//------------------------------//
// The Great Locomotive Chase 
// Story: Life of the Whistle 
// by SteamingWhistle382 
//------------------------------//

Thundering  down the line, the old tender engine rocked and swayed along the  tracks, clearly not having run that quickly in a long time. Steamings  eyes were locked on the point where the tracks went out of sight,  hoping that the rear of the runaway passenger train would appear again.  They rounded another tight turn, the flanges squealing as they pressed  against the rails, as they could see the rear of a green coach,  disappearing into a tunnel, while a light smokescreen slowly dissolved  into the air.
"We're gaining on them!" Shouted Emerald.
"More coal! We need to get our hands on them!" Replied Steaming, pulling the regulator wide open.
They  raced into the tunnel, bursting out the other side, as the rear coach  was right in their view. However, they only now noticed how close the  coach got.
"Oh  cowcatcher, pull the brakes! Pull the BRAKES!!!" Shouted Emerald, as  Steaming pulled the brakes hard on, the engine jerking around as the  locomotives brake force slowed her down.
The  engine stopped a few meters in front of the coach, which slowly rolled  into the engines central front buffer, indicating that it has been  rolling backward, if only slightly. Both men jumped from the locomotive,  and saw that the rest of the passenger train was missing.
"They must've uncoupled it from the rest of the train to block the path for any pursuers."
"Won't  stop us! We'll push it ahead of us! A little shield for any tricks they  might want to pull!" Thundered Steaming, already back in the cab and  opening the regulator to continue their pursuit.
They were winding themselves up the mountains, through narrow paths and long tunnels. Whilst rounding another bend, Steaming saw the train, higher up along the line.
"Up there they are!" He shouted, pointing at the train.
"They got quite the lead!"
"Who cares?! We'll catch them, the 'Texas' will help us with that!"
They  pressed the old engine onwards, racing through stations and whistling  towards the station masters and passengers to stand back as they  thundered through. Ahead of them, a bridge span over a large lake. As  they got closer to the bridge, they saw how another coach stood on the  stone viaduct, it's bodywork ablaze and blocking their path.
"And what now?!" Shouted Emerald.
"Don't  worry, that coach will take care of that!" Shouted Steaming back,  pulling the brakes quickly, as the engine jerked forwards, loosing speed  quickly, while the coach in front of them got further and further away,  heading towards the obstacle in their path.
The  coach rumbled along the tracks, crashing into the burning vehicle on  the bridge, pushing it off the rails and into the lake below. The hit  however, caused the coach itself to derail as well, leaning dangerously  over the edge.
"See?  Problem solved." Smiled Steaming, as they slowly pushed the coach over  the edge with their engine, making it follow the coach in front of it  into the lake with a loud splashing.
"You  call it a problem solved, I call it another problem following us."  Grumbled Emerald, as the locomotive picked up speed again.
"What are you moaning about now?" Chuckled Steaming.
"Well, we abandoned our engine whilst on duty, stole an engine from the engine sheds in Waterwell,  most likely are currently running this engine into the ground, and  destroyed two of the coaches of this railway. I really don't want to  know what the bosses will say to that!" Counted Emerald.
"Well... It was for the greater good?" Tried Steaming, as they entered a small forest.
Ahead  of them, a small signal box came up, with a set of points a bit of a  distance away from it. Steaming narrowed his eyes and reduced steam,  before coming to an stop at the signal box.
"I though we were in a chase here?! Why did we stop?!" Asked Emerald.
"I  don't trust these points up there. They could've stopped and set the  switches so that we run into a dead end, while they can flee without  pursuers." Said Steaming, and jumped from the cab.
He  walked up to the signal box, and climbed to the operating room. Walking  inside, he sighted at what he found. The signalman was knocked out,  tied up to a chair.
"Like  I thought..." He said, and pulled out his knife, cutting through the  ropes, and looked around, seeing a few bottles of water, next to a half eaten meal that was probably the signalmans  breakfast. He opened one and emptied the content onto the face of the  man. The result was that the signalman woke up with a jump, before  sinking back into the chair, grabbing his head in pain.
"Ouch! Bloody bastards!" He cursed.
"Who did this?"
"Some  bastards slowed down with the morning stopping train, got out and  demanded that I throw the switch to the old mine spur! I refused, they  knocked me out. I guess they threw the switch themselves." Explained the  man.
"Alright, we'll get those punks!" Said Steaming, rushing out of the doors and back into the cab of the 'Texas'.
"Up  the mine spur they went! We'll get them there!" Said Steaming as they  started along the line, leaving the main running line behind them as  they started up the old mining spur.

They  drove through the forest, climbing up the side of one of the mountains,  twisting and turning until they could see a small yard up ahead, with a  green coach, sticking out in the middle of it.
"Get  your rifle ready! We'll need them. I can feel it..." Growled Steaming,  as they slowed down, entering the old mining grounds.
They  slowed to a stop behind the rest of the passenger train. Jumping out of  the cab, they looked around, searching the surrounding buildings for  any person that could've been waiting to ambush them.
"Looks calm to me." Muttered Emerald.
"Too calm. Back into the cab, pronto." Muttered Steaming back, as they both slowly backed back towards the cab.
In the corner of his eye, Steaming  saw something flash from one of the buildings that stood near the  tracks. He jumped, pushing Emerald to the ground, but he wasn't fast  enough to evade the bullet, as it hit him into his left shoulder.
Get into cover E!" Shouted Steaming, as he got up again, dashing for the cab, as further shots rang out.
They  both took cover in the cab, firing from their position towards the  buildings. Every so often, they would hit close to where they were  hiding, but before they could get a concrete hit, they would be swiftly  dealt with. After a few minutes, the shootout ended.
"Think that was the last of them?" Whispered Emerald.
"Oh,  don't even get your hopes up for that, you fool." Came a voice from  outside, as they looked out, and saw Novelty, with a tied up, and very  pissed off Jacky next to him.
"I  am impressed. Even though my men tried everything to stop you, you  still managed to get here. Too bad though, this is the end for the both  of you." Smirked Novelty, as Steaming and Emerald rose their revolvers  at the same time.
"As  far as I can see, you are the one who has reached the end of his line.  You are cornered, with two guns pointed at your head, without anything  to protect yourself. Release Jacky at once, or you won't be able to  regret your decision!" Growled Steaming.
"Oh  you silly engine driving mutt. Did you really think I wouldn't have  brought you two here if I hadn't had a plan? That coach in front of your  puny engine? It's completely loaded with dynamite! If you want to attack me, I will detonate it, and level this whole mountain side!" Smirked Novelty, as Steamings, Emeralds and Jackys eyes went wide.
"You would kill yourself, just so that Jacky and I wouldn't be together?! You are crazy!" Shouted the engineer.
"You  and her aren't meant to be! She is destined to be with me! Nobody wants  to understand it, but I don't care about that! Junction and I will be together, forever!" Shouted the man.
"You  are mental! What gives you the idea I would ever be together with  somebody like you?!" Shouted Jacky, but was cut off when Novelty slapped  her.
"Be  quiet, you have no talk in this matter anyways!" Hissed Novelty, as  Steaming shot forwards, his eyes nearly glowing red in anger.
He quickly threw a heavy right hook against Noveltys  yaw, but was stopped by some of his henchmen, who restrained both him  and Emerald, while Novelty got back to his feet, spitting out some  blood. He glared towards Steaming, before hitting him in the stomach,  the engineer showing no sign of pain whatsoever. Noveltys anger grew through this, and he grabbed a crowbar, hitting the engineer onto the back with it. This time, Steaming  went to the ground, gasping in pain as Novelty began to kick into the  stomach of the engineer, while Emerald fought against the men  restraining him, and Jacky screamed at Novelty to stop, crying at seeing  her boyfriend getting beaten up like this. Finally, after one last hard  kick into his stomach, Novelty let off of Steaming, and turned towards  Jacky, tears still running down her face.
"I  told you to stop fooling around with him. We could have avoided all  this if you just went along and followed your destiny." Purred Novelty,  but Jacky didn't heard him, still shocked from the situation.
"Bring  them away, but don't kill them right now. I don't want any dead people  near my wedding." Ordered Stirling, as two of the henchmen picked up  Steaming, and they, along with Emerald and the ones restraining him,  went towards one of the old mining buildings, while Novelty pulled Jacky  along with him.

After  taking away their rifles, revolvers and ammunition, Steaming and  Emerald were locked into an old mining lift, to wait until after the  wedding.
"Steaming! Steaming, come on, get your shit back together!" Urged Emerald.
In reply, Steaming threw up onto the floor, a bit of blood coming up along with the contents of his breakfast.
"Ugh, that felt like hell. I think he broke some of the stuff inside of me." Groaned Steaming.
"Yes, and if we don't hurry, he'll marry Jacky!" Said Emerald, as Steaming suddenly shuddered violently and then got silent.
"Steaming?" Asked Emerald, as his childhood friend stood up, as if his injuries weren't there at all.
He got up to the lifts door, and with a firm pull, ripped it out of its hinges. Emerald was amazed.
"You have to teach me that one some day soon. Right now, let's go!" Said Emerald, while Steaming only nodded, still silent, his eyes hidden from view by his hat.
They  walked up to the door, silently opening it, looking outside to see a  man standing guard. Emerald was about to knock him out, when Steaming  quickly pulled the man inside, one hand over his mouth and the other  around his chin, giving a quick pull, and snapping his neck in one quick  succession. He pulled out the man's revolver, throwing it towards  Emerald, before exiting the building, and silently making his way from  building to building, sneaking from window to window.
"Oookay, you are starting to worry me Steaming..." Muttered Emerald to himself, following the engineer.
The  man in question had stopped in front of another building, in which  several henchmen were, with them were their weapons and ammo.
"Any  idea of how we can get our equipment?" Asked Emerald, as Steaming only  grabbed the revolver out of his grasp, and walked up to the window.
He  slowly levered the window open, but only so far that he could put the  barrel through it. Within a second, he pulled the trigger, letting the  bullet fly across a fuse of a dynamite bundle. The men inside heard the  shot and the whizzing of the lit fuse, and quickly escaped out of the  building, racing for cover to escape the inevitable explosion. Steaming  pulled the window completely open, jumping through it, and pulling the  burning fuse out of the dynamite bundle, before throwing it away onto  the ground, letting it burn out.
"Okay,  I have no idea what is going on with you, but please keep it this way  until we're through this shit." Sighted Emerald, grabbing his revolver  and rifle, while Steaming already took his.
They  quickly exited the building, running towards an unspecified direction.  As it appeared, the former mine was actually a small town, with many  abandoned homes, shops and even a church. But something didn't fit into  the picture of an abandoned town. In front of the church, a horseless  carriage stood. Both Steaming and Emerald had seen such carriages  before, in Canterlot and Manehatten,  called 'automobiles'. What made Steaming stop however wasn't the  automobile, but the banner on the back, spelling 'just married'.  Steaming grabbed his partner by the shoulder and pulled him over to  wards the church.
"Alright alright,  I saw it! Man, you could simply tell me what you think! You're  beginning to creep me out with your silence..." Grumbled Emerald, as  they ducked underneath a window. Steaming glanced inside, and saw a  reverend, chained to a bench, while one of the henchmen stood guard.  Then, Novelty walked in, without Jacky however.
"Thank you for doing me this favor, your highness." Said Novelty.
"This is outrageous! Why did you kidnap me, and what favor are you talking about?!"
"Why,  didn't you know? You are going to be the lucky man to wed me and  Junction Spike! You should consider it a great honor to be the reverend  to carry out such an great and historic task!" Purred Novelty.
"I will do no such thing! I demand to be released at once!" Growled the reverend.
"My  good sir, I would suggest changing that tone towards me. We wouldn't  want that your son would get into an accident, now would we?" Oiled  Novelty, as the reverends eyes grew wide.
"My little feather... What did you do to him?!"
"Nothing.  But this can easily change if you keep your hostile attitude towards me  and keep refusing to cooperate." Smirked Novelty as the reverend  lowered his head in shame.
"I... I will do as you say." Sighted the reverend.
"Splendid!  I will go and get my bride! You shall stay here and prepare for the  wedding! You! Release him, but make sure that he doesn't run away." Said  Novelty, pointing at the henchman.
"Alright boss." Nodded the man, as Novelty exited the church through the side door he came in.

"Alright,  looks like things just got even more complicated than they already are.  Any ideas Steaming?" Asked Emerald, looking over to the engineer, only  to see that he was already gone.
"I begin to miss the old Steaming. At least he told me his crazy plans before doing them..." Huffed the fireman as he walked off to the side of the building.
Looking around the bend, he could see that Steaming was next to the side door, silently opening it, before entering the church.
"That  crazy son of a!" Emerald rushed after him, but as he reached the door,  he could already hear the sound of fighting men inside the building.
Inside,  he saw Steaming and the henchman, entangled into each other, with the  henchman on top of Steaming, trying to strangle him. Steaming quickly  kicked the man off of him, sending him flying into a row of benches. The  engineer jumped up, his hat lying some meters away from him. Now  Emerald could see his eyes clearly. His usual brown eyes burned red with  anger. Emerald looked at the engineer in surprise.
"Steaming?! What the hell?! What happened to your eyes?!"
Steaming  didn't reply, he rushed over to where the man was lying in the benches,  pulling him up, and punching him several times in the face, before  letting off of him. In a swift motion, he pulled out his revolver,  letting it spin a few times on his finger, before shooting the man in  the head.
"Wh-who are you? Where did you come from?" Asked the reverend, shocked by the actions of the boy.
"We  are here to rescue Junction Spike, and by the look of things, you as  well." Explained Emerald, while Steaming picked up his hat.
"I can't go! If I leave, they are going to harm my family!" Cried the reverend.
"Don't  worry, we will make sure that they won't harm you or anyone anymore.  This has gone on for far too long. We will end this, today." Said  Emerald, with an determined look on his face.
"Thank  you. But please, take care of yourself. And your friend as well. He  seems like he isn't capable of rational thinking right now." Said the  reverend.
"I noticed. He usually isn't that impulsive. I don't know what is going on with him right now..." Frowned Emerald.
Outside, they could hear a lot of commotion, gradually coming closer.
"I  suggest you get out of here. We have a steam engine, standing in the  yards near the old mines. Take cover in it, if we aren't there in 15  minutes, you simply open the big lever sticking out from the middle of  the boiler. Once you get to the next station, pull the little lever next  to it, it will brake the engine to a stop." Explained Emerald.
"Thanks,  but I know how to operate a steam locomotive." Said the reverend and  shook Emeralds hand, before exiting the church through the side exit.
Steaming  stood at the place where the revered usually stood, his rifle already  pulled up, the barrel pointing towards the door, ready to bring death to  whoever would come through it next.
"Usual plan then Steaming?" Asked Emerald, bringing his rifle in position next to the engineers one.
Steaming only nodded in agreement.
"Once  this whole shit is over, I really want to know what's wrong with you  right now..." Murmured the fireman, as he looked down the iron sights.
The church was silent, only the sounds of somebody heading towards the building could be heard. Steamings  grip on his rifle got tighter. The doors opened, two henchmen pushed  the open, while few further came in behind them. In between them were  Novelty and Jacky, Novelty dressed in his usual cooper suit, the only  thing different about him was that he was wearing a top hat. Jacky was  dressed in a white wedding dress, but was tied up via a rope. Steamings  eyes got even redder, burning down the sights in an attempt to burn  Novelty alive. He growled, his voice sounded more like that of an  enraged animal than that of a normal person, as he slowly pulled the  trigger.
"Die..." He growled, startling Emerald with his grave deep voice. Never before had he heard his voice this deep before.
The  gun fired, but Novelty didn't fall. The man in front of him however  did, a small hole in his forehead. Emerald fired his gun, but he missed  as well, this time, the man to Stirlings left fell.
"Buck. We should've tested them on a range to check the sights..." Muttered Emerald, chambering another round.
The men quickly scattered, hiding behind the benches.
"They escaped!"
"How did they get out of that lift?!"
"Shut up and kill them you fools!" Shouted Novelty, as he grabbed Jacky and raced out of the church.
"The bastard is getting away!" Shouted Emerald, as he ducked into cover again, to prevent getting shot from the henchmen.
Steaming  didn't. He jumped down from their position and went into a sprint,  shooting some of the goons that stood. When he ran out of bullets, he  put his rifle onto his back, and quickly drew his revolver. But it  wasn't quick enough since one of the men got up to shot him. But before  he could pull the trigger, he was shot into the head by Emerald.
"Run you crazy bastard, and stop that lunatic!" Laughed Emerald.
A hint of a smile came across Steamings  face, as he continued to rush through the church. He burst out of the  doors, seeing how the automobile that stood outside earlier raced off  down the road towards the other end of the town. Steaming quickly pulled  out his rifle again, pulling out the empty magazine and inserted a new  one. He chambered a new bullet, and pulled the rifle up to his eye.
"No  more." He pulled the trigger, hitting the rear rights tire, and the car  verged to the right, then to the left, and then to the right again,  crashing into a house.
Steaming  ran up to the wrecked car, seeing how the door on its side was open and  the inhabitants had already abandoned the vehicle. Steaming looked  around, seeing a shadow disappear behind a wall. He pulled out his  revolver again, running after the shadow. After a few turns, they  reached the rail yards again. Steaming saw how Novelty pulled Jacky back  towards the passenger train. He raced after them, lifting his revolver  and fired a shot into their direction. Steaming didn't knew  if it was because he hit or because he distracted him, but Novelty  tumbled to the ground, landing a few feet away from Jacky, who quickly  ran away from him.
"You won't get away from me!" Screamed Novelty, pulling a derringer revolver out of his pocket, pointing it at Jacky.
Before he even hat  the chance to take proper aim, Steaming shot the miniature gun out of  his hand, making it land somewhere underneath one of the carriages.  Novelty scowled, looking into Steamings  direction to see the railway man walking towards him, putting his  revolver and rifle onto the ground, before taking off his jacket. He  grabbed Novelty, pulling him up by his collar, before throwing a strong  punch into his face, letting him fly towards the carriage.
"You  wanted to marry Jacky against her will." Growled Steaming, picking him  up and punching him again, this time into the stomach.
"You wanted to take the woman most important to me away from me." Another punch to the face.
"You slapped her." Another hit to the stomach.
"So  I will pay you back for mistreating the most wonderful girl on the  planet for your own goals." Steaming gave further punches with every  word he said.
Finally, after a final, heavy punch onto Noveltys nose, Steaming  let go of him, letting Novelty drop to the floor. He was battered and  bruised, blood flowing out of his mouth and nose, his face was swollen  and he was wheezing feebly. Steaming looked at the downed man with a  hated look for a few further seconds, before turning around, seeing that  Emerald had caught up with them, having helped to untie Jacky, who  stood next to the fireman with a scared look on her face. Steamings  eyes flickered between brown and red shortly, his vision playing tricks  on him, as he saw a familiar scene: A child, standing behind a woman's  legs, while an enraged man was screaming at the child, which cowered in fright behind the woman. That familiar scene, from a different angle.
'So much for not becoming my own nightmare...' Thought the boy.
His thoughts were interrupted by his air circulation being cut off by a strong wire, as Novelty strangled him.
"You  just don't want to understand, do you? Junction is mine! You will never  have her! She is mine!" Slurred Novelty, his swollen face making it  difficult to understand him.
Steaming  tried to grab the wire as to pull it from his throat, but he couldn't  get a grip at it. He tried to shove Novelty off of him, but he couldn't.  Emerald and Jacky were running up to them, when suddenly, Noveltys  grip got weaker, and let go completely. Steaming pushed the man off of  himself, and looked behind him, to see the reverend, with a coal shovel  in his hand.
"In  the name of the gods of the earth, the air and the magic, you shall  stop with this atrocity!" He shouted, as Novelty fell to his side,  knocked out.
Steaming  coughed heavily, glad to finally breath again. Jacky hugged him  tightly, crying into his chest, as his eyes returned from red to their  usual brown once more.
'I'm not my nightmare. I have them, and they stop me from being him.' Concluded Steaming with a soft smile.
"Thank the gods you are alright Jacky." Sighted Steaming silently, returning the hug with a smile.
"Glad  to see you are back Steaming. Thought you were stuck in that crazy  mode. But what the hell was up with you? And what was that thing with  the eyes?" Asked Emerald.
"I  don't know. All I saw was red, and all I wanted was to take Novelty out  for harming Jacky." Said Steaming, as he turned to the reverend.
"Thank you for helping me..." He began, but stopped when he saw the man.
"It was nothing son. You helped me out of my peril, I merely returned the favor." Smiled the man in a calm voice.
"Excuse me, but you don't happen to be reverend Golden Book, are you?" Asked Steaming.
"Why yes I am. You heard of me?" Asked the reverend.
"Who doesn't knows  the man who wrote the Railway Series Books?! You are a celebrity to  me!" Shouted Steaming, before he buckled, sinking to one knee, a sudden  pain shooting through his left side.
"Steaming! What's wrong?!" Asked Jacky, as she touched Steamings  left shoulder, only to feel something wet. She pulled her hand back,  shocked to see blood, but then remembered how they were ambushed and  Steaming got shot.
"Oh  damn, I forgot he was shot earlier! We never patched the wound up! We  need to get him to a hospital fast!" Said Emerald, slapping a hand in  front of his head.
"Then  we should hurry!" Said the reverend, as Emerald pulled Steaming over  his shoulder, bringing him on board of the locomotive, while the  reverend got into the driver's seat, and quickly made the engine move  out of the abandoned mining town.

They  quickly drove back down the line, Jacky trying her best to patch  Steaming up by wrapping pieces of the wedding dress around his injury.  Steaming drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness, the blood  loss being apparent to him.
"Hey Jacky." Breathed Steaming.
"Shhh, safe your energy." Whispered Jacky, scared of her boyfriend dying.
"Jacky, do you know that engines can talk?" Asked Steaming weakly.
Jacky looked at Emerald, confused about what he was talking about.
"That's the blood loss talking. Just play along with him and keep him awake." Said Emerald, as he kept firing the engine.
"N-no, I-I didn't knew that."
"They  don't talk to everyone. They only talk to those drivers that they seem  worthy. Those, with whom they worked for years, and know them like they  know the rails they run on. They'll tell you if something is wrong with  them, even if everything seems alright with everyone else. That's why  older engineers know if something is wrong with their engine. Because  they tell them what the problem is." Explained Steaming, his head  shaking about as the engine swayed along the tracks.
The locomotive raced down the line, as from ahead of them, a high pitched  whistling rang out. They looked ahead, and saw the passenger train,  racing towards them, the passenger coach with the dynamite at the front.
"Damn it! Novelty is back!" Emerald shouted.
They  raced backwards, passing the stations and platforms from earlier, where  passengers and stationmasters watched in fright as the two trains raced  by, quickly telegraphing down the line to stop all traffic. They got  closer to the bridge, when Steaming shot forwards towards the brake,  pulling it strongly.
"What the hell are you doing Steaming?! We need to get away from that fool, or he'll blow us all up!" Cried Emerald.
"The  engine! It told me we need to slow down, or we crash down the bridge!"  Protested Steaming, as Jacky pulled him from the controls.
They  had lost a good amount of speed, as they crossed the viaduct. Half way  over it, a strong jolt went through the engine, shaking them all up.  They reached the other side safely, as Novelty rocketed onto the bridge.  He never saw it coming. The train hit the rickety stretch of track, and  jumped out of the tracks. The coaches flew off the bridge, tumbling  down towards the lake, pulling the engine and Novelty with it. With a  heavy crash, the coaches hit the water, followed by the crunching of  wood as the engine made splinters out of the coaches and finally a  deafening explosion, as the boiler and the dynamite exploded. They all  stared back towards the bridge as it grew smaller the further away they  drove, then at Steaming, who was smiling slightly, and then at the  engine, not sure what to say.
"Don't worry, they are thankful..." Whispered Steaming, as he finally lost conscious.

They made their way back to Waterwell  as quickly as possible. When they reached the station, they were  greeted by the yard workers and shed crews, who quickly helped them get  Steaming into the brake van of 98 1801, as to get him to the hospital in  Ponyville.  The reverend promised to visit them as soon as he made sure his family  was alright, and disappeared out of the yards. Jacky joined Steaming in  the brake van, while the guard worked as fireman in the cab, and Emerald  worked as the driver. They made record time back to Ponyville, blasting the engines whistle in alarm that they were coming in hot. With screeching brakes, the train stopped in the yards in Ponyville,  where an ambulance was already waiting for them. Next to them was a big  4-6-0 tender engine, with a long string of coaches, getting prepared  for its next journey. The engineer looked over to see what the commotion  was about, and nearly fell out of the cab when he saw the young engine  driver, getting transferred from the brake van to the ambulance.
"Light! Light! Come here, quickly!" Shouted the engineer.
"What is it?" She asked, but he didn't answered, and only pointed at the unconscious boy.
When  the woman saw him, tears began to form in her eyes, as her hands  covered her mouth. They quickly jumped out of the engines cab, but  weren't fast enough to catch the ambulance, as it already left for the  hospital, taking Steaming, Emerald and Jacky with it.
"Hey you!" Shouted the engineer.
"Yeah, how can I help you Funnel?" Asked the guard.
"Who was the boy that got driver away right now?!" Asked the woman next to him.
"Him? I don't know, they always called him Steaming, though. Hey, isn't your family name Steaming?" Asked the guard.
"Yes, yes it is." Frowned the engineer.
"Can you tell the yard master that 382 won't take the Cannonball tonight? Something came up just now, and it can't wait."
"Okay, will do Funnel. Any hint on what it is?"
"Family matters."

Emerald  and Jacky paced in front of the surgery room. Apparently, the bullet  has wedged itself in between the shoulder blade and the bone of his  upper arm, so that they had to perform a surgery to get the bullet out.  They also had to use a lot of blood reserves to refill what the boy had  already lost. They stopped pacing when when  two people came into the waiting room, both wearing the work clothes of  the ENR, with the word 'Cannonball Express' above their heart.
"Hello, you are the driver and fireman of the Cannonball, right?" Asked Jacky.
"Fire woman to be precise, but other than that, yes, that's us. Is Whistle Steaming in there?" Asked the woman.
"Yes, they are performing a surgery right now." Explained Emerald, as the woman grabbed the hand of the man tightly.
"Who are you anyways? And how did you know Steamings name?" Asked Jacky.
"You two care for him pretty much, right?" Asked the man with a weak smile.
"He is the only family I had for the last 15 years. He's basically my brother, just not from blood." Explained Emerald.
"I love him. More than anything in the world. But what does this have to do with you?" Asked Jacky again.
"Well, you might hate us, but we are his parents."