It was late, the moon high and the earth still. Doncaster Works sat mostly abandoned, its brick and mortar lit in the eerie glow of midnight. All its machinery sat as if it had never been touched though it creaked with any slight breath of wind. The only hint at life could be found towards the back of the yard where Mallard sat awake, finally repaired and rested, to be released for service the following morning after one more prodding inspection. He looked discontented as always, steam circled his wheels like an ominous fog. He wasn't supposed to move just yet, but he as well was ready to bust out. Almost a month in the repair bay had him anxious for fresh air and sunlight. Only when he heard a pair of engines enter the building did he move, but only his eyes to look up at Allan and Arik as they slithered towards him. "I assume you have something to report?"

Allan nodded first, but Arik spoke. "I think we've got a problem," he said, glancing warily to his yellow twin. "It's Scot, we'd overheard him threatening his own brother just a few days ago."

"We would have told you sooner, but the first time we came up you were still in forced sleep," Allan added, shuffling awkwardly. "They wouldn't let us near you."

Mallard twitched his lips and mulled over what his little cronies said. Then he smiled. "That's a very interesting development, anything else?"

"Yes, the same day Scot threw that young engine, Samuel, right off the tracks after he made some side remarks about Meredith." Arik snickered. "The lad only suffered minor damage aside from the big bastard ripping his entire front fender off."

"Isn't that the one that's technically his son?"

The twins nodded, then chuckled. "He's a right prick, mean as sin, but he has potential, especially considering he and daddy don't exactly get along." Arik stated, then he smirked. "His sister, though," he paused as his body shuddered in excitement. "She's downright gorgeous, but she likes Scot and he at least tolerates her it seems."

"But this Samuel, you think he might be suaded to run against Scot?" Mallard was intrigued, his smile faded, one of the few times he appeared wholly serious.

Allan snorted. "Don't think it would require much persuasion at all."

The blue A4 remained silent, his expression deadpan, but inside he was boiling from the promise of a strong young engine at his side. He prepared to address the twins more when the sound of a third engine at the entrance drew his attention. Its silhouette slender against the night sky, it stopped for only a moment, then worked its way through the yard in a way that only a locomotive familiar with the works could. Mallard furrowed his brow then his nose flooded with a hauntingly familiar scent. His boiler rumbled. "Ellis?"

The mystery engine rolled into the light that seeped through the glass paneling above, revealing her horrendously scarred face. A nasty, crooked line split her stone expression right down the middle, her right eye white and glassed. She smiled, though it was lopsided. "Happy to see me?"

Mallard blinked, the twins recoiled. None of them knew what to say. They watched her die, they smelled it on her mangled, maimed body as she was carried away. The twins studied her build, perfect and polished, as black as her soul, Allan reached out to tap her fender and she growled.

"Yes I'm real you twit!" She barked.

Allan rolled away while Arik and Mallard both snickered. The largest of the engines straightened himself on the tracks and continued to take in Ellis' sleek body. He'd about forgotten what she looked like, anytime he tried to daydream about her during his private time the only image that would populate was that of her corpse. The rough and seductive memories had all but faded, until then at least. "What's that stupid human saying? 'Pinch me, I must be dreaming?'"

Arik whispered to Allan as his twin slipped onto the track directly beside him. "More like a nightmare with that face." They both cackled.

Ellis inhaled slowly. "Unless you'd like to look the same, I'd suggest you keep those stupid little mouths of yours shut."

The smirk returned. "Well… I happen to like this gnarled look of yours." Mallard eyed her hungrily. "It's surprisingly sexy."

"Glad to see you're still a horny pig," Ellis hissed, though she was smiling. "I heard you discussing Flying Scotsman, is that bastard still skulking about?"

"Unfortunately."

"And what's this I hear of him having a son? How is that possible?"

"Our new controller," Arik replied, though he flinched when her cold gaze snapped to him. "He uhh— he had two new engines built using his DNA and Meredith's."

"She's still alive?!" Ellis howled, her fire blazed in her cab, she grit her teeth and stared Mallard down. "How is that little bitch still living?!"

"I'm sure she'll wonder the same whenever she sees you," Mallard joked, he loved how Ellis bristled, the way her steam flared around her boiler and the fury in her eyes was a sight to see. "Though you may not get your chance to confront her for a while. Our new controller we mentioned whisked her away to America with him to tour the Union Pacific. They may not be back for months."

The K12 fumed, she rolled away to brood in the shadows and collect her thoughts while Mallard watched her with blatant curiosity. "How did you survive?"

Ellis' jaw stiffened then she sighed. "Some old curmudgeon bought me from the smelters, spent a small fortune to have me repaired for private service, but he died before I could work for him, so his family leased me back to the LNER."

"That's odd," Mallard hummed, scrunching his expression, he dipped his body in thought. "Our new controller wouldn't have brought you on, no offense."

"Someone did," Ellis retorted. "I've been relegated exclusively to freight work, apparently my face might scare people."

"Might?" Allan joked. The twins then snickered, but the larger engines ignored the both of them. They were too busy processing the reunion, Mallard was shocked, he felt he was staring into the eyes of a ghost. He was happy to have his fiery female back, and happy that it seemed the odds were stacking more and more in his favor.

The following morning Mallard was quick to hit the mainline after a flawless inspection. He powered down at full speed towards London, he was renewed from his spontaneous meeting the night before and screeched into the terminal, shooting up sparks onto the platform and towards early bird passengers. Of course they thought the spectacle was delightful and laughed and cheered, much to the annoyance of the engine who inadvertently caused such joy. Ignoring the adoring calls of his fans, Mallard scanned the terminal, the only other engine there was Kjell but the young Swedish lad knew better than to engage with the outcast A4.

Their tension was broken by Mallard being brought his coaches by a grouchy diesel who wheeled away before any pleasantries could be placed, not that Mallard was the type to do so. He wiggled as he felt his young driver connect the coaches, plugging his cables and tightening the coupling until the buffers were flush and the hook was taught. He wasn't too thrilled to be kept to the branch lines, but he knew it was because of his damned cousin and that damned controller.

He felt Felix give his fender a pat as he climbed back into his cab and he shook himself. He was the type of engine that resented human touch, but he wasn't too put off by his crew. One could almost say he liked them as they didn't try to control him. His driver let him run at his own pace, make his own moves regarding his routes and speed, and the fireman simply was a cunt which Mallard thoroughly enjoyed. In hiring his fireman it became known the engine spoke French which not a single soul knew— not even his brothers. The fact only came to light when Michele was cursing Mallard under his breath during a rough run and the engine threw his own string of French slurs right back. After that initial confrontation, the fireman and his engine got along better, though not perfect. There's not a soul in existence that could possess total favor of Mallard. He detested everyone, even those he seemingly favored.

The rest of the day for Mallard dragged out. Going to every podunk town and off-grid community imaginable, by mid-day he found himself having to stop for a wash— covered in dirt that turned to mud after an unexpected bout of fall rain. He disconnected from his coaches just outside Lincoln and moved onto a siding for his crew to at least wipe down his face and clear his wheels before his gears locked up. He was grumbling quietly while Felix nervously picked dried mud from his bearings. While he hoped Mallard wouldn't be so dumb as to run him over while between his wheels, the tiny man couldn't help but feel sick from fear.

"You need to relax, boy," Mallard growled, he flared his nostrils at Michele who approached him with a wet cloth for the dirt mucking up his cheeks. "If you shake too much you're going to scratch my spokes."

Felix swallowed, saying a quiet prayer before laughing uncomfortably. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry."

"You make him nervous." Michele sneered in French while carefully wiping down his engine's face.

Mallard smirked, responding in his fireman's tongue. "Watch this." He then pulled the steam up into his valves before releasing it right back out with a deafening hiss. Felix yelped, scrambled out from beneath his engine and stumbled into the wet grass beside the track.

"Du är en sån jävel!" He cried quickly gathering himself and dusting his suit as Mallard and Michele cut up on the siding. "Oh you think you're so funny, don't you?"

"Occasionally," Mallard snarked, he winked at Michele who chuckled.

After his wash the branch line passenger run continued into the late evening, by the time Mallard returned to Victoria the half moon was well into the sky. It took only a few minutes for him to be uncoupled and his crew bid their engine goodnight before they left through the breezeway, Felix still pouted about the little trick pulled on him earlier. Mallard sat still, waiting until he knew the pair were well and gone before starting back up. He rolled onto the mainline and continued straight northward in search of Ellis, he had a strong hunch he knew exactly where she was.

Alex sat at Hayden's desk later in the week scratching his head, staring at the file of a black K12 bought on for the LNER. He had read most of its file but once he caught a glimpse of its designation, a cold shock rocked his body and he slammed the papers onto his desk before frantically grabbing for the phone.

"How is she alive?!" Alex snarled at Edward before the door shut completely behind him less than an hour after Alex's rather disturbing phone call.

The inspector remained cool as he tucked his jacket under his arm, taking the file from the interim controller's shaking hands. He skimmed it with sharp eyes and while he mostly remained calm, a sudden tension lifted his shoulders. "Better yet, who signed off on her?"

"I don't know!" Alex leaned against the desk, it shifted from the force of his movement. "There's no invoice! Just the details of her rebuild and medical record."

Edward's eyes lifted from the file. "Have you told Hayden?" Alex shook his head. Edward nodded. "Good," he shut the file and tapped it to Alex's chest. "We keep this on the low, isolate her from the mainline until we know what's going on."

"She's already received dispatches for Scotland and others all the way north along the main goods line," Alex pressed helplessly. "She's due to pick up her first train any minute!"

"Then pull her off," Edward advised calmly. "Assign those duties to another, we can't have her spotted by Flying Scotsman, he'll go ballistic."

Alex looked down, his arms remained crossed firmly over his chest. He didn't expect so much from the job and he found himself regretting the heavy resentment he held towards Hayden for being so caught up and busy all the time. He suddenly understood. All the sleepless nights, stomach aches, mental exhaustion, and shortened temper. It all made sense. In less than two months he'd dealt with Flying Scotsman damaging two engines and frightening countless others. Then with Mallard's return to service he knew things would only escalate, he didn't even want to think about the dangers of adding Ellis back into that toxic mix.

"So why don't we scrap her?" Alex asked once he wrangled his crisis back slightly. "That seems to be the easiest solution."

"We can't," Edward set one of her papers in front of the interim controller and tapped it with a firm finger. "She's a lease. The LNER doesn't own her. Unless we have a title or have her rightful owner agree, there's no scrapping her."

"Then we deny her services all together, right? Send her away."

"Again, she's under contract, we break that our railway will be hit with substantial fines. We could even lose our accreditation. No," Edward picked up her lease sheet, studying it further. There wasn't even a name attached to it, where the owner signed there was only an 'X,' absolutely nothing to give away who she belonged to. "This is bizarre—" he stopped suddenly when he took note of who signed her for the LNER. He furrowed his brow.

Hayden C. Jameson

Without a word, Edward flipped the paper around so Alex could see it. The interim controller huffed in annoyance and glanced up, the color drained from his face before he snatched it from the inspector's fingers. He read it over and over, hoping the name would change, hoping it was his mind playing some cruel trick on him, but it never did. "This can't be right," Alex moved to his feet once more, never lifting his eyes from the ink. "He wouldn't have signed off on this if he knew it was her. There must be some mistake, an oversight!"

"I'm sure you're right," Edward remained calm in spite of Alex's frantic pacing. He grabbed the German man's suit jacket, forcing his movements to a sudden halt. He turned the man around so they could be eye-to-eye. "I need you to remain calm. We'll figure this out, but until we do, like I said in the beginning, do not tell Hayden, understood?"

Alex nodded and handed the paper back to Edward, the inspector placed it back into Ellis' file and he held it up. "Keep this under lock-and-key, we don't need anyone finding it."

"Right—"

An announcing whistle from the goods platform drew the attention of both men and they hastily stepped outside. There she was, only a few hundred meters away, waiting for her train. Alex hurried back into his office to pull a copy of her dispatch then made his way over to her driver and fireman who had climbed out of her cab to grab tea from a vendor on the platform. Alex waved them down and they received him with laughter as they waited for their morning drinks. She had a new crew, two fine men that wouldn't be under her or Mallard's poisonous influence. The interim controller pulled them aside and gave them a brief explanation of events, not all the details just enough that they were more than understanding when he asked they take her back to the yard to await reassignment.

Edward watched from the breezeway as Alex walked back to him and Ellis departed, clearly puzzled as to why she was leaving without her train but shockingly she didn't fight it, she went on and out of sight headed back towards the shunting yard.

"You alright, lad?" He inquired with a slight smirk.

Alex shook his head and shoved past the inspector. "I'm going to lock this up. You do what you can to figure this out." And with that, the door to Hayden's office shut and Edward was left to ponder the situation on his own.

"Tell me more about your little railway."

"There's not— well not too much to tell…" Meredith looked away from Jimmy as he nuzzled her cheek, smothering her with kisses. She giggled. "How am I supposed to talk when you keep doing that?"

Jimmy grumbled, though he took the hint and backed off. The little engine was up on his fender, nothing too risqué happened yet, but his boiler rumbled with anticipation, she had become more and more receptive of him over the last few days and he hoped that night he would finally have his chance to ride her properly. The tantric sex was fun, but he was more than ready to dive in and fuck her brains out. He figured talking about her home life might make her more trusting of him. "I bet you've got your pick of the litter up there."

"Kind of," Meredith admitted with a laugh. "Everything there is very kosher, all extracurriculars are kept private and mostly at night, and my partner is very… jealous, he doesn't like me being with anyone he deems a threat."

"Hm," Jimmy sat on that statement for a moment then smirked. "Anyone I see as a threat I just kill 'em."

Meredith laughed again, but then she studied Jimmy's face, his eyes gleamed of something deadly. He was serious. "Oh, you don't mean that," she said, trying to have him admit he was joking.

His smile only broadened, his hooded gaze darkened enough to reflect the night sky through the stall's opening behind her. She swallowed. "You're joking… right?"

"Tell me, baby doll," Jimmy purred, his body vibrated from the lethal bass in his voice. "Is this partner of yours truly an alpha? From what I've heard of him it seems he got lucky, he didn't properly earn his station." He paused and breathed in the little engine, he retracted his fender further inward to draw her closer. "I may not be Chief, I may not be first born, but I'm the alpha. There were twenty-five of us Big Boys built, but now only fifteen remain, any guesses as to why?"

Again, Meredith swallowed. She knew the answer and didn't want to hear his justification, but her position on him left her vulnerable, she had nowhere to go. "I've got an idea…" she whispered. She then frowned. "You're just trying to scare me," she hissed. "Marjorie told Hayden there's never been a case of engines killing each other on this railway."

"And he believed her?" Jimmy snickered, he kissed Meredith's cheek despite her glowering. "Marjorie is smart, she likely only told your controller that to keep him calm."

"Ugh," Meredith tried to recoil but she was stuck on his fender. "This isn't funny!"

"I'm not trying to be funny, darlin'." Jimmy scowled then released her to drop back to the track with a heavy thud.

The little engine was suddenly terrified of Jimmy. He just admitted to killing ten of his own siblings and for all she knew it could've been reasons as trivial as saying his name wrong or stealing one of his girls. "Why would she lie?!"

Jimmy shrugged, he'd reset his platform and was looking down at Meredith with impatient disdain which made her even more uncomfortable. "I couldn't tell ya, that woman's a weird one, she's good at what she does though. Persistent as fuck too, she's been trying to reign me in since she was hired on."

"And you won't be controlled, will you?"

He smiled smugly. "Not one fucken bit."

"Do you think that makes you desirable?" Meredith retorted.

"Nope," the big engine grabbed Meredith once more, sliding her up to his face as she fought against him. "This does!" He latched onto her mouth and shoved his tongue past her lips, she tried to fight but his taste was intoxicating. She relaxed fully and slipped her panel open, she felt his sex already there and he began to rub her opening making her shudder and moan softly. His body tingled, there was something different about her movements, the way she savored his tongue, and how she rolled her body. He pulled back on the kiss. "Come with me." He whispered.

In the cover of late night, the Big Boy led his shaking prospect to a siding just outside the Cheyenne depot, it was wide open, not a tree or even a small bush in sight. Exposed to the sleeping town, lit by starlight. Jimmy bumped her rear fender. "Go forward." He whispered.

Meredith took a deep breath and went towards the stops at the end of the spur, when she approached them she noticed they were different. Two posts at either side and strung between them was a thick piece of leather right at the height of Meredith's smoke box. "What's this?"

She could feel the ground as it shifted behind her, Jimmy's breath sent shivers down her boiler. "It's for you to bite down on." He hummed before lifting her up from behind.

She yelped and laughed nervously. "I— I don't know what you mean by tha—" her body stiffened from an unexpected burning pressure between her bearings, it rattled her frame and sent violent waves of ecstasy up and out of her mouth in a chorus of deep groans. She then understood and took the leather between her teeth as Jimmy worked his way deep inside. Her moans were muffled and the string of curses were clumsy but unmistakable as the source of her conflicting pleasure began to work its way in and out of her, slowly at first. Each inward thrust was met with rattling vocals from the little engine and Jimmy was more than ready to pick up the pace. How she wrapped around him was almost too much for even him to bear and the slow movement caused his mind to black completely out. It wasn't until the ring of fire in her undercarriage transformed into a halo of bliss did Meredith release the leather and cry out. "Oh, fuck, faster!"

Jimmy immediately began slamming the little engine into the stops, taking in her carnal sounds, even allowing himself a good groan or two as he moved. After a solid bout of bashing he slowed for a moment, nearly pulling himself completely from her, he paused as the valves in his rod released excess steam, its length dripped from the mixture of his and Meredith's lube. He smirked, he hadn't even realized he came until he saw their mess glistening in the light. "Jesus fuck…" he groaned quietly. He adjusted himself on the track. He felt a little disoriented until he noticed Meredith had tried to reverse herself back onto him. "Ohh, hold on," he sighed, collecting himself for another round.

His new partner waited impatiently until she was lifted back up, she felt his rod poking around at her undercarriage and she giggled. "Easy, I'm ticklish," Meredith said.

"You shouldn't have told me that," Jimmy warned as he slipped back inside her. That time she took him with better ease, though there was still some resistance from her metal frame which he was doing well to not bend. She groaned again and that time his approach was more methodical, he kept his body still and moved his rod independently, taking it slow, pulling himself all the way out then going in as easy as physically possible until he had about disappeared inside Meredith. The new approach had Meredith paralyzed, she could hardly breathe, her body felt like it would overheat as her valves could hardly keep up with the rapid steam build up. She didn't know what noise to make, instead she merely gave Jimmy a serenade of sharp inhales and exhales with every stroke. She couldn't think about a thing, her mind was the white noise static of a television with no signal, she couldn't even process the sounds around her and when she tried to open her eyes they simply rolled back into her head. Every sense was compromised as her nerves did what they could to process the flood of feelings beneath her. There was no differentiating between the pleasure and pain, only when there was another rush of heat from deep inside her and a violent shudder from behind did she snap back to reality for a brief moment.

"You killed your own brothers…"

"I did what I had to."

"But why?"

"I won't be undermined."

"Let me look at you."

The sound of a massive machine slipping down the tracks filled the otherwise quiet night air. Meredith backed down the spur and found somewhere to turn herself around. She was quick to reverse down the siding until she knocked into the buffers and watched a dark-eyed Big Boy inch towards her looking unexpectedly hostile. "Would you kill me too? What if I told you to go fuck yourself or that I wished you dead for being so cruel?"

Jimmy broke his deadpan with a crooked grin. "I'd have to teach you some manners, but I'd never lay a harmful fender on you."

"Never say never," Meredith offered up her own snarky grin as she watched Jimmy close in on her. "You should know I like it rough."

He lifted up the little engine and ran a hungry tongue over her cheek. The gesture made Meredith shiver, she'd never been licked like that before and Jimmy's tongue was huge and harsh, just like the rest of him, and it covered almost her whole cheek. "Do that again." She sighed.

"You like when I taste you?" He purred then slipped his tongue over the other half of her face. "Meredith, I don't know what this other male you have the hots for has to offer, but he better know that he's going to have to fight me tooth and nail to get you back."

The little engine could feel his heat beneath her, she craved him, but she also loved talking to him. "Is that so?"

"Mhmm," he nibbled her lip and chuckled. "You're mine now, darlin'."

Meredith brushed her lips over Jimmy's, her eyes closed as she took in his scent. Like a late night campfire in the middle of autumn. He smelled like home. "You haven't gone and fallen in love with me, have you?" She teased.

He laughed as he shoved his rod back inside her. "I barely know you." He rocked his body back and forth, savoring Meredith's raspy breaths against his nose. He licked her face again and moved to her mouth, their tongues fought and their faces became drenched in saliva as they fucked and kissed the night away with not another word exchanged between them.