Author's Note: I lied, I need to add an extra chapter based on the sheer volume of content. But please enjoy this one, it's entirely new material.

As an aside I would dearly love reviews on these new chapters, they've been in the works for a long time and I'm super excited to share them as we make the final sprint towards the ending we all want.

The first assignment of his career had been doomed from the start it seemed. The last Conductor disappeared under highly suspicious circumstances, there was serious dark magic being played with by people who had little to no business using it, and he had ultimately found himself in a struggle for survival in order to keep the people he was assigned to protect safe.

It was all very vexing.

At the very least, the people of Shining Time were safe. But goodness were they ever determined to put themselves in danger. They were extremely brave and loyal, but had very few qualms about throwing themselves in harm's way.

He supposed the same had to be said about himself and the way he joined the fray, but he seemed to have made out a little worse. He wasn't dead as far as he could tell, but he felt like he was floating in a vast ocean of gold, which provided very little context of where he was or how much time had passed.

It was definitely magic and felt, to his great relief, uncorrupted.

Nonetheless, he wondered what had become of himself.

You're awake. He felt the words ripple through his mind.

"So I am," he thought back, "And who might you be?"

The magic of the station. I've been protecting you. I was able to transport you here after you helped Stacy by lending her your powers. You were very weak but well enough to survive in a stasis.

That made sense to him. "Thank you, I'm in your debt."

Not at all. It was you who saved me in the first place. I can't ever do enough to show you that. However, at the fear of greatly overstepping, if I may be so bold I have to ask one more favour.

"What can I do to help?" he wondered.

Please, help them understand that I have and continue to do everything in my power to keep them safe. Despite every ugly thing that took place here I want them to understand that I will protect them against any threat that tries to come here. Be it this one or future ones, I won't be caught off guard again.

He considered this. "So you think that this could happen again?" he asked.

It could, but even if it doesn't I want to help them heal. I want them to feel safe again.

Mr. Conductor felt a pang of sadness at this. He could sense the feelings of love and care that ran deep. The magic truly loved the people that occupied the station.

"I will do my best. Unfortunately since I've been here I don't really know what happened after I disappeared… Did everyone make it out okay?"

Yes, they all did, thanks to your quick thinking. I also briefly loaned a small fraction of my power to Horace Schemer, for one last miracle. Unfortunately mine is far more intense than yours, and humans can't wield it so much as give it passage. And it's far more damaging, I couldn't let him sacrifice himself so I may have broken two sets of rules by healing him immediately afterwards but no one needs to know except for you and I, and Stacy and Schemer.

Mr. Conductor smiled. "I hope that the two of them can figure out their way forward together."

Stacy Jones is truly one of a kind and I trust she has the support of her friends and family at the station. I've also come to fully accept Schemer in my confidence. Please take care of them all, they'll need you.

And with that, Mr. Conductor felt a gentle tug as if he was being pulled through space and he landed inside the clockhouse that belonged to his predecessor.

The day after Schemer was interviewed by law enforcement Billy went to visit him. It was the first time they had seen each other since they parted ways. Schemer was in good spirits and Billy was relieved to see that he was actively planning out his next steps.

"I'll be pulling the arcade machines out of storage after I speak to Mr. King tomorrow. He said he wanted to clear the air so I imagine I'll be getting my lease back," Schemer explained over coffee.

"Excellent, I'm happy to hear it, Schemer. We'll be looking forward to having you back at the station."

Schemer beamed and Billy realized how much he had missed his friend. It hadn't been the same without him, and to have him actually returned alive was still unbelievable. Still, even before he left Billy hadn't actually seen him this happy since, well, before he and Stacy broke up. It was good to see him back to being himself, it made things feel more normal despite the entirely abnormal circumstances they had experienced recently.

Schemee joined them shortly after Billy arrived. Despite the age difference they greeted each other as old friends. And really, with the ordeal they had all been through, it certainly felt like they were. That hadn't changed with Schemer returning.

The three of them chatted for a while, excitedly talking about the reopening of the station.

"Has anyone spoken to Stacy yet?" Schemee asked after the conversation found a natural lull, frowning slightly.

Billy could see Schemer was working hard to keep his face neutral.

"I did, I spent some time with her after she was discharged. I think she's taking some time to herself for now so I've been giving her a bit of space."

Schemee said 'hmm' but not much else.

Billy could see his frustration, and Schemer's apprehension. He understood it, he was feeling concern for their friend as well. She had really been put through the ringer and he hoped that she just needed some space, rather than isolating herself from them all.

"I'm sure if you gave her a call she could be convinced into a visit?" Billy suggested hopefully.

However, as Billy saw the mischievous glint that appeared in Schemee's eyes and hoped he wouldn't do anything too dramatic.

Going to Snarlyville to meet Mr. King was actually Schemer's first trip outside the house since leaving the hospital. He had sent Schemer an urgent notice to come speak with him at his earliest convenience. He was intending to travel alone but Schemee insisted on joining him. When Schemee told him of his intention to come with him his first instinct was to turn him down. It had been a trying time, and Schemee should use the break to rest. But when he turned to face his nephew and was met with such a steely determined gaze that the protest died in his throat.

Whether it was seeded in fear with a need to remain close, or out of a place of justice, Schemee didn't say. But he did say that it was important that he saw his uncle receive his due for everything that had happened. Regardless of what the full and true cause was, he could feel Schemee's loyalty was the root cause and that was not something Schemer could risk losing again.

They arrived by car and Mr. King greeted them outside the station.

"Oh, Schemer, so good to see you again! And Schemee, I wasn't expecting to see you but I'm glad nonetheless," he exclaimed exuberantly.

Uncle and nephew exchanged a wordless glance.

"I'm representing my uncle today, standard business procedure. You understand of course," Schemee said before Schemer could even open his mouth to respond to Mr. King. This was not standard procedure, nor did they talk about it beforehand. Schemer once again found himself stifling a protest, however he was curious to see what his nephew was up to.

Mr. King looked as disarmed as Schemer felt. He quickly caught himself and recovered after a short moment of incredulity. "Yes… Yes of course! Standard procedure, I understand. Please, gentlemen, follow me to my office."

Schemer gave his nephew a puzzled look as they walked behind Mr. King. Schemee merely gave a small smile in return. Schemer looked forward, supposing that he was at the mercy of his nephew's plan now.

Mr. King held the door open for them and gestured for them to take a seat. He sat across from them, suddenly seeming nervous as he twiddled his thumbs. "Well, you're probably wondering why I've called you here."

"Not really, you're going to offer my client the job he applied for recently," Schemee chimed in.

Schemer had to stop himself from smacking himself in the forehead.

Mr. King blinked in confusion. "Er, well, you're not wrong."

Schemer almost did a double take. "You mean, you actually are offering me a position on the board of directors?"

"Yes, but there's more. As you well know, I value loyalty, and you showed an extraordinary amount of loyalty to both myself and this railway as of late. Not to mention bravery and moxie, but overall you've impressed me greatly and I'm in your debt. I'd like to officially name you as the Vice President."

Schemer thought he had misheard. "I-I'm sorry?" he sputtered.

"I know this is sudden, and perhaps you weren't expecting this offer, but I did prepare the paperwork ahead of today," Mr. King said with an air of satisfaction while passing a packet of documents across the desk.

Schemee reached them first. "Well we will have our lawyer review the package, of course. But I do have a few questions in the meantime," he cut in.

"Oh, well, I really was hoping to speak to your uncle about the details. You know, adult to adult," Mr. King said with a frown, casting a pointed look at Schemer.

"No, he stays. Anything you say to me can be said around him." Schemer frowned in return.

"Yes, of course… Alright then, yes please have your lawyer review it and get back to me at your earliest convenience," Mr. King said hurriedly, immediately backing off.

"Excellent. Now my first questions are, why were you fired initially and how were you reinstated?"

Mr. King sputtered. "Listen here young man, that is confidential!"

"No it's not, it's common information around our town what happened, and we're just a small location along a much bigger railway. Not to mention, if my client is to accept this position I think this is something that should be disclosed."

Mr. King looked annoyed but his face fell dejectedly. "Ugh… Fine. Yes, it's true. I was fired, but it was by Paul of course. He had bribed some of the directors to vote for the motion. He also cut the board nearly in half to further achieve his goals. The ones that stayed were paid off to vote against me. I can't prove it, of course, but I know it's true."

This piqued Schemer's interest. "And what happened to those board members?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not quite sure. Myself and the previous board members are all back now, we were reinstated, but there is the problem of not knowing who is clean and who is dirty," he explained miserably, "I could no doubt tell you some names, people who've never supported me, but I couldn't be entirely confident."

Schemee and Schemer exchanged a quick glance.

"And, unfortunately, right now confidence is what I need to rebuild this railroad. So you see why I can't have disloyalty on my railroad. I just can't, I almost lost it all. I-It's everything to me. I know you understand that."

To Schemer his plea cut deeply. He almost agreed to the job on the spot, but Schemee spoke up first.

"Listen, what you're asking is not just being a member of the board or a vice president or whatever. You're asking him to root out the ones who betrayed you. And believe me, we can do that, but I'm going to tell you that after everything we've been through you are going to show an equal amount of loyalty to my uncle. I saw what your offer is, you're going to double it. Any benefits that you've included, add more. And for goodness sake you're going to waive the arcade lease fee. Leave the rest to us."

Mr. King looked shocked, and Schemer felt dumbfounded. Schemee had prepared for this moment and seemingly went in with a plan, but Schemer had not been in on the scheme. His head was spinning at the idea of what was being asked of him, but instead of objecting he decided now was the time to play along.

"When can you have the paperwork ready? I'll be prepared to sign as soon as you've got all that down in writing," he said confidently, not letting any of the hesitation he actually felt come through in his voice, "On ONE condition however. You need to make sure that Billy Twofeathers and Stacy Jones are taken care of. Whatever they want, they get it. And even if they decline to request a bonus, or a raise, or anything, I want you to come up with something good." Schemer looked at Schemee, who gave a small smirk in response.

"Well, the paperwork will be no problem. When would you be able to address my problem?" Mr. King looked relieved.

"Give us a week, we'll be in touch," Schemee piped up.

They wrapped up their conversation and Schemer and Schemee took their leave. As they exited the building Schemer quietly asked, "So I take it you have a plan?"

"Definitely, don't worry," Schemee said as they got into the car, "I know exactly who's on the naughty list."

"You do?! How?" Schemer was left stunned yet again.

"I stole some documents from Paul's office. After I destroyed it I had time to search around and found a list. I didn't think it was that important for police to have, they already had what they needed. But this was something that could help us, and I thought it might be more valuable in our hands so I never handed it over. However, we won't let them just walk away freely. We'll make sure the police are appropriately informed," he said with a shrug.

"Wow… okay. Well done and all, but is this safe? Do they have any remaining ties to Paul?" Schemer asked with a furrowed brow.

"Probably not, it seemed like they didn't even really know what they were agreeing to. But I agree with Mr. King, let's not have them around the railway while we're getting you in as second in command."

Schemer thought about this, "Alright, so what's the plan? Are we talking to them one by one or making a public display?"

"Oh definitely a public display, let's make them squirm," Schemee replied, smirking. "I have an idea, don't worry. You'll be fine."

"So, how much was the offer anyways? The one you told Mr. King to double?"

Schemee told him and Schemer almost choked.

As they drove away, Schemer was grateful for Schemee's enduring presence. His instincts were sharp and deserving of Schemer's respect. He had such a gift in his nephew, and while his recent regrets ran deep, the worst one of all was not trusting him. He had distinctly told Stacy that Schemee was the reason behind his inability to date openly because he hadn't trusted Schemee's reaction. What a terrible, selfish person he had been. Had Schemer just been brave enough to face the truth that he was hiding behind such a weak reason, and had Schemer instead chosen to face any potential conflicts rather than avoiding them, perhaps he wouldn't be avoiding her now.

As they pulled back in their driveway Schemer hesitated in leaving the car, something Schemee picked up on immediately.

"What's wrong?" Schemee asked, one hand on the door.

"It's just… I realized I never got to apologize. Properly I mean, not while we were in the middle of it all."

"You don't need to apologize, you did the impossible instead. You came back and I don't need anything else," Schemee said casually.

Schemer wrestled with this. He wanted Schemee to understand how he felt and how he knew how selfish he had been towards his nephew. How he didn't deserve his immediate forgiveness, or the scheme that Schemee had pulled on Mr. King.

"But I…" he began to say.

"I know." Schemee cut him off.

Schemer looked at Schemee in confusion, but he also was suddenly struck by how grown up he was. The maturity he was showing was deeply moving. He understood, realizing that it would be unfair to offload his regrets onto him. Forcing Schemee to deal with Schemer's own problem with the situation would not necessarily make either of them feel better.

"Look, we both did things we regret and didn't handle it well. I threw a party in your house and definitely contributed to you breaking down. Don't think you're the only one with remorse," Schemee added with a shrug.

"I guess we could apologize until we're blue in the face and we might not feel better, so to speak, huh?" Schemer said, a little guiltily.

"Yeah, we'll figure it out as we go I'm sure. But it is what it is, and I'm keeping it in the past," Schemee said with an air of finality, exiting the car.

Schemer followed him after a moment. "Our house," he called after Schemee.

"What?" Schemee turned around, looking confused.

"You said 'my' house. It's ours, and I truly am sorry that I ever made you feel otherwise."

Schemee gave a half smile. "You said you were done with apologizing."

"Well, I lied," Schemer responded with a small smirk.

"Typical," Schemee said with fake exasperation in his voice as he began entering the house. "But for what it's worth, you didn't. Make me feel otherwise, that is."

Schemer felt his spirits lift, and that's all they said on the matter. Nothing further was needed.

The knock on her door caused Stacy to jump violently. She wasn't expecting anyone, and anyone who had come to talk to her lately had given her ample warning. To have someone come unannounced these days made her uneasy, at absolute best. She hadn't moved from her position on the couch, frozen between the gap of time where the knocking stopped. When it started again, gentle though it was, she got to her feet. Now standing up, she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to make a decision. Ignore it, or answer it.

He was already walking away from the door when she wrenched the door open, but spun around to meet her. Her heart caught in her throat at the relieved expression on his face.

"Oh, Stacy. I'm sorry, I was just coming by to talk but figured you weren't home," Schemer explained, his brown eyes full of concern.

He never did play by the rules, she thought to herself. She was standing in her pajamas, suddenly very aware that it was midday.

"Right, yes. Well, I'm here," she said, feeling breathless.

She swore she could see the faint ghost of amusement dancing across his face. "Is it alright if I come in?" There was almost a smirk on his face, as he asked it.

She flushed, and flustered she stood aside to let him in.

He walked in, when before he might have waltzed. Wordlessly she busied herself with making tea, anything to take the edge off of this visit. She wasn't expecting him, not so soon, and not looking so… normal.

Yet as she pressed a cup to his hands their fingers made brief contact. She looked up and as their eyes met she could see the nervousness dancing behind them. She pulled back and leaned against her kitchen counter, taking a slow sip, yet instead was drinking in the sight of the man seated in front of her. Wearing one of his old flamboyant suits, he had put his curl back in place. It was like seeing him for the first time, and realizing he was still here with her. And yet the rigidity of his posture and the careful way he brought the mug to his lips did not meet his usual presentation. Usuality was a weird concept now, though. Did 'usual' mean the way they were before they started dating? Before they broke up? Before he died and returned "prodigal son"-style? She couldn't tell if her memory of him was accurate after everything that had happened. And while she would have given anything to see him again, to observe his quirks, the subtle nuances seemed unfamiliar in a way that terrified her.

"So…" she drew out the word and left it hanging between them.

He seemed to snap back to reality from whatever world he was occupying.

"Yes, sorry to intrude. I did come for a reason," he fiddled with the buttons on his jacket sleeve before making eye contact once again.

The words seemed to get caught from there, she raised one eyebrow as he struggled with what he wanted to say and couldn't help but smile slightly.

"I don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you did."

That wiped the smile clean off her face. He didn't seem to notice, he was busy staring into his tea.

"What you did for Schemee… You protected him-"

"Stop."

He looked up from his mug to see her gripping her own mug tightly, knuckles stretched taut.

"But… He told me what you did, everything you did. You were-"

"Enough, please!" She hated how desperate she sounded and turned away from him. Closing her eyes tightly, she grasped the edge of the counter and leaned over the sink, suddenly afraid of being sick.

He fell silent, but didn't approach her. She didn't dare turn around, she swore she could feel his shocked and pitiful gaze at her back. She didn't want his thanks, more to the point she didn't deserve his thanks.

"Stacy…" It was more a sigh than a word. There were bounds of unspoken volumes between them, in that one sound.

"Look… Whatever you think you understand happened, you need to know that you shouldn't thank me," she ground out between gritted teeth.

He said nothing and she almost hoped that he would get angry, anything beyond this weird subdued calm.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… I don't think this was helpful for you," he said gently.

She released her vice grip on her counter and let her eyes relax, though they still remained closed.

"Is there anything you want to talk about? If… If what happened with Schemee is off limits, I understand."

She shook her head slowly. "I know what he told you, I'm sure of it. He told you I protected him and that he's safe because of me," she said with a shuddering breath, "I almost lost him, I almost ruined everything. All because I thought I was arrogant enough to think that I could take on some maniac and beat him at his own game."

She didn't want to meet Schemer's eyes anymore, she couldn't bear to see the nonplussed look in his eyes. He should be furious, upset, disappointed. Anything… anything but the weirdly understanding expression he was currently wearing.

He seemingly tried to gently test the waters from another angle. "He told me what happened, back when you were both locked in the office and Paul took you away. He said he knew that you would've done anything to protect him. I know, I know, you don't want to hear about how it all worked out in the end, believe me, I'm sick of it too. I know that Paul rolled through and almost destroyed everything we loved and held dear, but if it weren't for that attitude, the fight at all costs mentality, we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did." He heaved a sigh as he said it, feeling the weight of everything Paul had done. "There's a lot for all of us to work through, and I don't want you to feel that I'm upset in any way at what happened."

She let herself consider his words, slowly sipping her tea.

"I came here for another reason as well. It's about the railroad."

This piqued her interest.

"I heard you made it onto the board of directors, well done," she said with a faint smile.

He smiled gently back. "I had help. My, uh, representation won me a very good deal. But I did say that I would only accept it on the condition that you and Billy would be given whatever you wanted. Any position, any benefits or perks that you want, it's yours. Just say the word."

She fell silent once again as she considered this. She took a slow sip of tea and chastised herself as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Oh Stacy… I'm sorry. I keep saying the wrong thing," he said, looking glum and defeated.

"N-no. It's not you. It's just that… I won't be returning."

Once again, he didn't seem terribly surprised by this.

He hazarded a guess. "Because of everything?"

"Because of everything," she confirmed.

He sighed deeply and rested one palm against his cheek.

"There's nothing I can say to persuade you?" He didn't look hopeful, she realized that he too was probably suffering from the same pessimism that had taken hold of her.

She shook her head slowly.

He hung his head for a brief moment, staring into his empty mug.

"I understand."

"Do you?" she asked, curiosity hanging in her voice.

He gave a small smile. "No, I guess not entirely. But I won't stand in your way. I want you to be happy."

Oh she did too. She wanted herself to be happy the same way she was before they had parted, and she so badly wanted herself to be happy in the way she knew they could have been. He died, she had reconciled that… mostly. And further still, him returning from the grave didn't fix the problems they had before, and it didn't change the fact that they had broken up for valid reasons. But despite realizing she was already asking too much of a world that brought him back to her, she wished they could attain what they could have been. And if she was being honest, she wasn't leaving because she had issues with working at Shining Time that were irreconcilable (they weren't), she was leaving because she couldn't bear to work in another atmosphere where they slowly watched themselves grow apart again.

"You never behave the way I expect you to, never once have you failed to surprise me," she confessed softly.

He gave her a sad smile. "I guess it's comforting that despite everything, I haven't lost that ability."

"I suppose it is," she agreed.

Over the next few days they perfected their plan. Schemee was very aware that based on the way Schemer was throwing himself into this that he was using it as a distraction from his conversation with Stacy. Schemee was also very aware of the fact that they were giving her space, but he was starting to get a little worried about the growing distance between Stacy and everyone. Still, he was also busy with the task at hand and knew he would have to give it more attention when they were done with their scheme.

However, as he sat across from his uncle, watching Schemer nonchalantly flipping through a stack of reports, he couldn't help but stir the pot slightly.

"Do you love her?" he asked, point blank. After all, he had to keep him on his toes.

Schemer's eyes flickered up at his nephew's face, before glancing back down quickly.

"Of course I do," he mumbled. This raw honestly surprised Schemee, he was expecting blustering pushback. He did rethink his approach but it did give him a new opening.

"So why didn't you try to win her back? Convince her to stay?"

Schemer let his hands fall against the table in exasperation, this time looking away from his reports for good. "If you must know, I don't think she wants to be together anymore. She broke up with me because I lied to her over a long period of time while we were dating, and quite frankly I deserved it."

"Yeah I know, and so what? You saved her life. I think you have a good case for how you've grown from the person who lied to their partner."

"You watch too many movies, saving someone's life doesn't mean they have to be with you. Come on Schemee, that's a terrible idea. Not to mention, she saved your life and mine. Even if this were a dumb movie trope she wouldn't owe me anything," Schemer responded, shaking his head incredulously.

Schemee rolled his eyes. "That's not what I'm saying. Of course, she doesn't owe you anything. But I'm concerned about how alone she's been. Leaving the station means she's just further isolating herself from everyone."

Schemer closed his eyes and ran a hand down his face. "It was my fault it all fell apart, maybe not entirely but definitely a large part of it. I think that scared her, because I had lied to her face and then it blew up on us. We barely parted ways as friends, let alone anything else. I'm not that person for her, not anymore."

They fell silent, Schemer stared into space wearing a melancholic expression.

Schemee was the first to break the silence. "She knows why you did it, we talked about it. I know how broken up she was over all of it, and how much she regrets how everything was left," he explained gently.

Schemer jerked his head back slightly. "What?! How much do you actually know that you aren't letting on? Stop scheming against me!" Schemer grumbled.

"Okay fine, I admit it, we talked about it once. She rescued me from Paul, the first time, I guess, and we had a heart to heart." He paused, feeling the rush of sorrow that the memory brought on.

A sad look spread across Schemer's features. Schemee sighed, squashing the memory down.

"I know you love her, and I know you want to be with her. I also know the feeling is mutual, but I think she's getting lost within herself. And isolating herself isn't going to help. If you can't be together the way you want to, I think at the very least we owe it to her that she doesn't go through this alone."

Schemer made a pained sound in the back of his throat, like a cross between a groan and a sigh.

"Look," Schemer said finally, "We've all got a lot to work through. I don't want to be the one who stands in the way of her healing."

"I get it, I do. But something about it doesn't sit right with me. I think we need to do something," Schemee prodded.

This didn't seem to sit well with Schemer either, and Schemee thought he may have won him over as Schemer seemed to consider his words. "Listen, before I can do anything about that I have to get through this scheme of yours. If we're successful, we can figure something out. But only if I'm sure that it won't hurt her."

"Good enough for me! Now are you ready? Let's go over the script one more time."