*edited October/November 2024
Sodor High School: Thomas & Friends Tales
Written by: ThomasZoey3000 / SF64Rules91 / DaveMan1000 / Sodormatchmaker
Based on the Railway Series by: The Rev. W. and Christiopher Awdry
Based on the Television Series by: Britt AllCroft, David Mitton, Lionsgate, and Universal Pictures
OC(s) owned by: SF64Rules91
Episode 57: Showdown at Sea
Opening up at Arlesburgh Harbor as a fierce storm commenced, Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt were watching from shore at something in shock. Onboard Captain John's ship, the Hispaniola, that something was utter chaos as a fierce battle ensued. Thomas rushed at Captain John and thrusted his (Thomas) sword outwards, only to be met by Captain John's own sword blocking the attack. The two locked hateful eyes for a second before Captain John pushed Thomas away and followed up with some more quick strikes. Despite his age, Captain John was very fast and skilled with a cutlass, and Thomas was barely able to keep up with the more experienced sword wielder. The added strong wind and worsening rain wasn't helping all that much. Skiff made a quick dash for the starboard strouds through the mayhem and began climbing, with Leon in hot pursuit. The young boy felt the rain falling faster and faster as he scaled up the support; his hands were getting colder every second, but he pressed on. The four ninja teens were busy on the deck engaging in their first ever real fight against opponents who were fully intent on killing them. As skilled as the pirate grunts were, however, they were still going down pretty easily—enough to the point Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael all began making casual, light-hearted banter at each other about the whole thing.
"Hey, guys! You know what I like best about weapons combat? The weapons!" chortled Raphael, stopping several attacks made by a pirate using one of his sai and kicking him away, "Hyah!"
"Too bad you're stuck with those lame toothpicks, and not a 'real' weapon," joked Michelangelo, who was quickly approached by several grunts, "I mean, check it out! My two nunchaku are not only good for playing the drums!" He swung his twin nunchaku around and knocked the enemy away from him, "But they're also good for giving a leg up to a fellow bud!"
Donatello came in running and used a boost from one of Michelangelo's nunchaku to leap up and over a group of pirates, landing behind them before spinning his (Donatello) bo staff around like a windmill's blade.
"You said it, pal!" acknowledged Donatello, just as he got surrounded by several more grunts, "But everyone knows that a bo staff certainly comes in handy when a teenage ninja-in-training finds himself in the middle of a circle of angry, stinky pirates!"
With several quick strikes with the bo staff, the pirates surrounding him were taken down. Leonardo, fighting a few sword-wielding pirates with his twin katana, was quick to make a comment of his own.
"Are you guys still goin' on about weapons?" grinned Leonardo, "Weren't yoo listening to our sensei the other day?" He sliced his way through the enemy's defense, "It's not the weapon that matters. It's the warrior who wields it!"
With multiple punches and/or kicks from Leonardo, three more pirates were taken down. While that was going on, down below the ship itself, Percy was rowing a small rowboat to where the anchor had been dropped. Using the chain, Percy and Toby climbed up first, followed by Rosie and Mavis. They soon reached the deck and climbed aboard, quickly hiding behind several barrels and out of sight of the pirates. They all watched just how choreographed the fighting between the ninja teens and pirates was.
"Man, oh man, look at that," The voice of Percy whistled, as Leonardo was seen using those katanas to block the swords of several pirates attacking. He looked impressed, "This reminds me so much of a scene from my favorite martial arts movie."
"Martial arts movie, Percy?" quizzed Rosie.
"Yeah!" nodded Percy, just as Raphael kicked four pirate grunts away—all while the chained and gagged Emily watched from the plank, "It's where the heroes fight the bad guys in a big battle sequence under a fierce rain storm in order to save the damsel in distress!"
"Percy, this is serious!" scolded Toby, shaking Percy back into reality, "Right now, our friends are busy fighting for their lives, and ours, too, and Emily is in grave danger."
"Then what should we do?" worried Mavis, "What 'can' we do?" It was then something nearby caught her eye, "Wait a moment."
She noticed that Michelangelo was backing away from a few pirate grunts while twirling both his nunchaku.
"Avast, ye scurvy sea dogs! Argh, shiver me timbers! Blow me down!" mocked Michelangelo, cockily, before finding his back against the wall, "Uh-oh… Okay, about that blow me down part…"
The three grunts grinned nastily as they readied their swords to strike. Mavis, however, quickly pushed over a large barrel and, with a strong enough kick, sent it rolling at the three pirates without them looking, causing them to get bowled over and knocked away from Michelangelo, who looked around for the person who saved him—and seeing it was Mavis who did so.
"You're a…" praised Michelangelo playfully, as Mavis listened whilst grinning back, "…natural, sis!"
"Thanks," winked Mavis, doing the peace sign in triumph.
Meanwhile, Donatello took down another pirate grunt before five more of them surrounded him. He was about to move in and attack when he stopped and thought of something.
"Wait a minute, a bo staff and a crowd of guys who all look the same?" murmured Donatello, looking at his weapon before an idea entered his brain, "I think it's time to try out one of my favorite movie stunts."
With being that said, he jammed the staff into the floor with all of his might and then, while holding on, jumped up to spin around on the staff, his body outstretched. The grunts who were surrounding him all took a step back, so rather than kicking them away, Donatello merely spun around and around before winding up flat on the floor.
"Well, that didn't work," admitted Donatello sheepishly.
The pirates blinked in confusion a few times before deciding to retaliate by rushing and swarming the hapless idiot in their eyes. Rosie was rather worried about Donatello and wondered what she could do to help him before realizing she and the others were standing beside a cannon.
"Percy, give me a hand with this cannon," suggested Rosie.
"What for?" wondered Percy, before immediately getting it, "Ah, now I gotcha."
With good teamwork, the two teenagers manage to dislodge one of the ship's cannons and send it rolling towards the nearby combatants. Donatello was being overwhelmed by the five pirate grunts when they all heard a rumbling sound—which Donatello used the opportunity to swiftly avoid getting rammed down by the cannon himself by backflipping. The pirates weren't so lucky as they got hit, sent flying across the deck, and ended up knocked out.
"Phew! Close one," gasped Donatello, relieved, before shooting Percy and Rosie a quick smile of thanks as they waved pleasantly, "Thanks for the save, you two!"
Above on the strouds, Skiff had reached the mast, with Leon still giving chase. Thinking fast, Skiff grabbed one of the loose ropes hanging from the crow's nest and swung off the mast, looping around Leon, who was trying to strike Skiff with a sword he (Leon) grabbed back below on the deck.
"Hold still, you gör!" yelled Leon, as Skiff swung by again.
The pouring rain and strong wind obscured the enraged Leon's vision from getting a good shot at Skiff, who kept swinging by effortlessly. Looking up at the crow's nest, Leon saw the end of the rope Skiff was swinging on within reach, and with a well aimed shot, threw the sword and slashed it. Skiff felt his support give way and thinking fast, he tried to grab onto the folded up sail to stop himself from falling down. But his weight was enough to unravel the sail, which sprung open, catching the strong wind instantly. The whole ship jolted forward as the wind pushed against the sail, only to be roughly yanked back by the mooring lines, causing everyone on deck to briefly lose their footing. Leon grabbed hold of the mast to keep himself from falling, looking down to see Skiff had disappeared from holding onto the sail. Growling in frustration, he grabbed another rope and slid back down. Back on the deck, Thomas and Captain John were still locked in their duel. Despite the obvious lack of sword training on his part, Thomas was holding out surprisingly well against former sailor turned pirate.
"Why'd you do this?!" Thomas demanded hotly, swinging the sword at Captain John, who deflected the attack with ease, "I thought you were a good man! I thought we were friends!"
"Friends? What did ye expect, Thomas, me lad? I'm a 'pirate'!" scoffed Captain John. He (Captain John) then made several thrusts at Thomas, who just barely managed to avoid or deflect them, "Ye were so easy to fool, and now yer lady friend is going to die cause o' you!"
Thomas locked blades with Captain John while glaring defiantly at the older man with nothing but contempt.
"You're a monster, John!" spat Thomas, as Captain John sneered in response, "And I'm gonna both save Emily and stop you!"
Still armed with the sword, Thomas then started slashing and stabbing at Captain John, who blocked every attack while backing up towards the portside edge. Thomas continued to lunge at Captain John in anger, kicking the pirate captain against the railings. Bringing up his sword, Thomas tried to strike the downed Captain John, only for him (Captain John) to quickly dodge to the side as Thomas slashed downward, accidently cutting one of the ship's mooring lines. With one line gone, the ship started to be pushed further by the wind, until…
SNAP!*
Another line snapped…
SNAP!*
Then another…
SNAP!*
And finally the last one gave way, and the Hispaniola began to drift out of the harbor uncontrollably, rocking around everybody on board. The gagged Emily crouched down and gripped the plank as best she could to keep herself from falling off into the water below, with the attached anchor ensuring she would sink all the way to the bottom. Meanwhile, Leonardo kicked another pirate away when a large shadow loomed over him. Turning around, he got punched aside by a big fist, sending him flying into a nearby barrel and destroying it on contact. The powerful fist came from Sledge, and he was eager to crack open some skulls.
"Sledge is gonna mess you up 'bad'!" taunted Sledge.
Still armed with his katanas, Leonardo got back up and rushed forth, dodging some of Sledge's attacks and dishing out a few punches or kicks before getting grabbed by the shirt collar. Sledge spun Leonardo around and around before hurling the dirty blonde-haired boy nearby, slamming into the door leading below deck and destroying it.
(inside…)
After toppling down the wooden stairs, Leonardo laid in a pile of wood that used to be the door. He tried to get up, but a jolt of pain in his right shoulder forced him to drop his katanas and stay down. It got much worse when three pirate grunts entered and found one of those 'ninjas' laying on the ground in an injured state.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here, fellas," The first pirate said snidely, as Leonardo looked up while nursing that injury, "It looks like someone who bit off more than he could chew!"
"I'll put an end to it," offered the second pirate, pulling out and aiming a flintlock pistol at Leonardo. He locked and loaded it and smiled sadistically, "See you in Davy Jones's Locker, punk!"
Leonardo gritted his teeth (mostly from the pain) and shut his eyes, waiting for the end to come for him. Before the second pirate could fire a shot, a shuriken suddenly flew past him and into the wall.
"What the devil?!" exclaimed the third pirate.
Turning around, the three grunts found Michelangelo and Donatello both standing in what used to be a doorway.
"Can Donnie and I come in and play, too?" dared Michelangelo.
The second pirate recovered and started to aim the pistol again, but Donatello was quicker on the draw and hurled over a makeshift smoke bomb. The ball landed near the feet of the pirates as smoke billowed out and covered the area in a thick fog, allowing for Michelangelo and Donatello to safely enter. There were then sounds of Donatello's bo staff and Michelangelo's twin nunchaku hitting things, as well as grunts and groans of pain. The smoke cleared with the three pirates unconscious and both ninja teens being the only ones left standing.
"And that's how you take out the trash, dudes!" rejoiced Michelangelo, before turning to lend a hand out to Leonardo, "You alright, bro?"
Despite the severe pain in his shoulder, Leonardo managed to grin and accept the hand up by his younger brother. As Leonardo was bring brought back to his feet, Donatello was busy picking up the dropped weapons to hand back to their owner.
"Thanks, Mikey," panted Leonardo, clutching his injured shoulder before being handed back one of his katanas, "Where's Raph?"
Donatello and Michelangelo immediately exchanged worried glances, having a feeling just where their good friend currently was.
(outside…)
Back on the deck, a sai and a cutlass were clashing, meaning Raphael and Laura were in the process of dueling each other. Unlike when Raphael was fighting the pirate grunts and actually having fun and cracking jokes with his friends, the atmosphere here was bleak and there was serious bitterness coming from him over the fact that a girl he liked had been an enemy all along.
"We trusted you!" shouted Raphael, "How could you lie to all of us about your identity being a pirate?!" Upon clashing with Laura again, he narrowed his eyes, which were filled with hurt, "How could you lie to me?"
"I had my reasons for it!" countered Laura, before skillfully jumping away from her opponent. She then pulled a knife off of her belt, "Голови вгору!"
She threw the knife at Raphael, but he effortlessly smacked it away with one of his sai.
"And what reason is that? Greed?!" snarled Raphael, growing increasingly angry and bitter, "You'd risk having a friend of ours killed just for some stupid treasure? I-I can't believe I ever liked you!"
"Do not pretend to think you know anything about me!" retorted Laura, swinging her sword once, "I lost everything in my life once upon a time… Someone like you could never understand the pain I've been through!"
"Is that it? That's your excuse for joining these guys?" Raphael scoffed, laughing coldly as though he didn't believe Laura, "Well, Laura…" He got into a fighting position again, "I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that."
There was a long silence from both sides.
"Don't do this, Raph," pleaded Laura softly, really not wanting to fight Raphael like this, "Just give up—please."
"I'm done talking," refused Raphael.
He posed with both of his sai at the ready. Reluctantly, Laura raised her cutlass in response. For a few seconds they both stood there glaring intensely at each other, paying no attention to any and all fighting around them. Raphael then dashed forward, to which Laura did the same, and they both attempted to strike the other. Raphael caught Laura's sword between his sai, only for her to use their position to slide between his legs and swipe him down. Raphael then planted his hands on the deck and lifted himself into a spinning motion, using the inertia to flip himself back onto his feet and delivering a kick to Laura, making her stumble backwards slightly. Seeing an opening, Raphael charged at Laura, lifting her up over his shoulder as he slammed her through several pirate grunts and into one of the masts. Thinking fast, Laura tried to stab Raphael with her sword, only for him to flip her over and throw her across the deck and into the starboard railings. Laura slowly picked herself up, realizing that Raphael was now fighting much more aggressive than when she had initially sparred with him the day they first met. Laura looked to see Raphael approaching her again, with the look of disdain still plastered across his face.
"Well?" huffed Laura, still prepared to fight her former friend, "What will you do next?"
With a well timed double thrust, Raphael responded to the taunt by trapping Laura's sword between both his sai. The two stood locked in their positions, both fighting to overpower the other. With gritted teeth, Raphael snarled with rage as he pushed his sai in further, with Laura desperately holding firm against him while gripping her cutlass with both hands. Eventually, she heard a faint chipping sound from her blade as Raphael pushed her further back. She tried to hold on, but the chipping sound grew louder and louder, until she realized it was too late…
SNAP!*
Raphael swung his sai back as the blade of Laura's sword finally shattered, causing it to fall onto the floor. Briefly glancing at what was left on the hilt, a stunned Laura looked back to see Raphael deliver a sharp kick, knocking her against the railings and dropping her destroyed weapon at the same time.
"Pitiful," sighed Raphael, as he started to slowly approach Laura again, "Let's finish this."
Thinking fast, Laura reached for her belt and pulled out a flintlock pistol, aiming it at Raphael.
"Stay back!" she ordered, as Raphael stopped walking with a blank, cold expression on his face, "Come any closer, and I'll shoot you! I really will!"
Like before, Raphael responded by ignoring Laura's demands and continuing to walk closer to her, which seemed to fill Laura with genuine fear of dying by his hands.
"Stop it!" cried Laura emotionally, as her right hand shook while still holding onto the pistol even as Raphael still paid absolutely no attention, "I… I will shoot you, Raph! I'm not bluffing!" She shut her eyes as she screamed, "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"NO!" The voice of Skiff called from above.
"Huh?" realized Laura, opening her eyes.
All of a sudden, Skiff, having successfully escaped from Leon, dropped down right beside Laura. Upon landing, Skiff was able to use his smaller stature and quick reflexes to disarm her. Quickly grabbing Laura's flintlock pistol, Skiff stood over her with the barrel pointed directly at her head before she could think of retaliating.
"Please don't move, Laura," exclaimed Skiff, with his right hand shaking while gripping onto the deadly weapon, "I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stop—I'll have no choice but to shoot."
Laura's eyes widened with fright as Skiff held the pistol against her head. Terrible memories suddenly started flashing before her eyes.
FLASHBACK
A younger Laura (age 16) was seen in a living room engulfed in flames around her as she curled up in terror. From another room, the screams of her parents echoed through the house, followed by the ear-piercing sound of two gunshots, ending the screams instantly. Looking up from her fetal position, she saw a masked man approach her with a pistol in his hand; a weapon that ended the lives of her parents and even the townsfolk. The man looked down at the teenage girl coldly before he raised his weapon to her head as she stared into the barrel completely petrified.
BANG*
Flashback Laura shut her eyes and curled up further in fright, but didn't feel anything hit her. She peaked out from her arms to see the masked man laying on the floor motionless. Looking around the smoke-filled room, she could faintly see two other figures (one lean-looking, and another burly-looking) walking towards her before she finally blacked out.
END FLASHBACK
The vision ended, and Laura shook off her frozen state and backed away from Skiff in terror with her fear and trauma growing stronger by the second.
"No… Skiff, please," begged Laura, bursting into tears of horror, "Don't shoot me!" She started to hyperventilate, when the gun was again pressed at her head, "I-I know you… you wouldn't ever do such a thing!"
"Laura, you have to think about what you're doing!" urged Skiff, who really didn't want to threaten the one person in the crew he looked up to, "Helping to steal and plunder a few small towns is one thing, but murder is going too far for someone like you," He shook his head, "It isn't what I signed up for, and is it really something 'you' want as well?" While asking the questions, Laura helplessly listened to him, "Look, you're like the older sister I never had, and I don't want us to be enemies and have to possibly kill the other—and I know you're thinking the same thing."
"Skiff…" whispered Laura.
"But I'm done serving under John," declared Skiff firmly, "Leon and Sledge have shown no remorse for their crimes during our time on the Island of Sodor, but it doesn't mean you should be feeling the same thing as them," Raphael and Laura both listened to him talk some more, "You can either do the right thing and join me in leaving the pirate life behind, or not and risk prison for possibly the rest of your life, or something even worse," To see if his speech worked, he carefully lowered the pistol away from his friend's head, "What do you say? Will you surrender to me?"
There was a long silence from both sides before the tearful-looking Laura, relieved that she was no longer being threatened with the same weapon that ruined her original life, looked at the palms of her shaking hands before burying them over her eyes as she started weeping over the traumatic memories, making it a sign she surrendered and felt remorse for all of her actions. Seeing Laura look so genuinely broken caused Raphael to soften up to the point of even dropping his own weapons to show he won't fight her any longer. Skiff took one final look at the pistol in his right hand and threw it overboard in disgust, hating himself for having to threaten and trigger Laura's trauma with it. The flintlock pistol flew through the air and landed in the water, sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a now useless state. Skiff then lowered himself to Laura's level, wrapped his arms around her, and consoled her. Back with Thomas and Captain John, between their continued attacks, the two began to take notice of the battle shifting in favor of Thomas and his team. Several crew members continued to fight the best that they could, but they were getting beaten down.
"Look at all of this, John!" stated Thomas, "It's over! You've lost! Just stop this nonsense already!"
"Fool! A pirate captain 'never' loses!" Captain John glared back, locking blades with Thomas again. He then noticed two crew members crouching for cover near the plank and smirked maliciously, "You two! Emily has a date with Davy Jones! Send her to him!"
Thomas's eyes widened with horror and attempted to make a dash to Emily, only for Captain John to get in the way by shoving Thomas into the ship's wheel, causing the Hispaniola to turn sharply, knocking everyone on deck to the floor in disorientation. The two pirate grunts got up and started trying to yank the ore out of the plank lever. Emily let out a muffled scream when she saw the pirates attempting to drop her.
"Emily, no!" panicked Thomas, attempting to abandon the battle—only for a sword to block his way out, "Hey!"
"Oops! Sorry, me lad, but it's time to drop anchor" sneered Captain John, being the one blocking Thomas from leaving, "Pretty soon you'll be joinin' her!"
Thomas and Captain John began fighting again, but the thought of Emily being in such danger caused Thomas to begin losing concentration and it allowed for Captain John to slowly gain the upper hand while backing Thomas further away from Emily. Back with Raphael, Laura and Skiff, they looked to see the two grunts pull the ore from the lever controls, and drop the plank down, sending Emily down into the water below.
"Emily!" wailed Skiff.
"NO!" howled Raphael.
Emily, with the anchor still chained to her ankle, fell from the high height until she hit the water, sinking into it. Raphael was about to rush forward to save her, but was suddenly punched away by Sledge, collapsing on the deck a short distance away from Skiff and Laura. Angrily, Raphael got back up and tackled Sledge as they wrestled around. Without both of his sai, Raphael was struggling to get Sledge off, but the pirate was much bigger and stronger. Skiff and Laura both watched for a few seconds before the latter turned to the former.
"Hurry, Skiff," requested Laura, "Go and save Emily before it's too late!"
Skiff was surprised to hear that. But when he saw the serious expression on Laura's face, he became overjoyed that the single person of the crew, outside of Captain John, that he looked up to had decided to truly redeem herself. Nodding, Skiff turned to face the edge of the ship, ran forth, and dove off into the ocean below before surfacing, taking a deep breath and splashing under. Underwater, Emily was sinking like a stone due to the anchor and chain around her ankle pulling her further down, struggling with all of her might but being unable to do anything. Suddenly, Emily, as she started to run out of air and her vision began to blur, spotted someone swimming towards her—which was Skiff, armed with a key to the shackle. Before Emily was about to lose consciousness, Skiff quickly unlocked the shackle from her ankle and was able to lift her towards the surface, where they coughed and hacked from being underwater for a long period of time.
"Skiff…" panted Emily, "You…saved me…"
"It's the least I can do after getting you wrapped up in this," coughed Skiff, as he wrapped an arm around Emily's waist and helped her paddle back towards the Hispaniola, "Come on, let's get back to the ship. We'll be safer there than stuck out here."
Emily nodded and started paddling alongside Skiff. Back on the ship, Sledge finally lifted Raphael up by the ankle and swung him around and around, before very roughly hurling him into the center mast, briefly knocking him down. With one target taken care of, Sledge approached the starboard railing and ripped off a large chunk with his brute strength. Managing to get back up and begin fighting against her fellow shipmates with her own martial arts skill, Laura fought and defeated three pirate grunts around her at the same time with a kick when she noticed Raphael was down and started to run and help him back up. Unfortunately for Laura, Sledge quickly blocked her way and violently smacked her across the deck with the big piece of wood. The lone female pirate commander was thrown a good distance and landed nearby before getting hit again by Sledge's weapon when he ran up to her, throwing her near the cannons.
"Oh…" groaned Laura, laying on the ground before trying to get up when a shadow loomed over her. Looking up, she then saw Sledge staring down at her with malice in his eyes, "Sledge?!"
"How dare you, Laura! Betraying our captain when he saved your life!" growled Sledge, "After everything we've done for you and more, you instead decide to side with a ninja wannabe over us?!" As he rambled on, the injured Laura looked up and weakly listened, "Sledge guesses he will have to take you out, too!"
Once he was done talking, Sledge raised the massive piece of wood above him, about to bring it down on Laura again when he felt two people tap him on the back. He turned around to see who it was, only to be met with a punch by both Donatello and Michelangelo, knocking the burly pirate back. Sledge then tried to whack the two friends with the wood, but missed as they effortlessly dodged; Michelangelo getting behind, while Donatello in front, aiming to finish the fight. Donatello then kicked Sledge in the chin and stomach, then turned around as Michelangelo punched Sledge in the back. Donatello then flipped over and, along with his younger friend, then kicked Sledge, making him stumble towards the railing on the other side of the deck as his eyes widened with shock at what was coming next.
"Aww crud," muttered Sledge.
Shouting viciously, Raphael flew at Sledge with a foot outstretched. Sledge was kicked straight through the railing and, while yelling out, sent plummeting into the ocean below.
"Have a nice swim!" called Michelangelo cheekily, waving goodbye.
"Come on, let's tie up those goons," suggested Donatello.
With both the fighting and storm dying down, the defeated grunts were being restrained by Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, with the help of Toby, Mavis, and even Laura. Some of them had flat out jumped ship rather than surrender, and others instead began to willingly surrender to the skilled warriors. While that was going on, Rosie was busy tending to Leonardo's injured shoulder. While doing so, she noticed that the remaining pirate commander was unaccounted for—who had also jumped ship to swim back to shore.
"Hey, where did Leon run off, too?" pondered Rosie.
"Och no, he must have slipped away after failing to get Skiff," uttered Leonardo.
While that was going on, Percy was busy looking for any sign of Skiff and Emily by the edge of the ship. He soon spotted the pair swimming towards the side of the ship.
"Heeeey!" echoed Percy, as, down in the water, Skiff and Emily kept swimming over, "Up here, you two!" He was shown waving from the ship, "Don't worry! We'll have you up on dry land in no time!" The green-haired boy turned nearby and spotted something, "Rosie, grab…" As he gave instructions, Rosie and Leonardo listened before the former nodded and grabbed the nearby rope, "…the rope and give me a hand!"
The rope was soon being lowered down the edge of the ship towards the water, and both Skiff and Emily reached it. Once they were holding on, Rosie and Percy started pulling them up. Eventually, the two teenagers were able to get Skiff and Emily up onto land and check up on them.
"Skiff! Emily! Oh, thank goodness you two are okay!" Rosie said with relief.
"Are you hurt, Emily?" asked Leonardo.
"No, I'm not, just exhausted," replied Emily, soaking wet and clearly tired out from swimming. She then remembered something, "Wait, what about Thomas?"
Meanwhile, Thomas and Captain John were busy fighting their duel and too engaged to notice anything going on around them. They were getting exhausted.
"Ge-Getting tired, old…man?" teased Thomas tiredly.
"Funny, I should be saying the same…about you, boy," rebutted Captain John, equally tired, "Ye could've been…a great pirate, Thomas. You and me, out on the seas and no ties to anyone."
"Sounds like…a pretty lonely life to me," dismissed Thomas.
Just then, before anything more could be said…
"Thomas!" The voice of Emily echoed, catching Thomas's attention.
"Emily?" thought Thomas.
Thomas looked nearby and saw Emily standing beside Leonardo, Skiff, Percy, and Rosie while waving, letting him know that she was fine and Skiff had saved her. Thomas was so relieved that he started to smile. Unfortunately, that distraction gave an evilly smiling Captain John the window needed to land the final blow on Thomas…
STAB!*
From Thomas's perspective, everything had gone still. He lost his smile and felt the sharp, unimaginable pain from the sword sticking in his abdomen before it was pulled out, had blood coming from the wound, and even heard the horrified screams from his friends, Laura, and Skiff despite the ringing sound in his ears. Stumbling back, Thomas began to collapse when Percy and Rosie hastily caught their wounded friend. Thomas could swear he heard Rosie saying something tearful to Captain John, but never could figure out what it was before everything seemingly went black due to loss of consciousness.
(elsewhere…)
Thomas's eyes briefly flickered open, where from his blurred vision, he could see whiteness, followed by what appeared to be rows of lights passing him by. He could faintly make out figures dressed in blue from all angles around him, as he also felt himself moving on something. Before he could process anything, he slipped back into unconsciousness.
(elsewhere…)
Darkness… That was all Thomas could see… But there were also some voices echoing throughout the area… Warm, encouraging voices telling him to now wake up. In his POV, Thomas's eyes started to flicker open as he saw the faces of his parents and younger sisters.
"Thomas?" began Andrea.
"You're awake, right?" pleaded Dalton.
"Mom? Dad?" murmured Thomas weakly, "Is that you?" He was then carefully embraced by his parents, Annie, and Clarabel, "Where… where am I?"
"You're in Knapford Hospital, Thomas," The voice of Sir Topham Hatt informed.
Thomas was barely able to look nearby and see all of the friends who went with him to rescue Emily from the pirates. Speaking of Emily, she was present in the room along with Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt. Leonardo no longer had his injured shoulder bandaged, which had been tended to by Rosie after all of the pirate grunts had been knocked out and restrained.
"Thank heavens you're alive, Thomas!" said Toby, relieved.
"When we all saw John stab you, we thought that-" came from Mavis.
"Please slow down!" interrupted Thomas, still very dizzy and weak. When everyone else settled down, he spoke more calmly, "Now, what exactly happened to me?"
"Well, when Emily called out to you, John used the distraction to stab you in the stomach," revealed Percy.
"We thought you had died from it," added Rosie.
"Lucky for you, help arrived on time," reassured Donatello.
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Stumbling back from being stabbed, Flashback Thomas began to collapse when Flashback Percy and Flashback Rosie hastily caught their wounded friend.
"THOMAS, NO!" shrieked Flashback Rosie, before tearfully looking towards the remorseless Flashback Captain John, "You monster! You killed him!"
"I warned ye Thomas! A pirate captain never loses to slimy scum like you!" declared Flashback Captain John, swinging his sword about once, "And all of yer friends are next to go!" He raised his weapon up, as Flashback Percy and Flashback Rosie both waited for the end to come for them, "You two, your remaining pals, and those two traitors can join Thomas in the next world for all I care!"
Before anything else could happen, a fully furious Flashback Raphael tackled Flashback Captain John, as Flashback Leonardo, Flashback Donatello, and Flashback Michelangelo each joined in the action, looking nearly as angry as their hotheaded friend over Flashback Captain John stabbing Flashback Thomas. In fact, the foursome were so angry over it that their eyes mysteriously turned completely white without any pupils. Flashback Donatello and Flashback Michelangelo held the struggling Flashback Captain John's arms against the wooden floor, as Flashback Raphael raised and plunged one of his sai downward with a hateful shout. A deeply shocked Flashback Captain John stared in horror before shutting his eyes, thinking death had come for him—only for the sai to completely miss his heart and instead go right through one of the sleeves of his coat. Flashback Raphael then did the same thing to the other sleeve with the remaining sai, pinning Flashback Captain John's arms completely down. Flashback Leonardo quickly followed suit by stabbing both katana through both of the hems of Flashback Captain John's pants, keeping the older man nailed down in place.
"Let me go!" ordered Flashback Captain John, struggling some more, "This is my ship, fools! Ye can't hold me down!"
Ignoring him, the four ninja teens just glared hatefully at the pirate captain for a few seconds before briefly shutting their respective eyes, breathing in and out to calm down, and opening them again, showing that the pupils for their eyes had returned. They then turned their attention to towards the wounded Flashback Thomas in the arms of Flashback Rosie and Flashback Percy, who was barely holding on.
"Thomas! Look at us!" urged Flashback Rosie, quickly taking off and holding her jacket to Flashback Thomas's wound, "Don't go to sleep! You have to keep your eyes open!" She tried shaking her friend and former crush in an effort to keep him awake, "Come on, Thomas! Please stay with me!"
There was barely any response from Flashback Thomas, who's eyes were looking empty and dull while flickering. Flashback Percy and Flashback Rosie held Flashback Thomas tightly, wondering if this was the truly end of him. Both Flashback Toby and Flashback Mavis just stood in place, completely shell-shocked by what happened to their blue-haired friend. On the other hand, Flashback Emily was at Flashback Thomas's side instantly, utterly shattered to pieces seeing him like that while believing it was her fault that he was so badly hurt or worse. Flashback Leonardo, Flashback Raphael, Flashback Donatello, and Flashback Michelangelo all just stood in sorrow with their anger burnt out, as did Flashback Skiff and even Flashback Laura—with the latter believing that even if Flashback Thomas lived, he would probably never forgive her. Just then alarms were heard blaring in the area. Down on the water, several police boats started gathering around the Hispaniola, and the police scaled the pirate ship and jumped onto the deck, where they saw many pirates tied up, Flashback Captain John pinned down, and an unconscious, bleeding Flashback Thomas in the arms of some of his friends. That was all the police needed to see in order to figure out what had happened.
"Hello, hello, hello. And what have we got here then?" The first police officer greeted.
"But I'm innocent, I tell ya!" protested Flashback Captain John, knowing it was futile.
"Tell it to the judge," said the second police officer, flatly.
Before Flashback Captain John could argue some more, he saw the police presence increase on his ship. With his crew defeated, already captured, or having fled, he knew he couldn't stand up to the full backing of the police force and stopped struggling in a state of defeat. When the Hispaniola was returned to shore, Flashback Captain John was immediately placed under arrest as Flashback Sir Topham Hatt and Flashback Lady Hatt watched as the various remaining grunts were being loaded into police cars or wagons to be taken away.
"Are you all okay?" pressed Flashback Sir Topham Hatt, as Flashback Percy, Flashback Skiff, and the likes approached. He was then met by Flashback Emily, who hugged him tightly, "Oh, my wonderful daughter! Emily, Jane and I were so worried about you!"
"Daddy!" whimpered Flashback Emily, with Flashback Lady Hatt joining in the hug, "Mom!"
"We thought we'd lost you!" sobbed Flashback Lady Hatt, "Thank goodness you're safe!"
It was a joyful reunion between the Hatt family. They, plus the rest of the group, then watched as the unconscious Flashback Thomas was being tended to by some paramedics before being loaded into an ambulance to be taken to the hospital in order to have his life saved. Suddenly, they heard the police talking to Flashback Laura, who had been cuffed and was being led by two police officers towards a police car.
"You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence," The third police officer stated firmly.
Flashback Laura said nothing back; she kept her head bowed and decided to accept her punishment without complaint, seeing as she knew that she did a lot of bad things. Nearby, Flashback Skiff watched sadly as Flashback Laura prepared to spend a good portion of her life behind bars when Flashback Raphael spoke up.
"Wait!" he called out, getting the attention of the two police officers, and Flashback Laura, "Go easy on her!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked the fourth police officer.
"She was just a pawn in all of this," revealed Flashback Raphael, walking over along with Flashback Skiff, "Those pirates used her for their own gain. She doesn't deserve the same punishment as the rest."
"Raph…" whispered Flashback Laura, touched, before entering her thoughts, "Even though I helped my former shipmates kidnap and almost kill Emily, you still decide to stand up for me despite my lying and betrayal of you all."
"Please don't sentence her to prison for years," begged Flashback Skiff, before approaching and hugging Flashback Laura tightly, "I don't want to lose the greatest older sister figure I could ever ask for!" He looked up at the police with tear-filled eyes, "I know what she did was wrong, but she also realized her mistakes and redeemed herself for them—just like 'I' did when I served that crew!"
The two police officers were shocked to hear that Flashback Skiff, basically a young boy, was also a pirate. As much as they thought to arrest him for that, they refrained due to his age. It was then the police chief walked up and knelt down to Flashback Skiff's level.
"Listen, son, I understand what you're saying. But we aren't the ones who decide these things. That's up to the courts," The police chief explained, much to Flashback Skiff's grief—that is, until he went on with speaking, "Though, if there's anything you're willing to provide to the case, it'll be all the better," He seemed to smile in hopes of convincing the young boy to remain strong, "Your friend could avoid a more severe punishment should she have a witness to stand for her. Are you willing to speak in her defense?"
"I'll be glad to, sir," confirmed Flashback Skiff, feeling much better before flashing Flashback Laura a wink, "Yeah!"
Flashback Laura smiled a little bit, hoping that everything would work out for her in the end.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and Thomas was left very surprised at what had occurred since he could remember. While relieved that Laura proved she was a good person after all, he was still processing everything he had just been told.
"Wow…" he whispered to himself, before wanting to know how much time passed since then, "H-How long was I out?"
"Almost for a week or so…" answered Rosie apprehensively.
Thomas's eyes briefly widened as he gently touched the bandages around his abdomen beneath his hospital gown where he (Thomas) had been stabbed by the sword of Captain John. He then remembered what almost happened to Emily and looked towards her Father.
"Sir, I want to say I'm sorry," apologized Thomas regretfully, "It was my fault Emily got kidnapped by those pirates in the first place."
"It wasn't your fault, Thomas," replied Lady Hatt kindly.
"I'm so sorry, sir and ma'am! It's all my fault, I know it is," repeated Thomas dejectedly.
"Thomas, there is no need to apologize," soothed Sir Topham Hatt, "As it stands, Emily is safe and sound, just like you have always promised me and Jane here."
"And for that, we are very proud of you," smiled Lady Hatt, as Emily was shown nodding in agreement, "Plus, if you're worried about more people at school learning of Emily's identity, don't be," She winked a little bit, "My husband was very careful not to mention the connection between him and her."
"I mean, except for us. We kinda know now, too," added Michelangelo in a smart aleck-like way, only to go silent when the other three ninja teens glared at him, "What? What did I say wrong? You know it's true," The question and comment caused Raphael to smack him (Michelangelo) upside the head, "OUCH!"
"Mikey, adults are talking," scolded Raphael.
"And Steven also now knows the truth about what happened at the construction site thanks to the little strike organized by Ryan and Marion," proclaimed Sir Topham Hatt, causing Thomas to gasp briefly, "Yes, Steven has called me to let you know that he's very, very sorry and promises to make it up to you."
"And your Mother and I are sorry for ever doubting you, Thomas," put in Dalton.
"Still, you two are going to have to work hard to make it up to our Big Brother," Clarabel pointed out innocently, as Annie nodded in agreement, "Who knows how long that will take?"
The news that Steven found out the truth and telling Sir Topham Hatt to let him (Thomas) know seemed to make Thomas feel a little better. It was even enough for Thomas to also forgive his parents straight away. Suddenly, he realized one thing and spoke up once more.
"Sir, how did the police find the Hispaniola and respond so quickly?" questioned Thomas.
Before Sir Topham Hatt could answer, someone beat him to the punch…
"I can answer that for you, Thomas," The voice of Gordon requested, causing everyone in the room to look towards the doorway. He stood outside with a nurse by his side, "Hi, everyone."
"Gordon?!" Percy, Rosie, Toby, and Mavis all exclaimed at once.
"What the heck are you doin' here?!" demanded Raphael aggressively.
"Settle down, Raphael," interrupted Sir Topham Hatt, before addressing Gordon, "Alright, Gordon, we're all listening."
"I have some connections within the Sodor Police Department," explained Gordon, "Once I heard about Emily's abduction by John Silver, I was initially hesitant about getting involved; thinking everyone would much rather I stay away," Everyone else briefly glanced at each other as he continued, "But it was thanks to Henry making me see the reality of the situation by reminding me of the alliance I made to Thomas years ago, and how I was acting as though that meant nothing to me anymore…" He looked down, ashamed, "And, well… he was right. I did forget the vow I made, I neglected my principles, and I became a complete pompous jerk…"
"Whoa… I didn't see that coming," mumbled Michelangelo, "Gordon admitting his own faults? I'm speechless!"
Leonardo and Donatello both rolled their eyes, while Raphael reframed from smacking Michelangelo again.
"You were all right about me this whole time," Gordon sighed, feeling defeated, "I should have just gotten over my disdain for James and forgave him when everyone else was getting around to it," The whole group listened to his admission of guilt, "But instead of being sensible and joining the crowd, I deliberately went out of my way to ruin his life because I was too proud and stubborn to admit I was wrong about him, all the while pretending I was above all of you," He looked up, "And as a result, it pushed Thomas into picking that fight with me, which started this whole mess."
It was then Gordon then looked towards Sir Topham Hatt beseechingly, who didn't say a word about the speech initially.
"Please don't expel Thomas for my mistake, sir. If anyone deserves to be expelled… it's 'me'," pleaded Gordon.
"And why would I expel Thomas, or even you, Gordon?" said Sir Topham Hatt, smiling warmly.
"Huh?"
"Because of you getting the police involved, John and his crew have been arrested for their crimes, and the hospital was able to quickly save Thomas's life," reminded Lady Hatt.
"True, what you did before all of this was horrible," Sir Topham Hatt added in, "But you 'did' make up for it, and finally admitted you were in the wrong. It takes a lot of courage for a person to take that big responsibility for their mistakes."
"It also means Emily and I are ready to forgive you," promised Thomas, before looking down, "That is, if you'll forgive 'me'."
"What? Forgive you?" blinked Gordon, "What for?"
"For provoking you into that fight by claiming you'll never be as great and respected as your older brother," confessed Thomas, "I never should have done that."
"Thomas…" worried Emily.
"But you never would have provoked me if I had not been such an entitled brat," protested Gordon, "Clearly, I 'deserved' that insult."
Thomas didn't back down, "No, you didn't, Gordon, it really was my fault."
"No, no, Thomas, it was all 'my' fault," argued Gordon, "You provoked me because of my stubborn pride!"
"You don't have to have a row about who's sorry," corrected Mavis, folding her arms, "How about we just say that you 'both' were in the wrong, and keep it at that?"
Thomas and Gordon looked at Mavis before looking back at each other and beginning to laugh, obviously thinking that was a good idea.
"In any case, if Thomas and Emily are ready to forgive you, Gordon, then so am I," offered Percy.
"Same here!" chirped Rosie.
"Me too," put in Toby.
"Me three," reassured Mavis.
"All four of us forgive yoo, too, Gordon," finished Leonardo, speaking up for himself, his brother, and two best friends, "Right, guys?"
"Sure do, dude!" nodded Michelangelo.
"That's a fact, jack!" confirmed Donatello.
"Gimme a break," sulked Raphael, but that rude comment caused Rosie to roughly elbow him on his side, "Ow! What?" When he saw the red-haired girl giving him a look of disapproval, he immediately changed his (Raphael) attitude and looked in the direction of Gordon, "Alright, alright! Even I forgive you, Gordon."
Gordon finally smiled, happy that he was back in the good graces of everyone he knew. It was then Leonardo changed the subject by addressing his teammates about engaging in their first real fight,
"Well, I can say our first ever fight as ninjas-in-training was a success," rejoiced Leonardo, as Raphael and Donatello looked at each other and nodded, "Our sensei will definitely be pleased with us."
"I'd give us a ten for style, an eight for skill, and a…two for stealth…" joked Michelangelo, before eyeing Thomas, "Because a certain 'someone' had to get caught by Laura of all people."
"Hey," complained Thomas playfully.
Everyone shared a laugh from the comment.
"Well, dudes, I'd say that's pretty much a wrap," grinned Michelangelo, before wanting to celebrate in a certain way, "Cowabunga?"
Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo looked at each other for a moment.
"Cowabunga," shrugged Raphael.
"Yeah," Donatello and Leonardo agreed at the same time.
From there…
"COWABUNGA!" The four ninja teens cheered loudly, high-fiving in triumph.
It was then there was another knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" thought Thomas, before speaking aloud to whoever was on the other end of the door, "Come in."
The door opened, and, much to everyone's surprise, it was Captain Salty who came to visit.
"Ahoy there, shipmates!" greeted Captain Salty.
"Captain Salty!" realized Emily, before gasping, "Wait, if you're here, then does that mean-?"
Entering the hospital room beside Captain Salty were both Skiff…and Laura.
"Skiff! Laura!" cried Thomas.
"Hello, Thomas," uttered Laura nervously, "I would, um, like to say I'm really glad you're going to be alright."
Thomas responded by giving Laura a nod of respect, which made her feel far less unsettled about being near the guy who was almost killed by her former captain.
"What about you?" urged Toby, "What's your punishment?"
"Well, it took a fair bit of convincing on the part of Skiff and my defense team," admitted Laura, "But I will not be sentenced to prison for years like my former shipmates."
"She just needs to complete 120 hours of community service and obtain her diploma in high school," concluded Skiff brightly.
"Really? You haven't earned your diploma?" pondered Gordon, sounding surprised, "I thought since you're 18, you'd already completed school."
"Well… not really," groaned Laura, "You see, I never got the chance to…complete school."
"What do you mean by that?" came from Rosie.
Laura responded to the question by sighing, hating having to relive the most traumatic event of her life, but Skiff smiled at her and silently encouraged her to say something. At last, Laura decided to reveal it all to the friendly Sudrian people.
"Okay, I'll tell you all my story," began Laura, "Years ago, I used to live in a little town in Ukraine near the Black Sea."
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
In a small rural town somewhere within Ukraine, people were living peacefully; adults commuting for work and chores, and children playing together without a care in the world.
"My life was pretty normal; I had friends, wonderful parents, and everyone knew each other," narrated Laura, as her 15-year old flashback self happily walked down the street as her neighbors waved or wordlessly greeted her, "Overall, I was very happy with that life."
(new scene…)
Soon after Laura turned 16, one night, everything in her life changed… Various buildings were on fire, lots of people were screaming and running away enmasse, and some were laying on the ground dead from gunshot wounds.
"But soon after I turned 16, all of that changed for the worst," continued Laura, as several bandits were shown in the middle of the chaos, "A gang of thieves attacked the town, stealing things, burning buildings down, and murdering the people who stood in their way…"
(elsewhere…)
Inside her old home, Flashback Laura was seen in the living room engulfed in flames around her as she curled up in terror. From another room, the screams of her parents echoed through the house, followed by the ear-piercing sound of two gunshots, ending the screams instantly.
"At that moment, I thought it was the end for me," explained Laura, as her flashback self looked up from her fetal position and saw a masked man approach her with a pistol in his hand, "Only I was left in what used to be a small town—everyone else had been killed, and that included my parents and friends."
The man looked down at the teenage girl coldly before he raised his weapon to her head as she stared into the barrel completely petrified.
BANG*
Flashback Laura shut her eyes and curled up further in fright, but didn't feel anything hit her. She peaked out from her arms to see the masked man laying on the floor motionless. Looking around the smoke-filled room, she could faintly see two other figures (one lean-looking, and another burly-looking) walking towards her before she finally blacked out.
"I don't remember much after that, but I managed to see it was John who saved me," figured Laura.
(elsewhere…)
The unconscious Flashback Laura laid on a bed and covered by a warm blanket, but soon woke up and found herself in an unfamiliar environment in addition to seeing several unfamiliar faces surrounding her before freaking out over it.
"Боже мій!" shrieked Flashback Laura in Ukrainian.
"Shh! Take it easy there, lassie! You're somewhere safe," reassured Flashback Captain John, with the same burly man (Flashback Sledge) standing on the left, "My name is John, John Silver, and it was I and fellow crew member, Sledge, who saved you from the burning town and brought you here in safety to my ship."
"Ваш корабель?" uttered Flashback Laura, still speaking in Ukrainian.
"Ah, так, я вітаю вас на своєму кораблі!" confirmed Flashback Captain John, talking back in Ukrainian for a moment before going back to speaking English, "This is the Hispaniola, the greatest pirate ship in the world!"
"And it's our home on the sea!" The voice of Flashback Skiff added cheerfully, as he quickly approached the bed to greet the teenage girl, "Hi there! First Mate Skiff, at your service. Welcome aboard."
"Um… Привіт," murmured Flashback Laura in Ukrainian.
Suddenly remembering one more important person in the room, Flashback Skiff then gestured to Flashback Leon nearby, who had his arms folded.
"Oh, and over there is Commander Leon," The voice of Flashback Skiff added.
"Ja, and, starting today, I will be your teacher in the life of being a pirate," offered Flashback Leon, walking to the nearby window to look out at the vast ocean and beyond, "I hope you're ready for an adventure of a life time," He looked over his shoulder, "We will be visiting many different places on our way to England."
Flashback Laura blinked a few times, not knowing what to make of this new life.
(new scene…)
Before long, Flashback Laura, upon turning 17 after spending about a year out at sea, had become very adjusted in her new life as a pirate and eventual promotion to commander of Captain John's crew along with both Flashback Leon and Flashback Sledge, even becoming friends with the youngest member and first mate in Flashback Skiff. And because Flashback Captain John had saved her life, Flashback Laura had developed a great deal of respect, admiration, and loyalty for the man.
"Since he took me in, I learned English and was raised in the ways of a pirate such as navigation, sword skills, the occasional plundering, and more," remembered Laura, as her flashback self was shown assisting Flashback Sledge and Flashback Leon in loading supplies aboard the Hispaniola in a coastal city somewhere in Italy, "We visited many places in both Europe and Africa—and it was an experience I will always treasure."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"And…that's the end of my story," concluded Laura.
Everyone else in the room, including Captain Salty and Skiff, was dead silent from hearing everything about her life; they never knew Laura had such a tragic backstory. The silence was soon broken when Raphael walked towards Laura and held his right hand out.
"I never knew you had such a rough life. I get what you mean now when you said I'd never understand," admitted Raphael, before withdrawing his hand and rubbing the back of his head while stammering nervously, "I-I mean… Now I know how you learned to kick butt! Ngh! I meant to say-!"
"Say no more, Raph," interrupted Laura, smiling a little bit, "I already know what you mean."
"Well, in case you want to know what he's trying to say, he says he forgives you," interjected Donatello.
"The same with all of us," agreed Emily, resulting in the rest of the group nodding in agreement. She then looked up at Sir Topham Hatt, "So, will we get to see Laura at school anytime soon?"
"Well, sir?" teased Toby, as Mavis grinned.
"Hmhmhm… Well, how could I say no to all of you?" chortled Sir Topham Hatt, before looking at Laura and speaking in an important-like tone, "Laura Kushnir, you are hereby welcome to continue attending Sodor High as a student," He folded his arms proudly, "After all, you still need to earn your diploma."
"О, дякую тобі, sir!" squealed Laura in Ukrainian, as she and Skiff then hugged each other in joy, "Do you hear that, Skiff? I'm going to get a second chance at a new life!"
"Hurray!" cried Skiff happily.
"Well, I think it's time we took our leave," announced Captain Salty, before addressing Thomas, "Anyway, I'm really glad you'll be fine, Thomas lad," He then addressed Laura and Skiff, "Come along, you two scallywags! Let's head for home."
"Aye aye, sir!" saluted Skiff jokingly.
Smiling big, Laura nodded in agreement—but not before looking towards Raphael and winking at him. Noticing the flirty wink, Raphael blushed and pointed at himself as though he was asking a question about it, but Laura had already turned around and left with Skiff and Captain Salty. And don't worry, the look on Raphael's face wasn't lost on Michelangelo.
"Well, well, well, Raphie-boy," mocked Michelangelo, causing Raphael to cringe, "One minute you like her, the next you hate her, and now you like her again. Well? Which is it?"
Now as red in the face as James's hair, an embarrassed Raphael turned around to glare at Michelangelo.
"Come on, dude, just tell us already," The voice of Michelangelo dared cheekily.
"Grr… Shut up!" fumed Raphael, pointing an index finger out.
Everyone else in the room started laughing once again.
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in Knapford City, several people were currently on the run from the law, and had been running for about a week now since their ultimate defeat. Those people were Leon, Sledge, and a few of their remaining pirate grunts. With Captain John and the rest of the pirates arrested and likely to be convicted and sentenced to prison for a very, very, very long time, the little group, now led entirely by Leon with Sledge as second-in-command, had to keep running away from the police until they could find a way to flee the Island of Sodor since their old ship was now in the hands of the city's museum in addition to the lost treasure of Captain Calles.
"Sirs! Over here!" One pirate suggested, causing Leon and Sledge both to look over, "Hurry! We can hide in this alley!"
The two pirate commanders nodded, and the group quickly entered the alleyway as two police cars drove by without seeing the remaining pirates. Now safe, the little group was able to catch their breath before Leon lost his temper.
"Ich glaube das nicht!" shouted Leon in German, before turning and punching the wall, "Everything we worked for…has been for nothing!" As he raged in despair, three of the pirate grunts looked at each other and back, "We were so close to getting the treasure, but a group of meddling teenagers ruined everything for us!"
"Yes, they will all pay for getting the captain and the rest of the crew arrested!" warned Sledge, before grabbing an old can, holding it near his face, and crushing it with brute strength, "Sledge will especially enjoy getting revenge on the two traitors!"
The traitors were clearly Skiff and Laura, and Sledge wanted to hurt them more than anything. The remaining pirate grunts were likewise upset and agreed. Suddenly, Sledge and the four grunts all heard Leon begin laughing to himself as though he had gone nuts or something.
"Sir?" The first pirate pressed, "Is something wrong?"
"No offense, but we kind of missed the joke," The second pirate added in.
"Fools! Don't you all see?" urged Leon, holding his hands up once his maddening laughter stopped, "Our shipmates and captain are all in jail, but we six are the only members still out there—armed with critical information about the Hatt family, which nobody else knows about!"
"Yeah!" bragged Sledge, before faltering a little bit, "Um… what information is that, Leon? Sledge forgets what it is."
"Du idiot," groaned Leon in German, exasperated, before explaining things to Sledge, "We know that the girl, Emily, is the daughter of Sir Topham Hatt!"
"Oh, Sledge gets it now!" acknowledged Sledge, "That means if we can get our hands on her, we can hold her for-"
"Silence!" The voice of Leon barked, shutting Sledge up. He massaged his temples with annoyance, "With the six of us being the only ones left standing, we will have a hard time attempting to get our revenge," The blonde-haired young man walked further into the alleyway, "We must find someone who has an equally intense grudge against Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt—if we do that, the rest of the job will be a snap to pull off."
"It sure will be!" giggled Sledge, before becoming confused, "But where do remains of Captain John's crew start looking?"
Just then…
"Are you looking for someone who has a score to settle with that fat man and brat?" A familiar male voice echoed sinisterly.
The remaining pirates all looked around cautiously for the source of the voice. Sure enough, emerging from a nearby doorway was Diesel 10.
"Who are you?" The third pirate demanded.
"Were you spying on us?" The fourth pirate questioned.
The four grunts then pulled out their swords, but Diesel 10 remained unafraid of being attacked by a band of pirates.
"Now, now, let's not get so hostile," joked Diesel 10, "Just call me a friend."
"A friend?" frowned Leon suspiciously.
"A friend who can help you if you tell me everything you know."
"You mean about Sir Topham Hatt and Emily?" realized Sledge, before addressing Leon nearby, "Leon, what do you think? Should you and Sledge tell this man?"
It was then the remaining pirates looked at each other, nodded, and looked back at Diesel 10 to nod at him, agreeing to spill the beans on what they knew about Emily and Sir Topham Hatt's relation. Diesel 10 smirked to himself and allowed his new partners inside the abandoned building he was occupying.
(elsewhere…)
Back at Knapford Hospital, after everyone had left for the night, Emily opted to stay behind for a little while longer to keep Thomas company.
"You're not heading back home for the night?" asked Thomas.
"I don't want to leave you," answered Emily softly, to which Thomas smiled. She then touched the railings of the bed, "Listen to me, Thomas; please don't beat yourself up for what happened. I don't blame you for it."
"It was still all my fault though…" insisted Thomas sadly, "I put you in danger for stupid reasons."
"But I completely went along with it," Emily countered in response, "I knew something was fishy when I heard John Silver's name for the first time, but I didn't act on it the first chance I got. I'm just as much to blame for this," She then leaned in and gently caressed Thomas's face, "You know, everyone at school's saying you're a hero."
Thomas sighed dejectedly, "I don't feel like a hero…"
"But you are to me," Emily responded directly, retracting her hand, "If it weren't for you and the others coming back for me, I would be shark bait. So, thank you so much."
Thomas opened his mouth to counter again, but one look from Emily was all he needed to know she wasn't having any more of it. Thomas then faced Emily with a steadfast look.
"Emily… there's something really important I need to tell you," said Thomas.
"Yes?" wondered Emily.
Thomas swallowed his nerves and spoke as confidently as he could.
"Ever since that time you went out on that date with Leo, I've been wracking myself as to why I felt so jealous," revealed Thomas, remembering that night well, "Even though we talked it out back then, I can't shake these feelings away."
Emily listened intently, not daring to speak up until it was time to.
"I like you, Emily," admitted Thomas, causing Emily to gasp, "And I really mean it. All the times I spent with you has made me feel…at home. And, after today, I almost lost my chance to tell you this. I'm done hiding, I'm done running, you deserve to know," He sat up and held her hands in his own, "Emily, I really do like you, but as more than a friend."
Emily's eyes glistened with tears falling from her eyes as she took in Thomas's heartfelt confession. It was the very confession she had been long waiting to hear from him.
"Oh, Thomas!" Emily sobbed in happiness, as she hugged Thomas close—but not too tightly as to accidentally injure him, "You actually said the words!"
Thomas responded by wrapping his arms around her. After breaking apart, Emily dried her eyes and recomposed herself.
"Thank you for telling me this," praised Emily, as Thomas smiled and listened to her words, "And if I'm honest… I…do feel the same way about you. I didn't want to rush you into anything on that night you first told me… but I've been wondering why I didn't click with Leo… and that's because…it's you, Thomas. You're the one I like, ever since I've been living with you and your family. And back on the ship… I thought I'd lost you forever when John…" She stopped her sentence at the last second and shook her head, "One more thing… There's something I never told you about."
"What is it, Emily?" pondered Thomas.
"Do you remember the night we went to the Valentine's Day dance together during my first year at attending school?" recalled Emily.
"How could I forget?" replied Thomas fondly, "We both had a great time."
"Except that night after we returned home, I… I…" Emily blushed, mustering up the courage to tell Thomas what she did, "I…kissed you while you were sleeping."
Thomas was very surprised to hear that and blushed back, thinking back to when he was dreaming about dancing with a masked girl and she kissed him on the lips. It was then Thomas realized that it was no dream, and that Emily kissed him while he slept.
"Y-You did? Oh, well… Hehe… I guess that that's why my dream then felt so wonderful to me," remarked Thomas playfully.
"Yeah, sorry about that…" apologized Emily sheepishly.
Thomas responded to the apology by waving his right hand, as though he was brushing it all off.
"Hey, I'm not mad," assured Thomas, "I'm just a little upset I wasn't awake for it."
Emily giggled while still blushing. Thomas then reached out and gently turned her to face him directly, as she instinctively began to lean in closer.
"Emily, you are my light. I got a second chance to let you know, and I don't want to waste any bit of it," stated Thomas, as he leaned in closer himself.
"Thomas… I…" whispered Emily, leaning further in, "And you're mine…"
The two then slowly inched in closer until they kissed warmly—with Thomas gently holding Emily's head with one hand and Emily propping herself up on the mattress. After what felt like forever, the two of them slowly broke apart.
"So… does this make us a thing now?" pressed Emily curiously.
"I would be willing to try," offered Thomas kindly, before holding his right hand out towards Emily one more time, "That is, if you'll have me?"
It took her a little time, but Emily gave her answer by smiling back and taking hold of Thomas's hand with her own right hand.
"Thomas… I wouldn't have it any other way," she accepted.
The two then embraced again, fully cementing their new relationship.