Electra could probably care less if Joule had killed them when they were first found by the patrol. She hoped it wasn't true, but she didn't want her brother to be stuck in this Hellhole with her. They needed to get out of here. Ethan was terrified enough already. He didn't need any more terrible, awful things to happen to him, especially knowing Joule would happily rip him apart at the slightest provocation. They needed to leave this place.

...

Ethan couldn't help, but feel safer with Wrench close by as he stood next to Electra, who was sitting on his throne, awaiting orders from the electric engine. Krupp, the armaments truck, was surprisingly kind to him whenever he was alone, and getting whatever Electra commanded him to get for him. At least the child found someone else he can trust here. He grew nervous every time he saw Joule, but felt relief the moment Krupp placed himself between him, and Joule. Ethan knew Krupp would protect from the monstrous dynamite truck.

Ethan never realized how much he depended on Alison for help until he was separated from her, and forced to work for Electra. He was a nervous wreck without her. He felt even the slightest slip up would cost him his life if the electric engine ever became angry at him for who knew what. He was thankful for what little food he was given to eat, barely fed enough to keep him able to work, barely enough to keep a slave alive. Thankfully, Wrench would sneak some extra food to him whenever Electra wasn't around. At least not all of the rolling stock were terrible monsters here.

By the end of the day, Ethan was on the verge of collapsing, exhausted from running around the huge fortress all day. It was as if Electra was torturing him without lifting a single finger. Electra sent a guard to escort the child to cellar to sleep in. Ethan couldn't help, but feel a sense of dread. From what he had seen, the slaves slept in bunkers, why would Electra want him to sleep in the cellar then?

The guard shoved Ethan down the stairs, where he fell down onto the cold, and unforgiving stone floor. The guard laughed as he slammed the door shut behind the child. Ethan slowly stood up, grimacing in pain from the hard fall. He froze, and his blood ran cold when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Well well well... look what the cat dragged in.." Joule chuckled softly, and smiled a wolfish grin, showing off her long, and sharp canines. Ethan gasped, and backed away from her, tears of utter fear started to form in his eyes.

"W-What do you want from me?" Ethan whimpered softly. Joule grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him against the wall. Ethan coughed, and sputtered as he tried to break free of her vice grip. It was enough to hold him in place, but not enough to choke him too much.

Joule could feel Ethan's pulse racing under her fingers. He would bleed like a stuck pig if she sank her teeth into his trachea. Ethan looked in the far corner when he heard chain rattling, and saw Alison, his sister, trying to run to him, but the chains around her neck, ankles, and wrists were holding her back.

"Don't hurt him! He's done nothing wrong!" Alison cried out. Joule froze, and whipped around to see Alison before her expression turned into a sick, and twisted smirk.

"You still don't understand it, do you? We are superior to you pathetic little parasites! You are obsolete. We are all the more powerful, faster, stronger... We kill where we wish, when we wish..." Joule let out a dark chuckle as she tightened her grip around Ethan's throat, and her pupils almost became cat like in appearance.

Alison was scrambling to come up with a way to save here brother, but the only thing she could do was scream. The moment her scream was heard, Krupp came racing down the stairs on his toe stops, and froze when he saw Joule holding Ethan by the throat.

Krupp let out a snarl, and rammed into Joule, forcing her to release Ethan, and making her fall onto the hard stone floor with a thud. Joule scrambled to stand up before growling deep in her chest, and baring her canines. Krupp only returned the response.

"I know that you've lost control of your blood lust, Joule, but killing children?! You have gone too far!" Krupp snarled, and tensed his muscles, as if he were ready to attack, and protect the two children from Joule.

"I kill what I want, when I want, and nothing is going to stop me!" Joule raised her first to give Ethan a powerful killing blow to the head, but Krupp quickly grabbed her by the arm, and threw her aside, forcing her to slam into the wall. Alison could feel the power of the impact. Krupp was by far one of the most powerful of the components. Joule snarled, and reached for Alison, only for Krupp to punch her in the side of the face. Joule let out a deafening inhuman screech before lunging for Krupp. Krupp threw her against the wall, and punched her in the side of the head, immediately knocking out the dynamite truck. Krupp immediately turned his attention to the two children just as Wrench raced down the stairs on her toe stops.

"What happened? I heard one of the kids screaming, and came as fast as I could." Wrench looked at Joule, who slumped against the wall, and then at the two children, whose eyes were wide with fear. That was when she understood what had happened.

"Joule tried to kill them both. I stopped her before she could do any real damage to them." Krupp nodded towards Joule. Wrench nodded, and immediately looked the two children over for any injuries. Ethan received the worst of it. There were marks on his throat where Joule had gotten a hold of him, and almost strangled him, and a slight abrasion on the side of his head from being pushed down the stairs by the guard. She gently patched him up, as Krupp unlocked, and removed the chains from Alison.

"There. If you need us, just raise the alarm. We'll rush over to help you when we can. Don't worry about Joule either. We'll take care of her." Krupp picked up Joule, and slung her over his shoulder as if she were a sack. This would most definitely require some explaining to Electra. He was sure neither of them would hear the end of it, especially knowing who the two children were going to be sold to. Alison nodded.

"We will. Thank you, Krupp. Thank you, Wrench." Alison truly felt grateful Krupp was able to reach them in time. Who knew what would have happened if he hadn't been able to stop Joule in time. Krupp nodded in acknowledgement.

"You're welcome. We will be in our respective suites, if you need us." Krupp headed up the stairs, with Wrench following close behind. Only a few minutes later, two guards opened the cellar door, and shoved another human down the stairs, but this one was able to catch himself before tumbling down the stairs.

"Get in there you little brat!" one of the guards barked a laugh before slamming the door shut. This human was only a teenager by the looks of it. The human trudged down the stairs, clearly exhausted as they were. He slumped against the wall, and sat down on the cold stone floor. He lifted his gaze to Ethan, and Alison before narrowing his eyes.

"Since when did you two get here? I don't remember seeing you in the bunkers." the teenager frowned. He didn't exactly sound like the friendly type, but then again, who knew what Hell this teenager went through today.

"We were captured by a patrol really early in the morning. They dragged us back here.." Ethan looked down at the floor. He was not ready to face whatever Hell was in store for them tomorrow. All he could hope for was for Joule not try to kill him, and his sister again.

"This place is Hell on Earth.. take it from me." the teenager lifted up the back of his shirt, revealing numerous scars where had been whipped, and beaten. He pulled his shirt back down, and leaned back against the wall, grimacing in pain as his still sensitive scars were pushed against the wall.

"Who are you, and how long have you been here?" Alison raised an eyebrow at the teenager. The teenager shrugged.

"I'm Evan. I've been here for as long as I can remember. I can't even remember what it was like past these walls of this prison. I do have a plan to get out of here, but I haven't put it to action yet." Evan sighed. Alison froze. This was it. This was their ticket out of here. They could leave this Hell hole for good.

"Really?" Ethan seemed to perk up almost immediately. Evan nodded.

"Yeah, there's a tunnel at the far back of the fortress where goods come in and out from all the time. If we can escape through that, it would take us straight to the forest surrounding the city. We can run for the hills from there." Evan shifted a little bit, trying to get a little bit more comfortable by removing some of the pressure off his scars. Alison wanted to get Ethan out of here, and this was their chance, but how can she trust someone she just met? Well, it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter. It was either make a break for it, or become slaves for as long as they lived. It was an obvious choice.

"Alright. We'll go with you. When do we start getting out of here?" Alison raised an eyebrow at Evan. Evan slowly stood up.

"In about five minutes, or so. The guards switch for the next shift. We literally only have ten to fifteen minutes to get to the tunnel before the next shift is settled in, and ready, so we have to be fast." Evan headed up the stairs, and listened closely at the door. The chatter of the two guards at the door went silent after a few minutes, signaling they had left their post for the next shift to take over. He looked back at Ethan, and Alison.

"Come on! We don't have much time!" Evan whispered. Immediately, Ethan, and Alison stood up, and joined his side. They couldn't believe they were actually getting out of here, on their first day here nonetheless.

Evan quietly opened the door, and checked to make sure the guards were gone. The guards were nowhere in sight. He gestured for the two children to follow them as he headed out into the halls, with the two children following close behind him. He stopped, and pressed his back against the wall as they came close to a corner, grimacing a bit as he felt pain in his back from the scars being pushed against the wall. The two children quickly followed suit.

They all froze as they heard a guard get close to them, presumably to grab his weapon before leaving to let the next shift to take over. Alison's heart skipped a beat as the guard stopped just around the corner before the guard sniffed the air. The guard would surely have picked up their scent. She braced for the worst as she heard the guard get closer to them.

"Oi! Hurry up! Let's get to the tavern before it closes!" a voice calls out further away, presumably another guard. The other guard stopped, and turned around to look at the other guard before grabbing his weapon, and rolling his eyes.

"Yeah! Yeah! Just give me a minute!" the guard looked back at the corner, towards where the humans were hiding before leaving his post with the other guard. All three of them breathed a sigh of relief before making sure the coast was clear, and gesturing for the two children to follow him. Together, they quickly, and quietly, made their way through the maze of the fortress until they finally reached the guard booth in front of the tunnel. Evan stopped, and ducked out of sight of the guard, and the two children followed suit. He looked back at Ethan, and Alison.

"That tunnel is almost a mile long. We need to be quick before the next train comes through to drop off, or pick up goods to, and from the fortress." Evan whispered softly, and started to lead them towards the tunnel. They all froze as they heard a voice come over the radio, a voice Evan knew all too well.

"This B&M requesting access to Fort Fulgur." a voice called out from the radio. The guard was quick to grab his headset before replying to whoever was talking with him on the radio.

"Roger that four ten, what's your load?" the guard raised an eyebrow before checking his log book for the records of deliveries that were to be made tonight.

"We got five loads of rock, and four loads of coal. Is access confirmed?" the voice asked over the radio. The guard checked the log book before nodding, confirming the delivery was to come tonight.

"This is, dispatch. You have clearance into Fort Fulgur. Take it slow, and hold it short one, and half car lengths from platform five." the guard replied from within the booth.

"Thank you, dispatch. Have a nice night. This is four ten signing out." the voice replied. The guard smiled, showing off an impressive set of canines.

"Roger, four ten, have safe entry. This is dispatch signing out." The guard immediately started to get ready to wait to for the incoming delivery. Evan immediately turned around to the two children. They were now pressed for time. If they get caught by the guard, they would likely end up getting executed in the morning. If Manchester, the engine bringing in the load, beats them through the tunnel, they would most certainly die on impact.

"Listen, we're going to have to make this quick. We have to beat that train. The engine pulling the train is Manchester. He will literally drag us back down to this Hell hole if he sees us, and stops in time." Evan's voice was barely even a whisper. Alison looked at him as if he had gone mad.

"Are you insane? We can't beat the train! We would probably get hit!" Alison hissed softly. They all froze as they heard the guard stand up out of his seat. They had no choice at this point. It was either run, and risk getting killed, but possibly become free if they succeed, or get caught by the guard, and most certainly be executed by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning.

"Come on!" Evan hisses softly before quietly racing into the tunnel. The two children quickly raced after him. At this point, the children didn't have much of a choice. There was a chance they would be killed this way, but they also had a chance to experience freedom once more as well.

"Who's Manchester?" Ethan asked between breaths as he ran. Evan only glanced back at the two children before rolling his eyes.

"He's literally the richest train in the world! He owns a mining company! You don't want to anger him trust me, that's why we need to get out of here as fast as we can!" Evan snapped. All three of them immediately went into a full blown sprint as they heard the switcher's whistle in the distance. They were exhausted from working so hard during the day, but their sheer adrenaline gave them enough energy to run through the tunnel.

Ethan tripped over a railroad tie, and skinned his knee on one of the ties. Alison immediately pulled him up, and pushed him forward. This wasn't the time for such mistakes. Their lives were literally on the line.

"Go!" Alison shouted before racing after Ethan, and Evan. She could hear Manchester's whistle getting louder by the second. He was getting even closer. All three of them could see the light at the end of the tunnel. They were so close, and so was Manchester.

...

Manchester was in his rolling stock form, a humble little shunter, going full speed down the hill as he closed his firebox doors. What good would it be to be such a rude guest to leave his firebox doors open? He was just about to coast into the tunnel, when he picked up three little heat signatures with his light, no doubt humans, most likely slaves making a break for it. He blasted his whistle. There was no way he would be able to stop in time as close as they were. He watched as the heat signatures darted across the rails, and towards the hills in the woodlands.

He immediately screeched to a stop at the platform, and transformed back into his humanoid form, spitting, and cursing. Electra, who was already waiting at the platform with Wrench and several guards on either side of him, tried to calm the switcher down enough so he could figure out what made Manchester so upset.

"Manchester, what has gotten into you?" Electra looked down at the little switcher in shock. Whatever it was, it was far worse than anything he had seen before. This was the most upset he had ever seen Manchester.

"Those little shits ran out right in front of me! I saw them run out of the tunnel, and towards the hills!" Manchester spat, his brown eyes glowed with rage. Electra was sure Manchester was about to kill anything he could get his hands on.

"Who?! Who ran out in front of you?!" Electra asked him. Before he could get an answer, one of the guards standing guard at the cellar raced over to them.

"Sire! The cellar! The slaves are gone!" the guard panted. Rage went off like a warhead in Electra's mind. Those three little brats had the nerve to escape, and almost get hit by Manchester, upsetting the switcher in the process.

He doubled over as pure agony raked through his body. His transformation had begun. He gritted his teeth as his metal frame broke, and rearranged as red, and blue spikes formed on his back as he grew in size in muscle. The fins on his back, head, and tail made themselves visible as his muscles burned, and his teeth became fangs. By the time the transformation was complete, he was powerful beast that resembled a sea serpent. He roars, and races into the tunnel as he sniffed the air, catching the scent of blood on the breeze from Ethan's injured knee before racing out into the forest.

Wrench quickly transformed into her beast form, a creature looking similar to a manticore before racing off after Electra. She knew him far too well. He was going to kill the two children.