Chapter 6 - A Fire in Your Soul
Diesel Ten watched impatiently, as his new pupil focused on an empty crate in the far corner of the Diesel Works; for the past couple of nights, Tod visited Diesel Ten to learn more about his seemingly magical abilities and, more importantly, his past.
Tod stuck his tongue out while keeping a strict gaze on the crate, as his pupils shined crimson and a faint aura with matching colors engulfed the empty box. But no matter how hard he tried, the crate would not budge.
"Oh, come on!" Diesel Ten snapped, "You could stop a falling boulder, but now you can't even lift an empty crate?!"
"I'm sorry! I don't know what I'm doing wrong! Please, give me another chance," Tod pleaded.
"I've given you three, and you're trying my patience. Maybe you should try again tomorrow."
"No! I can do this!"
"Then what's holding you back?"
Tod's eyes wandered as he finally let go of the crate, sighing, "I…I don't know."
"Perhaps you're not motivated." Pinchy gently clanked and grinded above Diesel Ten's face. "Come back when you have a fire in your soul."
The next morning, Tod was relieved to see Henry's friendly face again, for his visit with Diesel Ten weighed heavily on his mind; there was a root to his true power, and he wanted to expose it sooner than later.
Like before, Henry took Tod to the quarry to help out with the extra work loads as of late, but there were a few certain engines who weren't yet accustomed to Tod's help—more specifically, Diesel.
Everything about Tod just rubbed him the wrong way, so one way or another, he was going to silence this engine and his obvious affiliation Thomas once and for all. But one problem still remained; until he had enough evidence, he would have to put his plan into action alone.
And for now, that plan was to expose Tod in any way shape or form. He would watch him closely as long as he could, while also trying to work, which was not easy. But even if no one else saw something, all Diesel wanted was to see it, anything out of the ordinary, even if just for a second.
Though, that didn't mean he was the only one who was curious to find out who Tod really was…
"Diesel?" Ben spoke up, as he and his brother approached the said ebony engine.
"What?" Diesel growled while still deep in thought.
"Whatever secret Tod has to hide, he's doing a good job of keeping it buried," Bill reluctantly explained.
"Your point being?"
The twins exchanged worried looks before answering, "We haven't really seen anything."
Diesel scoffed, "Great. Just what I needed."
With that, Diesel's engine sputtered as he went off, but Ben and Bill's conscious were still looming with one small memory.
"Well…there was something else…" Bill added sheepishly.
"And that is?" Diesel demanded, instantly stopping.
"I-It's probably nothing," Ben protested.
"Tell me now."
Both convinced, the twins thought it would be best to tell this huffy diesel what he wanted to hear.
"There was this boulder," Ben began.
"Yes?" Diesel urged.
"And it looked like it was gonna crush Tod, but…" Bill continued, but paused when he realized how crazy the rest sounded.
"But what?"
"Well, we didn't see why or how, but—we think that somehow, Tod protected himself," Ben finally stated.
That gave Diesel an idea. He would corner Tod, make him snap.
"Thank you for telling me, Boys. Soon, Sodor will be purged of the true evil here," Diesel muttered before continuing on again.
As soon as he left, the twins were left alone with the supernatural force that forced them to blab about Tod and the boulder in the first place. Their faces went limp, their eyes wide as dinner plates, and their irises glowed with a red hue.
"Nicely done, you two. It can't be easy to expose a secret you know nothing about." The hiss paused as a pair of red eyes glowed within a dark tunnel behind Ben and Bill, and a faint metal clank could be heard from inside.
Meanwhile, Diesel moved about the quarry in search of Tod while pulling a long train of trucks filled with heavy debris. All he needed was to get the young engine alone, and goad him, thus pushing him to his limit. He soon found Tod, all alone to boot, at the other end of the quarry while waiting for his much smaller train to get loaded with rocks.
"Hi, Diesel," Tod greeted awkwardly.
"Hello," Diesel grimly stated, "So, uh, where's Henry?"
"He left to make a quick disposal at the dump. Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted to make sure you're looked after, especially if Henry isn't here to take care of you."
"So, what, you wanted to watch after me?"
"Well, I don't see anyone else volunteering."
"Ok—I guess."
With that, Diesel rolled forward, revealing his train to Tod, "If I'm going to take care of you for a short while, I might as well show you how to work like a real useful engine."
"You don't think I'm working hard enough?" Tod asked with doubt.
"Oh, no! Of course not!" Diesel quickly lied, "I'm just saying, you could be better and really gain some respect."
"How would I do that?"
"See this train? I'll let you take a little over half of it, and then you pull it out of the quarry for it to be taken away—unless you think you can make the entire journey yourself."
Tod's minding started flooding with embarrassment and anger, to which reminded him of his lessons with Diesel Ten; he wanted to prove both diesels wrong, that he could go beyond his limit and be powerful.
"But I understand if you-," Diesel dragged on nonchalantly, that is, until Tod quickly cut him off.
"No, no! I want to try. I need to try. Give me the whole train," Tod demanded while scowling.
Diesel was honestly a little taken aback by Tod's determination, but complied anyway, "The whole train? Well, if you say so…"
Eventually, Diesel was uncoupled from his train and Tod was quickly hooked up in his stead; Tod remained coupled to his original trucks of debris as well, which raised the stakes significantly for him, but he was still confident. The red engine began to huff and chuff, his wheels screeching as they grinded against the tracks in his attempt to get the train moving. But as he watched, Diesel grinned because he knew one of and/or two things would come of this. One: Tod would snap and reveal who he really is. Or two: He would embarrass himself something awful, whether or not he broke.
Tod's growls of impatience grew louder and louder, for the train would not budge. He felt a raging fire begin to build within, but he fought with all his might to prevent it from burning his senses and making him lose himself. He knew that if Diesel, his driver, and his fireman saw what he could really do, they would no doubt act out of fear and spread terror that was not real. The island may have nothing to fear at the moment, but they would never trust someone or something they could not explain.
But for too long, Tod and his train would not budge an inch. Both he and Diesel knew now that there was no hope left, which angered Tod even more. He tried with every fiber in his being, and he still failed miserably.
How can I show them I'm a normal, useful engine if I can't do what normal engines do?! Tod scolded himself.
"Oh, well. Maybe a little more practice, and you'll amount up to about half of what I can do. Better luck next time, Little Tod," Diesel taunted while taking what was originally his train and finally taking it away. As the ebony engine left, Tod's eye twitched in great exasperation; he suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that Diesel had set him up.
And now, Tod needed an outlet for this newfound anger.
The sun had set and night was soon out and about, as well as a certain elusive clawed diesel hiding at the Diesel Works. And he was just about to give up on waiting for his guest when…
A raging cry echoed outside, as a red blur darted into the building, startling Diesel Ten as he barely dodged it; he easily recognized the red blur as Tod, and the said red engine screeched to a halt before crashing into a wall, but he wasn't finished yet.
He snarled and bared his now fang-like teeth, similar to an animal, as his eyes were pitch black and his pupils glowed bright red. Tod quickly looked over to the crate he couldn't lift before, encasing it in a brighter aura than ever before; he lifted the crate before immediately throwing it back to the ground, showing no mercy and shattering it into a million pieces.
Still, Tod remained unsatisfied so he glanced around to look for something else, anything inanimate to take his anger out on. He soon looked up and noticed Happy Hook, to which he quickly grabbed the crane's arm with the same red magic and effortlessly ripping it off. Diesel Ten stayed silent as he watched from a distance, and he was utterly surprised by Tod's sudden burst of strength.
Tod crumbled up the part of the crane arm he gained, throwing it across the room while snarling again; he then backed up and finally saw Diesel Ten. Once the said diesel was in his sights, Tod roared like a dragon, his eyes lighting up even brighter like fiery orbs.
Much to Tod's surprise, Diesel ten remained calm and still as he charged towards him, and he prepared to use even more magic in his blind rage. But in a split second, Tod found himself completely immobile; he grunted and mumbled in confusion before looking back at Diesel Ten.
Diesel Ten's eyes were black and red, too, and a much larger, transparent red claw formed around the solid one on his roof. Without warning, the solid claw and the intangible one swung in a full circle before coming back around and sideswiping Tod with brute force, sending him flying off the tracks and sliding across the room. Sparks flew from metal scraping against concrete, until Tod finally stopped when he crashed into a wall, denting his boiler and smokestack.
Tod lay there for countless moments, huffing from the pain and loss of energy; soon, his fangs flattened back to normal, and his eyes faded until they were white and his pupils black again. But what he didn't notice was the burning sensation on both of his side tanks; though, Diesel Ten easily noticed, chuckling darkly as he approached.
"What…was that for?" Tod finally asked, his voice strained and hoarse.
"Number one rule between any teacher and student: The student never gets to challenge the teacher until they're fully fledged," Diesel Ten growled, his eyes stilled glued to the bright yellow light on Tod's boiler.
"It's not my fault," Tod huffed.
"Oh, of course it isn't. And you have nothing to be ashamed of, either. You've proven yourself quite worthy of my next level of training—I might even tell you who you really are soon," Diesel Ten reassured, grinning while using his own magic to lift Tod and gently set him down on the track in front of him.
"That'd be great, but just promise me you won't tell anyone about my little—episode. Please, Diesel Ten."
"Fear not. I won't tell a soul. Just be careful not to let anyone see your powers." Diesel Ten paused as he took another quick glance at the new bold, yellow 01 on Tod's side tanks. "Or else people might assume the worst."
Tod still has a long way to go, but he's certainly made a lot of progress today. And just so you know, Diesel Ten knows more than he let's on...
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!
