"We've got you now, Spencer. This gunpowder will ignite inside your little smokebox before you reach Barrow!" cackled Nihilor to Odessa as they looked out across the landscape facing the Rolling Bridge at Vicarstown.
Spencer was pulling the midnight goods yet again when that internal bang ripped him out cold and shook the line for a few miles outside his radius.
How horrifying it must've been.
"OH! Oh... Lord!" Henry and Thomas were frightened and deeply angered by this dream they had shared.
They told it to Rosie and Gordon next morning.
"What?! Wow, that's a nightmare if I have ever heard one." said Gordon with amazement.
He turned to his friend, who was beside herself with fear.
"What scares me and Thomas most is the realism of it all. He and I saw everything, all of the events leading up to Spencer's demise!" shivered Henry.
"It's just a nightmare, Thomas. They happen and we can't anticipate them..." chuckled Rosie, feeling much better after transferring to Ffarquhar.
"I'm going to keep an eye on all three of them, though. Something just doesn't bode well for any of us." sighed Thomas, still worried for Rosie.
As long as he and his friends could help it, Odessa would not hear or even sight Rosie.
The two engines' skepticism deprived them of sleep.
So much so, Thomas got up one night and idled in the Goods Shed by Tidmouth Yards.
The coast was quiet... too quiet.
"All right, you can stay here. Perhaps you can get some sleep now, so I'm going home. It's rather late..." yawned Thomas' driver as he exited Thomas' cab.
"Okay, Driver..." sighed Thomas, groggily.
Thomas then noticed a pack of figures on the station platforms.
It was Odessa, Diesel 10 and Nihilor talking amongst each other.
"Wait! Driver, come back!" gasped Thomas, suddenly alert as an owl.
Over by the station platform, Thomas heard Nihilor talking with his co-conspirators.
"It's been two long weeks since Spencer's uh... accident. It's come to my attention that the gunpowder is arriving soon." said Nihilor, lost in deep thought.
"Soon? Don't you think we should hold it off until a night when very few people are up and about?" asked Diesel 10, trying to keep human suspicion low.
"Not quite yet. We still need to give the engines time to accept us as three of their own. They never suspected foul play, so they would never suspect little old us of anything..." snickered Odessa, with a startling and uncanny subtlety.
"You've become very sly, Odessa. We'd better leave now, it's almost light out." smiled Nihilor, when they saw Thomas idling just outside the goods shed.
"Why, Thomas! What are you doing out here so late?" stammered Diesel 10 trying to cover any suspicions the three engines had.
Thomas decided to go along with this acting for now and see what he could learn from the three newcomers.
"Oh, I just can't get myself to sleep. Maybe some of the evening air would help clear my smokebox and help me relax a little." yawned Thomas, cheekily.
"I know that feeling. We needed to do the same ourselves, what with the gunpowder going up to the mines and quarries of this island." sighed Diesel 10, overcompensating with the relaxed tone of voice.
Thomas pretended that he was now informed of the gunpowder needed for Sodor industry, but was worried.
"But the miners and quarry workers had better be careful with that kind of stuff, though." laughed Nihilor, trying harder to conceal their true intentions.
All of a sudden, Odessa decided to work some of her magic on Thomas somehow.
"Thomas, what's it like on your branch line?" purred Odessa, dreamily.
"Sometimes I feel like it's the pride of the railway, Odessa." giggled Thomas.
"Pride of the railway, huh? I wish I could say the same for myself, had it not been for another member of my class who made my life hell..." grumbled Odessa as she thought back.
While this was happening, Nihilor had covertly slipped away.
"Well, she's somewhere on my line, but she won't return to make your life miserable ever again. I will make sure of it." promised Thomas.
All of a sudden, he realized who and what they were talking about and he gasped in abject horror.
"Where. Is. She? WHERE IS THAT NO-GOOD, COWARDLY BITCH SISTER OF MINE?! WHERE! IS! ROSIE?!" screeched Odessa in a sudden fit of rage.
Diesel 10 took out his claw and used it to restrain the tank engine from ramming Thomas.
"Terribly sorry about this, Thomas. Bad water between them?" chuckled Diesel 10 meekly, as Thomas reversed back towards the sheds up at Ffarquhar.
"I won't let you hurt her, Odessa! No matter what!" called Thomas as he soon disappeared out of sight along his branch line.
The next morning, he told Rosie about his encounter with her sister.
Rosie was furious at the thought of her Thomas being threatened in any way by a fellow engine, sister or no sister.
"She called me a coward to your face?!" snapped Rosie angrily. "Maybe it's time I stopped running away from my troubles, Thomas. I cannot let any engine push you around like that, sister or not. I shall confront her once and for all!"
"What?! Rosie, it's too dangerous! She's hurt you enough..." protested Thomas, in fear of what Odessa would do to his love - abuse her or even worse.
"This is something I have to do myself, Thomas. Me alone. But don't worry too much. You stay here with Percy, Toby and Flora. Stanley, Fergus and Whiff will accompany me - one will wait at Crovan's Gate, another at Norramby, and the last at Vicarstown, just before the Rolling Bridge." explained Rosie reassuringly.
This made Thomas feel a little better, but he still worried about Nihilor and Diesel 10.
"Right. Diesel 10 and Derek are headlining a midnight post special down to Gloucester, and Nihilor's helping Hank with a mixed passenger-goods to Cardiff - so that leaves a gap in the schedule for you to face her at the sheds of Barrow-in-Furness if you can finish your jobs early." nodded Thomas with reluctance.
With that, they set to work for the day at a brisker pace than usual. The trains started to run between two to five minutes ahead of time.
The coaches and goods stock had to be told of Rosie's plan so that things could go swimmingly.
Once all of her official duties were done for the day and the sun was going down outside the big harbor at Tidmouth; Rosie met up with Whiff, Stanley and Fergus.
Having told the Fat Controller what she wished to do, Rosie expected that there would be a clear track for her and her escorts as the moon began to rise.
Just as the summer breeze blew through Henry's Forest, the four little tank engines saw both Diesel 10 and Derek headlining the post special towards England.
While taking on water and coal at Crovan's Gate, they felt the whiplash of Nihilor and Hank highballing to the Welsh coast lines.
With Whiff taking up residence with Harvey inside the Sodor Steamworks, the other three pressed on until the junction to Norramby where Fergus left the tank engines.
Just as they were about to enter the vicinity of Vicarstown, Stanley made his way for the old sheds while Rosie continued on over the Rolling Bridge onto the mainland.
Things were going well so far with not much unpleasantness, the way she liked it.
Rosie found Odessa in the sheds at Barrow-in-Furness waiting.
Under the phony smile she put up for her arriving sister, Rosie could sense Odessa's sizzling anger simmering under the facade.
The pink tank engine plucked up courage as she decided to face her sister for good.
"I had a feeling you'd be here, sister!" called Rosie as she edged cautiously onto the turntable, and her fireman started turning it to keep Odessa in her place.
"We sisters, finally together at last!" snickered Odessa rudely. Odessa would soon be shocked by Rosie finally standing up for herself and lashing out.
"SISTERS?! I DID EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING YOU EVER ORDERED!" roared Rosie as she tried to comprehend her sister's abuse of her. "WHY DID YOU TORTURE ME BACK THEN?! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE SUCH PAIN?!"
"You... Dare... CRITICIZE ME?! THAT'S ALL OUR BUILDERS AND FIXERS EVER DID WAS CRITICIZE ME!" screeched Odessa.
Finally she could have one up on her sister now and once again.
She started mimicking and mocking the crews that had made her and Rosie back during World War II.
"It would always be 'Rosie this' or 'Rosie that' or my least favorite, 'That Odessa, why can't she be more sweet and kind-hearted like her sister ROSIE'!".
Pure favoritism and an unfavorite complex rearing its ugly head again.
"I'll have you know, Odessa, that I just wanted to let my work ethic speak for itself. All I ever did was so that you could look and feel proud to be my sister." stammered Rosie. "All you had to do was ask if I could appreciate you for who you could have been, and I would say 'yes' in a single wheel turn. But, you..."
"Proud To Be Your Sister?! YOU ALWAYS HAD LOVE AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT! I KNEW FROM THE START I DIDN'T, SO I HAD TO BUY IT THROUGH FEAR AND FEAR ALONE!" ranted Odessa, getting more beside herself with rage.
"I realize now that it was partially my fault that got you temporarily killed by that General Elbright back in 1945. But just exactly what drove you to not love me and force me to take your abuse along with many others?!" quivered Rosie.
"Simply your existing. Ever since we were built, I had always been ashamed to even be related to you. The only way I could survive was to take my rage out on people, especially the source of my pains!" snapped Odessa sullenly.
It was at that moment that Rosie realized the source of her sister's anguish.
Even if it could be the end for her, she decided to let her sister have her way with her for good.
"Then go on. Kill me. Right here. Right now. I cannot bear to let any sibling of mine suffer, even if they do hate me. If I really am causing you pain, I still love you and want you to be happy. If killing me will make you happy again, then so be it." sighed Rosie, defeated.
Her fireman continued turning the table around.
Just as Rosie was on the track facing Odessa's berth, Odessa was flabbergasted.
"All this time you never wanted me to suffer while I wanted you to. And now you offer yourself up for me to kill..." stammered Odessa, surprised at this show of unconditional love from the very sister she resented.
The only one who could have appreciated her then and might appreciate her now.
Soon, the true extent of her anger and pain began to surface and roar yet again. "But killing you is only going to end your pain while adding to mine still. I've always wanted you to know and suffer more than I suffered, AND IF IT MEANS DESTROYING AND HURTING EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT, SO BE IT!"
"Not if I have anything to say about that!" thundered Rosie firmly as the two sisters charged towards each other, reaching a deadlock.
As they strained against each other, Odessa pushed Rosie on until they were both on the turntable dead center.
Using a little of her strength, Odessa swung the table around until it was stopped on an open berth track.
She then pushed Rosie off the turntable and backed off while Rosie hit the back wall of the shed berth and bust right through.
"NOW YOU WILL KNOW TRUE SUFFERING, SISTER DEAREST!" cackled Odessa as she backed onto a siding, then rushed back out onto the line that would take her onto the Main Line bound for Sodor.
Rosie's driver and fireman rushed back to see if Rosie was hurt.
Not too bad, but Rosie was determined.
"Driver! Fireman! We've got to get back to Sodor and see what we can do to help! If we can't stop her outright, at least we should stop the bleeding!" Rosie panted as her driver cleared away the debris from her bunker and around her rear end.
As her driver and fireman scrambled into the cab, ready to send Rosie back to Sodor to see what they could do, Rosie saw Odessa pushing a long line of gunpowder vans along the Main Line towards Sodor at high speed.
Rosie's last look at her sister's face pushing the vans was that of an axe-crazed psycho who would not care what stood between her and her vengeance.
With a loud whistle, Rosie pounded the rails back towards Sodor.
Little did she know that when she met up with a concerned Stanley, Rosie had lost her sister in the race towards Tidmouth as Odessa had ventured onto the Peel Godred branch line to hide out until the end.
At stations along the way, a gunpowder van would have been set loose just kilometers before and would come to a stop on the middle track to await a burning empty goods van to set it alight and catch stations along with any people, engines and rolling stock in the blast.
Rosie heard a crazy cackle far away.
"Oh, Lords! I need more speed, gentlemen!" panted Rosie in her state of panic to save her friends and family.
Her crew were trying as hard as they could.
"You're already going 100, and this section of track can't take anymore from four tank engines!" panted Whiff as they four sped along the main line.
"We don't have time for this! Just do it!" snapped Rosie as their drivers opened their regulators wide so as to reduce the running distance to Tidmouth - and the four began pounding the rails with a tremendous noise.
In the meantime, the fallen sister Odessa was hiding out in the caves of Misty Valley, waiting to hear the explosions from the west side of the island to send Sodor up in smoke.
"IN JUST A FEW MORE MINUTES, ROSIE WILL FINALLY KNOW AND FEEL HOW I SUFFERED, AND THEN SOME DESERVED MORE!" cackled Odessa, who was now becoming a crazier, homicidal form of her psycho drill instructor persona.
"We've made it to Wellsworth! We might still make it!" gasped Stanley in hopes of stopping gunpowder vans along the way.
Just then, they saw a distant flash of light and could hear the sounds of explosions, debris crashing and death screams coming from Tidmouth.
They were too late for some of their friends...
"My... God! LORD PLEASE, NO! ...