"You bastard! You heartless fucking bastard!"

Gannet bashed into Quicksilver, the young A4's eyes burned with angry tears as he watched his silver counterpart collect himself after the unexpected slam on the mainline outside Doncaster Works.

"Gannet stop!" Bittern shouted, he watched his brother charge at Quicksilver once more. "Gannet!"

"I oughta kill you!" Gannet bellowed, he went to slash at Quicksilver's face with his buffers, but the dominant A4 managed to catch his sibling on his fender, knocking him to his side with one smooth motion. "Pull yourself together, Gannet!" He snarled as the dust settled between them, his nose and lip bled steadily, his buffers warped from Gannet's unrestrained assault. "Beating me down isn't going to bring Kestrel back!"

"You ruined us!" Gannet was sobbing, it was a furious sound weighed down by grief. "He was my best friend! He didn't speak to me for years because of you!"

"I did what I needed to do to keep him safe!" Quicksilver spat, his mouth was hot with fire, he tried to shake the ringing in his head off, but the sudden movement only made him nauseous. "You were going to drag him down with you and Mallard!"

"I quit Mallard! Why can't you forgive me after all this time?! You're my brother!" Gannet's cries had become desperate, his heartbreak wasn't only over Kestrel.

Bittern rushed to his younger brother's side and tried to help straighten him upright while he cried and cried. "I looked up to you, Quicksilver! I loved you, and you cast me out!"

The first lieutenant stood still, he could barely breathe listening to his baby brother wail the way he was. He had no idea Gannet cared so much about him, he was always so distant towards Quicksilver. He furrowed his brow and looked away as Bittern and Spencer helped Gannet back onto the track, they were in one of those rare spots where the neighboring lines were close enough an engine could reach the next without any strain, and there was no worry for another train coming any time soon, upon his return Hayden cancelled the rest of the day's dispatches, promptly shutting the railway down while he helped the works process Kestrel and come up with a plan to dispose of his body without upsetting his obviously riled siblings. It was a beautifully pleasant day, bright and airy, but the mood was heavy, and the world seemed to stop turning for some.

"Gannet," Quicksilver started softly, he winced after his jaw popped unexpectedly when he spoke. "Gannett… disowning you and Mallard was the hardest decision I've ever made, I loved you both dearly, but you two were headed down a path that would lead to nothing but death and misery for anyone involved, you left me no choice."

"But you didn't love me enough to accept my change of heart?" Gannet groaned, the entire left side of his body was crumpled and scraped from the fall and his pressure dropped quickly as steam shot from several holes in his boiler. "I proved over and over that I changed, I did my work, kept out of the drama and played nice, but still you forced everyone to ignore me. I was alone for so long and now one of my closest brothers is dead! I can't even remember the last words I spoke to him!"

There was a lonely pause, all the A4's present then had no idea what to say or even do. They simply sat in silence, until someone else spoke up.

"Safe travels."

The collective of A4's all snapped their attention to the line beside Edgar where Mallard rolled up appearing surprisingly sober. He glanced between his brothers and groaned. "Your last words to Kestrel were 'safe travels.' You two had just finished talking about some floozy you had in common when he had to depart. It was a day like today, quiet, warm, and you had no idea it was to be the last time you two ever spoke."

Gannet's throat tightened, he allowed his tears to flow freely but he avoided everyone's gaze. He leaned against Bittern who was glaring at his twin. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my brother, same as you all." Mallard stated calmly, for once not feeding into another male's anger. "I know everyone suspects I was involved in his death, but I liked Kestrel, he was a good engine, and his passing shocked me just as much as the rest of you."

Quicksilver studied Mallard while Edgar kept close to him, he certainly didn't trust his conniving brother, but he appeared sincere, his aspect and steam were light and he avoided eye-contact for the most part. For a moment Mallard looked like his old, shy self and Quicksilver took pity on him— briefly. "You're not wanted here." He growled. Pity could never last whenever Mallard was concerned.

"I don't care whether or not I'm wanted," Mallard retorted, still maintaining his calmness. "I wanted to see Kestrel, not any of you limp-dicked assholes."

Edgar then moved to place himself in front of Mallard, taking a proper defensive stance. "You've lost your right to see him."

The outcast A4 finally allowed himself a low growl of annoyance as he stared down his siblings. "He's my brother too and I'd like to see him."

"You can't," Edgar insisted, inching closer. "Mister Jameson is busy assessing him, no one is allowed to see him until his burial and you're not welcome for that either."

Mallard took a calming breath in then sighed heavily. "Fine," he grumbled as he engaged his reverser. "I'll just visit him later this evening, when all you pricks have gone to sleep." He backed down the line to where he could turn himself around and left the rest of his brothers to ponder his intentions. It was actually Spencer who commented on the encounter first.

"That was… bizarre." He said from beside Gannet and Bittern.

Edgar nodded in agreement and looked to Quicksilver, the first lieutenant was deep in thought and hadn't noticed his brothers all looking to him for some sort of wisdom. Edgar joined his side and gave him a gentle nudge. "What do you make of that?"

Quicksilver grinded his jaw then forced himself to relax and release his steam. "I don't know," he said. "Mallard is smart and a damn good liar, but part of me… believes him."

"What? So you're saying you trust that Mallard didn't have a hand in Kestrel's murder?" Bittern inquired, he had given his wheels a slight wobble as Gannet laid more of his weight onto him while he quietly cried. "What about what Emerson said? How do we know he wasn't talking about Kestrel?"

"I believe Mallard didn't know Kestrel was the target," Quicksilver corrected sternly. He looked to all of his brothers to make certain they were listening. "Whoever made the call did so without first running it by him."

"So he's indirectly involved?" Spencer raised his brow. "Is that what you're saying?"

Quicksilver nodded at his twin. "He wanted to kill someone, but he either didn't specify or someone defied his wishes. I'm willing to bet it's the latter. Someone trying to deepen the rift between us."

"Ellis…" Edgar whispered though everyone heard him.

Quicksilver looked to the second lieutenant, his expression grave, he nodded, but then he returned his attention to Gannet still bawling against Bittern. He steamed forward, approaching the youngest of the group quietly until he was mere inches away. Gannet blinked, afraid to look his dominant brother in the eye, he flinched when Quicksilver's forehead pressed to his and the silver male exhaled comforting steam against his smokebox. "I'm sorry." He murmured softly.

Gannet's grief hit him full force, he began to audibly sob and pushed himself deeper into Quicksilver, crying relentlessly into his brother until his voice had completely gone. Then Quicksilver allowed Gannet a few moments to whimper before he carefully nudged him off.

"Let's get you to the works to have that boiler mended," Quicksilver said sternly. He nodded to Bittern and Spencer who flanked their brother to support him back to Doncaster. Tears never stopped flowing from Gannet, but he did feel —for a brief moment— lighter.

Some hours later, at the northernmost edge of the island sat Mallard, he had made his way up to Aberdeen and the craggy cliffs of Scotland. He didn't know how else to spend his free time, he was still cross with Ellis and had no interest in being around Allan or Arik so he relished in the music of the sea alone, his solitude wouldn't last for long.

"If you move too far forward you'll roll right into that frigid water."

The blue A4 couldn't hold back the smile that creeped its way across his face. Marilyn joined his side on the adjacent track, watching the stalwart male with intent eyes. "I enjoy precarious living." Mallard mused with a confident puff of steam.

"So I've gathered," Marilyn replied, a knowing and tilted grin lifted her eyes. She looked out to the vast sea as it rippled and rolled against the high winds. "You left me feeling curious the other night," she began. "So I did some digging—" she paused to look at him and his smile had gone. "I have to say I'm impressed, you had me believing you were interested in more than just sex with me. Come to find out you're a bit of an addict, so much so it makes you violent."

Mallard raised his brow. "I assume that's a problem for you."

"The sex part isn't," Marilyn admitted boldly. "It's everything else: the lies, deceit, corruption, manipulation. Your assault of my mother and many others, your murdering of Bittern's partner, everything else. Your isolation suddenly makes more sense than ever."

"Is that all?" Mallard remained steady though he felt himself growing more irritated. He didn't like hearing himself broken down so simply by some female he barely knew.

Marilyn shrugged, she detected the male's growing ire though it didn't phase her. "I'm just trying to understand what happened to you to make you so controlling."

"Why would you care anyway?"

"Still haven't figured that part out yet," Marilyn reversed a few meters back then stopped again. "You… intrigue me." She breathed out. "Turn around and face me."

Mallard, typically defiant of any orders given by those he considered beneath him, did as the female demanded. He flipped around and moved to Marilyn's track, stopping just before their buffer pads touched, his expression vacant, but his undercarriage was hot and hopeful. "Okay," he scoffed. "Now what?"

"Kiss me."

The male narrowed his gaze at the unusual request. "Kiss you? You want to be intimate with me after detailing all the ways I'm the worst engine in existence."

"I wouldn't say the worst," Marilyn teased. "But I want to see how well you do being forced to hold back and not have your way."

"By fucking me?" He was nearing laughter by then, but he held off for obvious reasons.

Marilyn shook her head. "No sex, just kissing."

Mallard frowned, suddenly he wasn't feeling so hot. "No sex? Then what's the point?"

"Just trust me," Marilyn insisted, she moved closer, Mallard clearly apprehensive, but as she drew nearer the hesitation melted away. He licked his lips and eyed her mouth hungrily.

"I don't think you know what you're getting into." He said while their noses rubbed, he nipped at the side of her smokebox, pushing his fender to hers in the hope she would open up to him. "C'mon, just one bump."

"I said kiss only," Marilyn parted her lips and breathed out onto his face making the male growl louder than the crashing waves below. "If you want to continue as we are I need to know you have some sense of self-control."

"So I don't scare you?" Mallard's voice rattled low in his throat, he grazed his lips across Marilyn's, still rumbling threateningly. "All those horrid things I did don't make you want to run for the hills?"

Marilyn remained silent, she opened her mouth to take Mallard's and moaned when he filled her throat with scalding smoke. She tasted the ash on his tongue, savored his heat, as their kiss intensified the warmth in her undercarriage became almost too much to ignore, but she did. She had a point to make. He filled her mouth with spit and swirled his tongue around hers while chuckling darkly. He could tell by the way she was pushing against him she wanted more, and he was going to break her. Mallard pulled his lips from Marilyn's and dragged his perfectly wet tongue under her chin, earning a delicious whimper from the young female. He then kissed her eyes, her nose, cheeks, and back to her lips, waiting for her to part them then aggressively shoving their tongues together without fully interlocking their lips. It was after several more minutes of their juicy make out, Mallard began to really enjoy himself, he loved focusing on her taste, her smell, the way her subtle grinding against his buffers tingled his frame. His desire to lay her was higher than any other female he'd known, but he wanted to keep with the build-up knowing it would be well worth it.

"Stop," Marilyn gasped suddenly as Mallard had begun to chew on the soft spot between her smokebox and footboards. She pushed herself off the male who shook himself violently, but remained where he was. The young female watched how Mallard breathed, it was long and heavy, his steam fogged up the line quicker than the breeze could carry it away, he looked beautifully feral as he eyed her like a forbidden dessert he was dying to take a bite out of.

"Is this… controlled enough for you?" He hummed between breaths. He shuffled his wheels, the pressure from his panel was putting stress on his axles. "Have I satisfied your curiosity?"

Marilyn moved back towards Mallard wearing a small, sultry smile, she pushed against him. "Drop it." She whispered.

There was no hesitation from the male, his rod burst from his panel, it seemed magnetized to Marilyn's own hot sex and it snaked beneath her undercarriage with a startling quickness. When they were connected, Marilyn once again stopped Mallard before he could begin his movements. She moved to whisper in his ear. "I'm riding you this time."

Mallard let out a dreamy sound as Marilyn started to slide back and forth along his length. She moved slower than he was used to but it rocked his senses, he smiled stupidly, biting his lip and closing his eyes. Having never been ridden like that by a female he thought he was dreaming, he began to vocalize which was odd for him. He grunted and moaned and laughed. "Oh fuck," he breathed, opening his eyes to look down at Marilyn. He about collapsed when he found her staring up at him with a playful innocence as she panted to the rhythm of her riding. Mallard licked his lips and shut his eyes again, he clenched his rod when he felt himself nearing release, he liked to edge himself so his orgasm would be more rattling. He groaned long and low when she picked up the pace and opened his eyes to look at her again. "Please tell me I get exclusive rights to you…"

Marilyn slowed so she could speak. "Tell me what happened to Kestrel."

"It wasn't my call," Mallard sighed, clenching his teeth as his orgasm bubbled to the surface. "They did it without my knowledge."

"Who did?"

"I don't kno— OH, fuck me!" Mallard's sex throbbed as he released his fluids deep inside his partner. He threw a long string of swears against Marilyn's smokebox along with blistering steam while he fought to collect himself after the most intense orgasm he'd ever experienced. His wheels wobbled, and his boiler rattled with every breath out. "Gods…"

"You don't know who killed Kestrel?" Marilyn pushed, ignoring the hot lube dripping from her valve. Her own orgasm came only moments before but her determination to drive Mallard mad saw her ignore it. Her mind then was clear as the cloudless sky above them.

Mallard shook his head. "I understand my history would have me as the first suspect, but if I were to target one of my brothers, Kestrel wouldn't have even been on the list."

"Do you have any idea?"

"I wish I did," Mallard's mouth was painfully dry and he lapped at his lips. "I'd send their soul straight to hell." He snorted. "Is that why you fucked me like that? So you could interrogate me about your dead boyfriend and know I'd be honest?"

"Partially," Marilyn confessed, looking away briefly. "Mostly I did because I wanted to."

Mallard's boiler rumbled and he smirked. "Funny how you go from the nicest of us to the very worst."

"I enjoy precarious living," Marilyn batted her eyes and pursed her lips playfully.

Mallard put himself back against the young female, his eyes hooded and black as he lifted her up to ride his buffers. "Then allow me to show you the edge."

Meredith's raspy breaths echoed in the stall as she enjoyed being pounded from behind by soft-spoken August. He moved on her with the same finesse as his brothers but his foreplay was gentle, his kisses light with very little open-mouthed action, but once he connected to her he became a whole other beast. He fucked her harder than either Jimmy or Chief, it was almost frantic the way he moved, but not so that it wasn't enjoyable. Meredith had come many times in that first session they had together, her valve was swollen and raw, overflowing with the male's lube and he showed no signs of stopping. She loved how different they all were. Jimmy was brutal and dominating, Chief delicate and sensual, and August seemed to possess that neediness common to young males still coming into their sexual prime. Not to mention the resident Challengers, Joey and Silas, who were each insane lovers in their own right. They tended to corner her in the middle of the day, relishing in the voyeurism as they railed her in front of workmen, shunters, diesels, and God himself. Night time then was for the Big Boys and they loved to double-up on her, but that cool silent night it was only her and August, the rest of the roundhouse residents were out of state so they had the berths to themselves and they took full advantage by not holding back on their noise.

"Fuck, you feel so good!" August exclaimed, his thrusts picked up and he grinned while he watched the little engine bash into his berth's stops. "How do you keep it so tight?"

Meredith rolled her body as best she could and laughed through gritted teeth. "A tank engine on my railway… she taught me how to exercise myself— ughh…"

The Big Boy grunted, his body trembled from another tingling orgasm. He decided it to be his last and carefully withdrew himself, using his rod to lower the little engine back onto the tracks. "You'll have to give her my regards whenever you go back." His platform reset and he shook himself off with a satisfied breath out. "Gods, I shouldn't have taken my time getting with you."

Meredith giggled as she reversed out of the stall and onto the turntable with August. He reversed into his berth first then waited for her to settle in beside him, he regretted the wall between them, he would've loved to cuddle her as they slept. "Goodnight." He said softly.

"Night," Meredith yawned— fully satisfied, released the last of her steam in preparation for sleep, but just as she had begun to shut her eyes, a large form of another locomotive appeared outside the low-lit yard. She blinked a couple times, recognizing the shape of a Challenger against the late-night sky, but Silas and Joey were states away, there was not a chance of them returning so quickly. The tank engine glanced to August who was already watching her with slight worry. "Who is that?"

He clenched his jaw. "Abigayle."

Meredith looked back to the engine as she pulled onto the turntable. She was plain to look at, barely feminine but entirely stern, the biggest female Meredith had ever seen. Abigayle regarded Meredith with very little interest and instead turned to August and smiled. "Where's the rest of ya?" She inquired in a rumbling tone.

"South," August answered promptly. "They should return by mid-Thursday."

Abigayle was disappointed. "That's a shame, I was looking forward to a nice lay with Jim after being gone for so long." She looked to the young Big Boy with a flirtatious raise of her brow. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to quench my thirst would you, Auggie?"

August swallowed nervously. "I'd love to, but I'm pretty worn out at the moment, maybe in the morning?"

The large female dropped the smile, that was when her attention shifted to the little engine located beside her cousin. "I guess I have you to thank for that, the little slut from England I'd heard so much about."

"Be kind, Abby," August insisted when he noticed Meredith's discomfort. "Her owner had to go home and she's in our care until he returns for her."

Abby snorted incredulously. "And I'm certain you and the others will see to that, leaving the rest of us females out to pasture."

"No, that's not what I said," August rolled his eyes. Abby was always so dramatic, even more so when it seemed there was competition for her playmates. "Just be more welcoming, that's all, Jimmy likes her and he won't take kindly to you bullying her like all the others."

"I don't bully them," Abby denied as she took her place in the stall at the very end. "I simply remind them their place."

"I recall you putting a proper hole in Mary's boiler when she took too long with Joey last winter."

"Well that harlot needs to learn to not be so greedy, she'd had multiple comings, it was time to give it up." Abby stated frankly.

Meredith furrowed her brow. "Joey? You mean… your brother?"

Abby was hardly put off by Meredith's shock. She simply yawned and reiterated. "Yes, my brother, I'm certain you've figured out he's quite the savage when the mood strikes him. I prefer him over Silas, he lasts longer."

Meredith blinked, unsure how to process the words spoken towards her. She tried to imagine a scenario where she would openly couple with Brian, but the thought made her plating crawl. Again she continued to be blown away by how little American engines cared when it came to their partners. Cass had warned her the males weren't picky when it came to relatives, but she thought her little diesel friend was simply being a tad exaggerative. But Meredith understood then; all that seemed to matter was getting off and boy did they get off.

The following morning, Meredith woke to her face wet with condensation. She shook herself off and scowled as a cool breeze created shivers over her frame. When her vision came to she started, Jimmy was asleep facing her, his every breath out sent steam barreling down and against her face. The female bumped her unexpected guest and he stirred with a grumble, but once he fully woke he smiled. "Such a pleasant face to wake up to." It was partially a joke as Meredith was scowling rather intensely, her face all twisted and wrinkled. Jimmy thought it was cute. It wasn't often he saw her so genuinely pissed off.

"When did you get back? I thought you were going to be gone for several more days."

He yawned, shaking his boiler as he worked off his sleepy state. "Few hours ago, my last leg of freight was delayed and I was diverted back here until the issue could be resolved. I'll be kept local until time to pick up where I left off."

Meredith hmphed and looked down at the space between them. "So I've met Abby."

"I heard," Jimmy chortled. "I certainly got an earful when I rolled in this morning as she was leaving. Seems she's a little jealous."

"I don't like her," Meredith stuck her lip out which made Jimmy laugh louder. "It's not funny!" She whimpered, pouting harder. "She's cruel and gross. I mean— she fucks her brothers!" She exclaimed, looking back to the dominant Big Boy still wearing that stupid bemused grin. "What sort of psychopath does that?!"

"Abigayle," Jimmy replied; he retracted his platform to pull Meredith up to his face and nuzzle her, though she fought him. "Look, you don't need to worry about her tryin' shit with you. I'll hang that crazy bitch's smokebox in my berth before I let anything happen to you."

"I thought she was your favorite," Meredith puffed, ignoring his lustful purrs as he rubbed her cheeks with his nose.

"She was," he hummed, kissing her pushed out lips. "She might've been bumped to second by a certain feisty little foreigner."

Meredith relented for a moment and looked at the big male. "So you've made me a target for said psychopath."

He groaned, rolling his eyes. "How does your partner put up with you? You can be so damn neurotic."

"Same reason you keep coming back to me." Meredith finally smiled with a playful wiggle of her body.

"Touché," he turned his head so he could lock his lips with hers then shoved her back against the stops of his berth.