Author's Notes: Firstly, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review my fanfic so far! This next chapter will probably make you all hate the diva that is Electra (I'm not responsible if you end up wanting to smash up his precious face by the end of this chapter, never mind the end of the story!). Trust me, there's a lot in store for these trains; I'm just getting warmed up. This story isn't for the faint-hearted so if you are deciding angstville isn't for you, perhaps it would be wise to go now before I throw more at our favourite trains...
I hope you do choose to stay and continue reading of course! Your readership is always appreciated and makes me smile! ^-^
Also, brownie points to those who get the Starlight reference I've casually thrown in!
He was doing what was best for the yard.
Speeding ahead towards the river, the infant shrieking in his grasp, Electra was adamant he had the best of intentions. He had blocked out the child's wails, instead only hearing the pumping of his heart and feeling the electric charge coursing through him furiously, fueled by his anger. What the dining car had done was irresponsible. All he was trying to do was prevent disaster, which would be inevitable if a child was allowed to remain at the yard. The human race was reckless, destructive and untrustworthy. To allow one of them to mix with the trains was simply bad news. He was doing them all a favour, they were just too blind to see it. Blinded by the innocent façade of a child. It appeared only he could see through this pretense. The quicker the child was disposed of, the faster the yard could move on and forget that it ever happened. Somebody had to take a stand and do what needed to be done to safeguard their future.
"Those stupid coaches no nothing about what humans are capable of," he growled to himself.
He was about to teach them a lesson.
As the trio dashed from the diner to pursue the electric, Joule caught a glimpse of Greaseball from the corner of her eye. She skidded to a halt and diverted her route, allowing Volta and Rusty to charge ahead. The diesel raised an eyebrow as the dynamite truck rushed towards him.
"Electra snatched the baby. He wants to get rid of her," Joule didn't hesitate to get to the point. Time was of the essence; she couldn't afford to go into all of the details now.
But the news didn't seem to surprise him. "I know. Electra just came by the depot as I was leaving. I tried to warn Dinah that he wouldn't be happy-"
"And you didn't try to stop him?" the fiery truck interjected, her eyes flashing with impatience and exasperation. She was not in the mood for this. How did the dining car put up with this jerk?
When Greaseball simply shrugged nonchalantly, Joule nearly lost it. She threw her arms up in the air and desperately tried to compose herself. If she didn't, she was sure she would self-combust. Taking a deep breath, the dynamite truck changed tact.
"Look, if you really wanna be the tough guy, stand up to Electra!"
"You're one to talk," Greaseball folded his arms. "Aren't you supposed to support him? Obey all his commands and cater to his every whim?"
"I don't condone the sacrifice of a child!" Joule spat. "I will comply to most things, but I can't stand by and watch him do this to a harmless baby."
She watched as the diesel's expression changed. "Sacrifice? Electra told me he was taking the baby to the town."
Joule scoffed. Who knew he could be so gullible? "You don't seriously believe that, do you? Electra has no intentions of taking her to the town. He wants her disposed of."
Greaseball hesitated as he processed this information. When the diesel failed to respond, the dynamite truck cursed and shook her head. Did she have to spell it out?
"We're running out of time. He's already done damage at the diner. It looked like he'd left Pearl in a bad way…"
Bingo. Joule watched as Greaseball clenched his fist at the mention of his sweetheart's workplace. "Did he hurt Dinah?"
"He shocked her and the other coaches when they tried to stop him taking the child, but she's fine. But if you really cared about her you'd stop Electra."
But again, Greaseball failed to react. Joule had run out of steam. Rusty and Volta needed her and she was wasting precious time with this narcissistic buffoon.
"And here was me thinking you might have surprised me." She turned to leave.
But she was stopped by the diesel, cutting in front of her. He offered his couplers.
"They don't call me one of the fastest for nothing," he winked. "Let's go."
"Oh wow, looks like I'm pretty good at drawing a crowd!"
Electra stood poised by the fast-flowing river, Luna hanging precariously from one hand. He was enjoying this moment; having an audience, all eyes on him. All of them waiting with baited breath for his next move.
"Hand over the baby, Electra," Greaseball demanded through gritted teeth.
Electra raised an eyebrow at his race nemesis. "With all due respect, we wouldn't be having this dispute if it wasn't for your darling Dinah interfering with things!"
Greaseball clenched his jaw. "Don't you dare go blaming Dinah for this! She only had the best of intentions at heart. Dinah would never want to intentionally hurt anyone."
"And nobody thinks that I have your best intentions in mind either? Oh, I'm so hurt!" he clutched his chest in mock agony, rolling his eyes. "You've been with that coach for too long, Greaseball. She's making you soft."
Rusty stepped forward, growing impatient with the electric and his accusations. Pearl and the other coaches had tried in vain to protect the infant and that had to count for something.
"Just give us the baby Electra and nobody gets hurt."
At the steam train's confrontation, Electra scoffed. "That would be too easy now, wouldn't it? Such a shame, your precious first-class sweetheart made such a pointless sacrifice."
At the mention of Pearl, Rusty lunged at the engine. Electra delivered a spark of electricity that stopped him in his tracks, sending him crumpling to the ground. A smirk of satisfaction flashed across his face.
"Watch it, Rustbucket, or you'll end up the same way," he warned.
The electric raised his head to address the others. "You're all fools! Don't you realise what this thing is capable of? You'd be making the biggest mistake of your lives keeping this baby!"
"Perhaps you can enlighten us since it seems nobody here but you seems to think she's a threat." Rusty staggered to his feet, one hand clutching his side as he writhed in pain.
Electra hesitated, and for a split second, there was a flicker of vulnerability in the train's eyes as they clouded over. It was as if he'd momentarily been disconnected and rebooted; trapped in a moment of thought. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared and the anger returned once more as Electra composed himself.
"You should know! Human are feral creatures! They have no place in the yard!"
But there was no real conviction in his voice. Whatever had briefly passed through Electra's mind had weakened his cause; a chink in his armour.
The electric looked up and locked eyes with his two components who up until now had remained silent. His eyes narrowed.
"This is wrong Electra and you know it!" cried Joule, taking a step forward to challenge him.
"Get over here now you two idiots! You should know better!"
But when Joule and Volta didn't move, the electric flew into a rage, taking a step closer to the edge of the river, suspending the infant over the edge. He was too enraged to notice the ground beneath him was unstable, cracked and crumbling from erosion.
"How dare you!" he stamped his foot.
The components gasped as they watched the cliff edge give way beneath him. Both Rusty and Greaseball sprung into action as Electra fell, releasing the baby. Rusty dashed for the edge, catching the infant as Greaseball grabbed his couplers to pull him to safety. Electra was left dangling precariously from the edge, scrambling frantically for leverage, his grip slipping. His laser blue eyes were wide with terror.
"Help me!" he cried desperately, glancing down in sheer terror at the river below.
Joule and Volta carefully approached the edge, staring down at him. They had never seen the electric train so vulnerable, the panic clearly etched in his face. He looked at them both, his face crumpled in anguish.
"I'll do anything! Please!" he begged.
Just then, Electra's lost grip and began to slide further. Volta and Joule reached down and grabbed his hands. Volta looked him in the eye.
"You leave that baby alone," her voice as cold as the ice she usually carried.
The pair heaved the train to safety and simply turned away to join Rusty and Greaseball, leaving him reeling. They had never disobeyed or stood up to Electra like this before, but it felt strangely empowering. For once, they found themselves not worrying about the consequences.
Rusty cradled Luna, relieved her ordeal was finally over.
Joule wrapped an arm around the steam train and smiled.
"Come on, let's take her home."
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