29 - Conflict & Revelations

Things come to a head.

"Stop! Stop it please!" Clun Castle shrieked in panic and fear in her voice as every single charge from Evening Star slowly crushed and deformed her tender into a mess of twisted metal, coal and water.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ms Parsons dart away in the sheds. She would help her, of course, she would! Clun Castle was her personal engine after all. She had chosen her! She had that LNER woman's Golden Whistle, of course, she could help.

"Ms Parsons help me!" She shrieked but the woman ignored her and disappeared into the engine shed, sneering at her as she did so.

Clun Castle stared slack-jawed and in complete shock but her moment of betrayal was interrupted as the frenzied and manic Evening Star once again tried to cave in her boiler.

Was she not important to the woman? Had she not been the most wonderful engine to the woman?

Doubt began to tickle at the sides of her mind. Perhaps she was not all she was cracked up to be. Ms Parsons had a plan.

Right?

It wasn't until she was hit again, a loud crack in her frames and something that felt like a searing cutter's torch ran the entire length of her engine, that Clun Castle began to whimper and plead for mercy.

Evening Star was going to kill her. She was going to turn her into scrap metal on some island, miles from home and no one would help her.

She began screeching and yelping like a wounded animal, desperately trying to get away from the beast of an engine whose entire focus was to destroy her.

She was about to start pleading for her life when she fell with the remaining wheels on the tracks, the 9F's wheels screeching to a halt.

"Release me!" Evening Star thundered, her wheels slipping as she strained against something or someone.

"No! If you destroy Clun Castle you will be pulled out of active service!" A voice tried to plead with Evening Star but the 9F just snorted and huffed in response.

"You just want to save your pathetic excuse for a friend!" Evening Star snarled furiously.

Clun Castle recognised that voice. It was the Peppercorn. Never before had she been so happy to see or rather hear Blue Peter.

"Yes! Yes! Blue Peter!" Clun Castle exclaimed in relief. "Thank you! You've come to rescue me!"

"No," Blue Peter coldly stated. "I came to stop Evening Star from making a terrible mistake that could take her off the rails."

Wait, wait? He wasn't here to save her? How dare he-

"I don't need your help!" Evening Star bellowed back at the Peppercorn who flinched but held firm.

"You're going to lose your ability to steam if you destroy Clun Castle!" Blue Peter tried to reason with the 9F. "Is that what you want? To be gathering dust in a museum on a plinth?!"

Evening Star hesitated at his words, considering them carefully.

"You're trying to trick me!" She snarled and resumed straining against the Peppercorn.

Blue Peter grunted as the 9F began to drag him forward, straining the coupler and sending sparks shooting over the ballast, with not much effort on her part.

"Evening Star, you'll lose all your trains! You won't be able to work! This old cow of an engine isn't worth losing your work over!" The A2 Peppercorn insisted. "Don't lose your working life over this… deranged cow!"

Clun Castle spluttered and huffed indignant but she was ignored as Evening Star seemed to freeze in place, Blue Peter accidentally barging into the back of her tender as she did so.

After she didn't speak or move for a few long moments, prompting Blue Peter to speak.

"Where is Tydfil? Is she safe?" He suddenly asked and something seemed to click in Evening Star's smokebox.

"Tydfil…" Evening Star suddenly realised why she was here and looked at Clun Castle as if she was truly seeing her for the first time. She looked over at Blue Peter, shame in her eyes. "I need to go and save Tydfil!"

Blue Peter was about to respond however a shrill voice called out to them from down the overgrown eastern track.

"Venus! Venus! Whatever you're doing, please stop!" Green Arrow's voice called to her, the steam engine appearing in a cloud of his own steam, as dramatic as can be.

"Would you stop it with the cloud!" Came the loud retort of the Sudrian number 4 from somewhere within the steam.

"Arrow?" Evening Star asked, confused as the V2 emerged from the steam with a concerned expression. It quickly turned to confusion as he looked upon the scene that he had happened upon.

"Oh no, Venus-" he began but Evening Star ignored him.

"Arrow, we have to save Tydfil!" Evening Star shrieked at him.

"Evening Star you almost destroyed Clun Castle!" Green Arrow admonished her. "Venus, I love you dearly but you can't go after-"

"Clun Castle almost got me scrapped!" Evening Star suddenly bellowed at Green Arrow and he promptly shut his mouth, intimidated by his friend.

"I rusted away in a yard for years! I gave up on everything! I didn't see the point of communicating anymore! Then Tydfil came along and she understood me perfectly! It's the first time in decades that I felt happy! I felt like I could talk again! And then Clun Castle tried to take her away from me!"

Green Arrow and Gordon glanced at each other. Gordon was equally confused, horrified and sympathetic while Arrow was surprisingly stoic.

"I know Venus," Green Arrow sadly acknowledged. "But this is not how you handle this. Oh Venus, when people see what you did to Clun, they won't be forgiving. They will be scared of you."

Evening Star glared at him.

"I won't let anyone take Tydfil from me!" She shouted angrily, ignoring Arrow's words.

"Well worry not, the Sudrian engines will protect her," Gordon assured the 9F but he almost shrunk back when the engine hissed steam and advanced towards him threateningly.

"Why? All of you kept talking about her and being mean about her behind her back!" Evening Star deflected but Green Arrow quickly rolled in to defend his cousin.

"Venus, please, I know that you're stressed and upset but you can't go around threatening people or destroying other engines, please," He pleaded with her. "I don't want you to get into any more trouble Venus. Please, I know deep down you're a good engine who doesn't want to hurt others but look at what you've done!"

Evening Star seemed to finally calm, her boiler sagging on her frames.

"Sorry…" was all she said, looking down at the tracks guiltily. "I know I have issues controlling my anger. I can't help it. I don't- I don't-"

Green Arrow approached Evening Star and gently bumped buffers with her.

"I'll help you, you know that right? The Brendam gang will be there for you too," he assured her.

Evening Star didn't say anything, she only leaned into Arrow's buffers with a sad smile.

Clun Castle just gave a huff and rolled her eyes.

"Pathetic," she seethed.

"That's quite enough from you," a loud booming voice suddenly sternly snapped. The engines looked over to find a very angry Sir Topham Hatt glaring at Clun Castle from Gordon's cab.

"Sir! This psychotic engine-" Clun Castle immediately tried to implore him.

"I said ENOUGH!" Sir Topham Hatt shouted at the derailed castle class who whimpered in response. "I have watched you be nothing but nasty to my engines in the time you have been here. I will be letting Mr Crobyn and Lode Star know of your conduct. Coppernob himself has already reported your poor behaviour to her."

"But it wasn't my fault! That brat was nothing but a-"

"That's enough!" Sir Topham Hatt snarled. "You have besmirched the Great Western's reputation! You are to be sent back to the mainland in disgrace! You will never be welcome back to Sodor!"

"It's not my fault!" Clun Castle screeched. "I did nothing wrong!"

Sir Topham simply shook his head. Seeing he was getting nowhere with the Castle he turned his attention to Evening Star.

"Evening Star, I understand you have issues, but lashing out like this is not how to deal with them," he chided her and Evening Star looked away guiltily. "However, I have spoken to Green Arrow and he has told me your story. I understand that the Mainland has been horrible to you and you wish to run. Therefore, I am willing to vouch for you to work here under certain conditions."

"I just want to work sir," Was all Evening Star said and the man nodded to her.

"I hope we can get you the working life that you always wanted, young Evening Star," he nodded to her. "But I need you to work on those issues in return."

He gestured to the mangled wreck of Clun Castle's tender.

"A situation like this must never happen again, do you understand?" He warned.

"Yes sir," Evening Star promised. "I'll work to keep my anger in check."

"It will be hard," Sir Topham noted grimly, but then gave her a hopeful smile. "But I believe you can do it, Evening Star."

Evening Star gave the man a small, genuine smile.

"Thank-you sir," she then frowned. "But what about Tydfil sir? She's in danger!"

"I am aware, but I have my engines and crews working to protect her," the Sudrian Controller assured her.

"But-"

"Trust me," Sir Topham Hatt smiled. "Tydfil has never been safer."

"You can't be here!" Dr Hendrick quickly tried to shoo Mallard away. "What have you done!"

The man just stared at him coldly before walking over and gently laying North's body on the couch that sat on the side of Olivia's bedroom.

"Someone infected North with Black Smoke," Mallard answered bluntly. "Quicksilver had asked me to find him but I did so too late. I wasn't able to purge the Black Smoke in time."

"Quicksilver asked you?" Hendrick frowned. Quicksilver had called him earlier telling him she wanted to speak about Mallard.

"Correct little wren," Mallard coldly answered as he stood and turned to glare at him. "I tried to save him. It failed. I decided to return him to his family."

Mallard looked over to Olivia's bed and his expression turned to one of concern and worry when he saw the woman.

So far, she had been the only one except Quicksilver and Oscar to actually treat him with any amount of respect.

He felt protective of her. She was like him, like Sir Gresley himself which helped.

He would have done anything for that man. He would have protected him at the cost of his boiler, if the need arose.

Mallard missed him dearly, even now.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked, concerned.

"You stay away from Olivia!" Hendrick snarled but Mallard ignored him and approached her bed, his raven hopping off his shoulder and landing beside her hand. The raven pecked at her hand but there was no response.

"Gadwall, don't annoy her," Mallard scolded the raven. "Oscar he was going to find her whistle last I saw him."

Hendrick stared at Mallard then at the Raven.

"Gadwall?" He asked and the raven gave a squawk and turned its attention to Hendrick, Gold Dust glowing in its eyes.

"Mallard, what have you done?"

Mallard tutted and shook his head.

"This was not my doing," he growled. "As much as I have been a villain, I am not at fault here."

Hendrick was about to reply when Peony suddenly returned, two men at her heels.

"Scotsman and-" Peony suddenly screamed in horror as she noticed North's body lying on the couch.

"Peony what's wrong-" Scotsman immediately rushed to her side and held her, trying to comfort her. He held her as she burst into tears, muttering gibberish as she did so.

"What the fuck is going on?" Rooster's booming voice echoed through the room but he froze as he saw North's body. "North?"

"North?" Scotsman looked up from comforting Peony and his eyes locked onto North's corpse. "No! North!"

He quickly let Peony go and pushed past Rooster to lean over the couch, a heartbroken expression on his face.

"Brother…" Scotsman choked, his hands grasping at North's clothes desperately and tears ran down his face. "No, please…North! North wake up!"

Mallard watched the scene silently. His face was stoic, Gadwall returning to perch on his shoulder.

"Mallard?" A familiar Scottish accent suddenly asked his name and Mallard turned to look at him. He gazed at him curiously but then nodded once he recognised him.

"Rooster."

Whatever the former P2 said after acknowledging him, Mallard did not hear as he suddenly found something colliding with him at speed and pain exploded in his face and chest. He was instantly winded and his vision blurred for a second but once it cleared up he saw the furious expression of Flying Scotsman inches from his face, his collar clenched in Scotsman's fist.

He could hear Gadwall shrieking and screaming somewhere close by.

"You killed him! You monster! I'll- I'll-" Scotsman was roaring as Mallard simply stared back at him blankly.

"I did not kill Great Northern," Mallard stated coldly. "I tried to save him but I was too late."

"LIAR!" Scotsman snarled furiously. The hand grabbing him slammed him into the wall behind him, Mallard hissing in pain from the impact. He tried to wrench Scotsman's hands from his clothes.

He could hear the shrieks of others in the room, telling them to stop but neither of them listened.

"I know you don't believe me but I did not kill him," Mallard hissed back.

"Why wouldn't you? You tried to kill me, you tried to kill him! You're a monster with no soul!" Scotsman snarled, slamming him into the wall again.

Pain exploded in Mallard's head and a warm, red liquid began to drip down his head. Mallard shoved Scotsman from him with a kick, forcing him to let go and straighten himself off.

"No thanks to you! You, you did something to me!" Mallard shouted back. "I wandered around a forest without my memories for months living a peaceful life with Gresley's ducks until I was pulled back into this mess! To find out that almost my entire life was taken from me by Thompson! To find out from my designer's granddaughter that I was a monster whose existence was worse than death itself!"

Scotsman still glared at him but the murderous look in his eye was gone now replaced by a golden glow.

"And what about North? What happened to him? How did you kill him?" Scotsman accused.

"I did not kill him," Mallard stated firmly. "When Oscar and I found him on Sodor he had been infected with Black Smoke for several weeks, he was too far gone by the time I could banish the smoke from his soul."

"Banish…?" Hendrick nervously asked as he looked between Mallard and Scotsman. "You can't banish Black Smoke unless you have a Golden Soul!"

Mallard shrugged. He didn't care for that Gold stuff and nonsense. He was tired of it.

"I know this, Sir Gresley himself told me, Sir Gresley told me many things, things he never even told North," he dismissively waved off, ignoring when Hendrick's eyes widened in shock. Mallard looked over to Olivia, who still lay unmoving and unconscious. Mallard ignored the eyes on him and took out North's whistle that he was holding. "I just came to return North to his family and give Olivia, Sir Gresley's Golden Whistle. It's not like North is using it anymore."

He hung the delicate whistle around the unconscious woman's neck. He was aware of Scotsman's body language showing that he wanted to punch him again, his entire body shaking but to Scotsman's credit, he was restraining himself.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Mallard insisted, raising his arm for Gadwall to perch on him. "Come Gadwall, let's go."

The Raven croaked solemnly, looking at the people around the room unsure before flying over to Mallard.

"Gadwall?" Rooster asked and the Raven squawked at him in acknowledgement. Rooster stared at him in shock. "Little Gadwall is that you?"

The bird nodded and Rooster gasped in shock.

Mallard gave a soft hum at the interaction but said nothing more. Mallard raised his other hand and the engine lamp appeared in it.

"Wait! Is that Proteus's lamp-" Hendrick gasped but Mallard just threw him a glare and he immediately backed off.

In a flutter of Gold Dust, Mallard and Gadwall were gone.

There was a tense silence that hung in Olivia's bedroom that was only disturbed by Peony's sobbing.

"You look dejected old chap, it's very unlike you," Stephen called to the red Furness Number 3. "Usually you're such a bossy thing."

Coppernob simply snorted in reply.

"I dislike how similar you are to the replica," the red engine huffed. "Such facetious things you are."

"Maybe I am the replica?" Stephen cheekily teased. "Stephen and I do like to swap places and no one has ever been none the wiser."

"The original has a golden soul, I would assume," Coppernob dismissively theorised.

Stephen looked thoughtful for a while but then grinned widely.

"It would be logical to think that wouldn't it?" the little yellow engine pondered. "But what if I told you that we both shared that responsibility."

"Preposterous!" Coppernob cried out, perplexed. "Never had I heard of such a thing."

Stephen just chuckled heartily, a grin plastered on his face.

"For all your years it's good that things can still surprise you," the Rocket intoned humorously. "It's nice to have a childlike view of the world, you know?"

Coppernob gave a dismissive humph in reply.

Stephen just chuckled again.

"So Old Red, what's getting your goat?" He queried but Coppernob refused to answer. Stephen decided to continue. "Is what Edward said getting to you? Because he's right, you know."

Coppernob gave a snort of disgust.

"How is he right when he neglected those in desperate need of help?" the old engine snarled.

"Edward had no idea about the Furness engine's plight," Stephen noted. "If he had then I'm sure that he would have immediately jumped in to help."

"He went out of his way to ignore our requests and volunteers! He made deliberate efforts to distance himself from us!" Coppernob shouted angrily. "I am the Golden Warden of the Furness Railway! He should not ignore me!"

Stephen's smile faded and a look of disapproval appeared on his face.

"Being a Golden Warden does not mean you have the right to dictate what other engines do," Stephen told the red engine sternly. "It only gives you the right to intervene when engines need guidance or an engine's souls are in danger."

Coppernob appeared to be taken aback by Stephen's bluntness. He was most probably used to the Rocket being childish and carefree.

"I disagree," Coppernob argued. "Why be given this power if we cannot use it to hold others in check and accountable?"

"My dear Coppernob, that is what Superintendents and Directors are for," Stephen pleasantly retorted. "Your role as an engine with a Golden Soul is to act as an ambassador between our two worlds."

"I disagree entirely," Coppernob scoffed and turned his nose up at Stephen, clearly done with the conversation.

"Very well," Stephen realised he wasn't going to get anything more from Coppernob and began to chuff away. "If that's what you still want to believe, old friend. But I fear that belief of yours is what drove Edward away in the first place. Good day to you."

Stephen flashed a polite grin at Coppernob before joining Millie as she did the rounds of the castle.

The Old Red Furness engine watched him go with a sour look on his face but in the back of his mind his subconscious churned and it couldn't help but come to the conclusion that maybe Stephenson's Rocket was right.

There was a huge gathering of engines that Oscar had followed Green Arrow to. Considering the conversation before the V2 had spotted Mallard and completely freaked out, he decided that the best course of action was to head to where Ms Parson had supposedly moved.

He had to find Olivia's Golden Whistle.

He had to have something positive for his future wife in light of losing North.

He needed something to soften the blow of such a terrible outcome. His mind briefly flickered to Mallard, wondering what the A4 was doing. He probably should not have left the man with North's body, he slowly realised but he did not have the time to dwell on such things.

The engines were speaking, the Sudrian Controller was yelling at a Great Western whose tender had been caved in and practically destroyed.

Whatever was happening was not his problem.

He needed to find that whistle and he needed to find it fast.

His attention was diverted when he recognised the voice of that woman who he knew had been harassing his fiance. He frowned and tightened his grip on Olivia's rifle.

It was ironic, he had campaigned for her to get rid of the thing, to give it up to the authorities but Olivia was insistent on holding on to it.

He was currently quite glad that she had.

The engine shed nearby was a mess, something had happened but Oscar did not have time to think about it.

Furniture and things were scattered across the floor of the engine sheds, someone quite obviously was in a hurry to leave judging by the sounds of people rushing around and panicking. Quickly rounding the corner, he found himself looking into the Station Master's house.

Bingo.

He'd found his target.

"Don't move!" He shouted at the elderly woman, stopping her from hastily shoving items into a duffel bag. She froze in place before slowly turning to face him, a sneer plastered over her face despite the fact a rifle was pointed directly at her face.

"The barrel is rusted boy," Jocasta Parsons sneered at Oscar. "The bullets inside it too. The gun is worthless, just like your fiance."

"You shut your mouth!" Oscar snarled viscously, thrusting the gun threateningly in her face even though he knew it wouldn't fire.

"It's sad really, you fell for someone who wasn't even human," Ms Parsons sneered. "She's not real, just a gold construct."

"I don't care, I love her and I will protect her no matter what," Oscar snapped. "Olivia is much more of a human than you will ever be. Whatever Olivia is, it's more human than you will ever be, you narcissistic pathetic excuse of a freak. Is it any wonder that your kids don't talk to you anymore? Is it really a surprise that your husband cheated on you? Why would anyone give such a vile, vindictive and selfish excuse of a human the time of day."

Fury erupted in Ms Parsons' eyes.

"Your stupid pathetic woman and child is probably dead by now!" She spitefully hissed at Oscar. It took every single restraint he had in his body to not strike this vile woman in anger.

Ms Parsons laughed in his face, causing him to be distracted and not notice one of her bodyguards coming up behind him. There was a sudden pain at the back of his neck and it felt like his entire spine shuddered.

His knees gave way and he fell to them, his entire back feeling like it was on fire. He glanced up and saw Ms Parsons scurrying away. He tried to give chase but it felt like his strength had failed him.

"Damn it!" He shouted and tried to get up but he found the bodyguard put a foot on his back to stop him.

He was about to try and wriggle free but the weight suddenly lifted from his back and the bodyguard fell with a thud beside him, his arms twisted behind his back as a police officer wrestled with him.

"Up you get my good man," a familiar voice spoke and Oscar raised his head to find Mr Corbyn offering a hand to him.

"Mr Corbyn," Oscar gratefully took his hand and with some difficulty he managed to find his feet.

"You accidentally sprang our trap faster than we would have liked," Corbyn chuckled. "But no matter."

"But Olivia's Golden Whistle! She's getting away!" Oscar hollered desperately. "I need it! Olivia is in danger!"

"She won't get far my dear fellow," Mr Corbyn assured him with a clap on his shoulder.

"But-"

"Trust me," Mr Corbyn winked at him.

Oscar was fraught with distress but he had to trust Mr Corbyn. He was a Golden Warden after all.

"What do we do?" Peony shrieked as she began to panic. "Dr Hendrick!"

"I-" The former Steamworks engine was at a loss for words. This was far beyond anything he had had to deal with. It had never once crossed his mind that North would one day die and take his vast knowledge of Gold Dust with him.

He was aware that Flying Scotsman had turned away from the rest of them and was staring out of the window blankly.

Hendrick had a feeling that the Scotsman was grieving for his brother and so he would rather not disturb him.

He quickly looked to Rooster who was staring at the ghastly sight that Hendrick was trying to avoid.

He had never liked North. The man had been well-intentioned yet had always come off as a narcissistic monster.

Yet his heart hurt for the man. North had wanted to protect Olivia in the end, protect her and make her happy as if she was his daughter.

Yet Polly had been the one to save her. Olivia had run away from home and had a good life only to return and fall back into her childhood illness.

He didn't know what to do but he knew that he had one objective.

"We need to figure out a way to save Olivia," Hendrick decided and Peony nodded, tears in her eyes. Hendrick refused to look at North's body but motioned to Rooster. "Er, could you please cover North with a blanket, Rooster? Or perhaps take him downstairs in case Olivia wakes up."

"Right," the larger man simply responded before he gently lifted the motionless, cold body of North off of the couch and carefully made his way out of the room.

Hendrick leaned over and gently picked up the Golden Whistle that Mallard had placed around Olivia's neck.

It was cold and it held no more Gold Dust.

It was still beautiful though, Sir Nigel Gresley's signature was engraved into it and pictograms of birds decorated it.

Hendrick could go to the LNER's old well and try to refill it with Gold Dust but without Sir Gresely himself or Great Northern, the whistle was effectively useless. It most probably wouldn't take and it wouldn't recognise Olivia.

The Little Wren looked to Scotsman who was still staring out the window, his expression stoic and blank. He walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you're grieving old iron, but Olivia's in grave danger," he gently tried to coax Scotsman out of his stupor. Scotsman turned to look at him, giving him a slight note.

"Yes, of course," Scotsman shook himself out of his grieving state and looked over to Olivia whose limp form sat up against her pillows, her arms around her gravid belly protectively. Scotsman sat on the bed beside his engineer and gently grasped the side of her face with his hand.

Olivia's eyelids fluttered open and she sat there confused for a second before her blue eyes found Scotsman's face and she gave him a weak smile.

"Scotsman," she murmured weakly.

"Hello Olivia, I'm glad you could wake up," he greeted her warmly. "How do you feel?"

"Cold," Olivia croaked weakly. "My body feels numb, Polly says she'll protect the baby but she doesn't know if she can protect me anymore."

"Polly?" Scotsman asked, confused. "The baby?"

Olivia shook her head wearily. "Pretty Polly."

"Pretty?" Scotsman looked over at Hendrick confused. "As in-"

"Your sister, yes," Hendrick confirmed. "Great Northern managed to save her, but he was unable to restore her engine and so Polly gave her soul to save Olivia as a child. Olivia herself didn't know until she became the Golden Warden."

Scotsman's expression changed to one of wonder and he turned his attention back to Olivia who's eyes had turned golden. The woman was smiling at him kindly, a soul different to Olivia's resonating with his.

"Polly," Scotsman whispered softly before drawing her into a close embrace. "My little Sister."

"Scotsman," Polly's voice spoke and Scotsman gasped in shock and hugged her even tighter.

"I missed you, more than anything," Scotsman croaked, his voice breaking.

"I know," Polly murmured in ear before letting him go. "I wish it was in better circumstances. Lady Olivia and her baby are in danger and I cannot protect both of them for very long. I've been away from my engine for so long, I doubt I have any connection to it. I cannot draw on Gold Dust any longer."

"But how did the Black Smoke infect Olivia?" Scotsman asked, confused. "She should have been safe, even if my whistle infected her."

"Well, that's just it," Hendrick interjected. "Since a child, Polly's soul was the one thing protecting Olivia from being infected. However, over the years, Polly's soul has slowly been depleting. Olivia's son Scot has a fragment of her soul, a fragment sheared off when Olivia shared her body with you and now, Polly gave part of her soul to Olivia's baby to protect it."

"Polly's been breaking her soul to save Olivia and her family?" Peony asked terrified.

Hendrick nodded grimly as Scotsman gently laid a hand over Olivia's belly, feeling the baby within. It was warm unlike the rest of Olivia and he could feel the Gold Dust swirling inside her womb like a protective barrier between the cold that was gripping Olivia's body.

He looked back at Olivia, her eyes turned back to their natural blue, an expression of acceptance on her face. It was clear that Olivia had accepted her fate and was prepared to give her own life for her baby.

Fear rose in Scotsman and he grasped Olivia's hand firmly.

"I'll save you," he promised her. "You saved me from Mallard. I'll save you, Polly and the baby, I promise."

Olivia smiled at him sadly.

"You can't always save everyone, Scotsman," she warned him and Scotsman shook his head.

"I know that! No one more than me knows that!" He cried out desperately. "So please, I'm asking you, you are my engineer and I need you to survive. Your baby needs you to survive, please Lady Olivia."

Something seemed to click behind Olivia's eyes and she nodded to him, a fierce determination that wasn't there before returning. The baby inside her seemed to notice and squirmed underneath Scotsman's hand.

"I think I need to speak with Mallard," Scotsman nodded and Olivia squeezed his hand in response.

"Be careful," she advised him.

"I can easily beat Mallard," Scotsman scoffed at her.

"Do not hurt him," Olivia clarified. "He's in a very vulnerable place right now, treat him with kindness and compassion. He is confused and needs a friend."

Scotsman stared at Olivia for a few long moments before nodding to her.

"Of course," he went to stand and step away from her bed but Olivia still clung to his hand. "Olivia?"

"I want to see your wedding with Truro and so does Polly," she assured him and Scotsman blushed.

"Of course ma'am," he nodded to her.

"You'll be a stunning bride, Scotsman," Olivia smirked and Scotsman almost shook his hand from her's in embarrassment.

"I uh, we haven't talked about that yet, we just got engaged," Scotsman stammered.

In truth, it had not even been 24 hours since Truro proposed.

"Mallard's lamp is what you need," Dr Hendrick cut in before Scotsman turned into a beetroot from embarrassment. "It is Proteus's lamp and it is a legendary Gold Dust artefact that can grant wishes."

Scotsman gazed at Dr Hendrick curiously before acknowledging him, Peony and Olivia.

"I shall be back," he declared and gripped Olivia's hand firmly. "I'll find a way to heal you forever, Olivia Gresley."

Olivia nodded to him and let go of his hand.

"Reliable as always, Flying Scotsman."

Scotsman chuckled and bowed to her slightly before he disappeared in a flutter of Gold Dust.

"This isn't going to work Thomas!" Tydfil shrieked as they raced towards Tidmouth Hault. "Tidmouth Hault is a dead end! He's going to trap us!"

"No, he's going to trap himself!" Thomas hollered back.

"I don't understand!" Tydfil shrieked, but still she carried on, King Edward I snapping at her tender. She didn't even really understand how she was running without a crew.

Willpower, she supposed.

"I'm tired," she complained to Thomas. "I can't go on."

"No, no, don't stop Tydfil, keep on going!" Thomas encouraged. "You can do it Tydfil, just a little bit further!"

"I can't!" Tydfil exclaimed, exhausted. She could feel the cold seeping into the back of her tender as she fell behind.

She felt exhausted. She wanted to sleep. She wanted the warm feeling of Maindy in her mind.

She had never noticed it before it was gone, that warm, protective sense of pride that had always been with her.

She wanted Maindy Hall back.

"Tydfil, don't stop!" Thomas called to her but she could barely hear him, only sensing the dread that awaited her when King Edward I caught up with her, his ice cold tendrils creeping towards her cab.

Tydfil suddenly felt Thomas couple to her front and together they shot forward much to Tydfil's shock.

It shook her from her brief moment of despair and she stared at the back of Thomas's bunker in disbelief.

"How are you doing this?!" She shrieked as they rocketed along the tracks, defying logic itself.

There was no possible way that such a small engine such as Thomas could pull her at such speed. And yet, here he was pulling her along at express speed without so much as a strain.

Thomas cheekily giggled to himself.

"I'm what King Eddy wanted to be, Tydfil," Thomas explained to her. "I'm a Golden Warden. I can do things that aren't possible."

Tydfil huffed in frustration.

"Your words mean nothing to me!" She shouted at him.

"I know, I'll explain when we are safe!"

She was about to retort when she suddenly felt the tracks beneath them shift and groan under her wait and she cried out in fear.

"The tracks are going to give way!" She panicked.

"Just a little further!"

"Further until what?!"

As if to answer her question, there was a sudden howl and a tremendous bang that occurred behind them as they felt the rails twist and groan beneath them. Something thundered past them to the side of the

A roar of fury followed the deafening crash, ballast showering onto them causing them to shriek in alarm as a cloud of dust exploded around them.

Tydfil couldn't see but the lack of vibrations on the track meant that King Edward I had somehow been stopped.

"What happened?" Tydfil asked fearfully and tried to reverse but Thomas stopped her.

"Duck always did complain about these tracks getting neglected and weak," was all Thomas tutted.

Tydfil was at a loss, not understanding what the blue tank engine meant, however once he had gotten the both of them turned around, the dust and smoke had cleared leaving a scene of carnage before them.

The rails had given way, bending and twisting beneath the weight of their assailant and the once spotless King Class now lay half buried in a local refrigeration complex, fish and seafood thrown metres away from the crash.

King Edward I snarled and hissed, demanding respect, ordering to be hauled out of his predicament but it was to no avail as people began to laugh and the pompous, maniacal engine.

Tydfil couldn't help but laugh as tears of stress streamed down her face, Thomas watching her concerned. She wasn't laughing out of humour, she was simply laughing because she was understandably overwhelmed by everything.

"Let's get you into a safe shed shall we?" Thomas reassured her and Tydfil just laughed at him, sounding broken and hurt. "It'll be alright."

Tydfil wanted to believe him. She really did.

But she didn't know what to believe anymore.

And so we have the pay off of Donald being derailed at the very beginning of this story. It only took a year, two months.

Scotsman is super aggressive here which is VERY unlike him. He's usually like a sponge, absorbing negative stuff and not letting it show but Lady's Warning, Tornado's accident now North's death has really gotten to him to the point he lashed out at Mallard.

Coppernob is a stubborn old kettle. Don't expect him to change so quickly after Edward laid it all down on the table.