Complete chaos had erupted on the dockside as the storm intensified. Lightning roared and began striking things, and rain began to pour in quantities usually seen in a tropical storm.
"I know Britain is a very wet country, but this is ridiculous!" Charles called, over the sound of thunder. It sounded less like thunder strikes and more like a relentless barrage of artillery, as if Falmouth was being shelled by some unknown foe.
On the dockside itself, people were running for shelter and their lives. Argyle had dived inside a building, and many others tried to take refuge at the Fisherman's Arms from the storm, causing a queue as people tried to get in.
More bad weather entered the fray as the wind speeds began to pick up, producing atmospheric conditions unlike anything that had been seen in the region.
Isaac looked out to sea, and saw something approaching. Something he had never thought he'd see in this part of the world.
"TAKE COVER! THERE'S A TORNADO INBOUND!"
But this wasn't like any tornado he had seen. The vortex was purple, and seemed to glow with some unearthly energy.
"What in the world is going on?" Sunny asked, rhetorically more than anything else.
"This storm!" Zipp realised. "It's because the crystals are out of alignment! Because we're not working together and people aren't cooperating with Non-Faceless Vehicles, it's produced this gigantic storm! We have to find a way to stop it and return things to normal!"
Suddenly, another tornado opened up right over the town, and formed a large horizontal portal over the trackwork. People and objects began to get sucked in despite their best efforts to anchor themselves down.
One of the people who tried to escape was Posey, but she had badly misjudged the wind speed, and was blown off her feet and sucked into the portal. "SOMEBODY! HELP US!" she cried, her voice barely audible over the roaring demon of the air as she was pulled into the portal.
Sunny sprinted for the portal, but was forced back by a sudden blast of rain. "Come on!" she called. "We have to find a way in there!"
"Are you crazy?" Hitch asked. "We have no idea what's through there!"
"We can't just stand here and watch them die! We have to do something!" Sunny changed course and went for Salty, bounding up his cab steps two at a time before opening the door. Once inside, she fired up his engine and prepared to move.
She switched on the radio. "I'm going in."
A loud whistle blast sounded behind her. Followed by another.
"Sunny, can you hear me?" asked a familiar voice. "I'm in the crane tank behind you!"
"Mom?" Sunny asked. "Where'd you get the tank engine from?"
"Doesn't matter, I'll explain later!" Goldie replied. "It's not safe for you to go in on your own. I'll attach Harvey's chains and winch to your engine and gradually play out the line. That way, we can haul you back in."
Sunny looked behind her. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think Harvey is heavy enough to act as an anchor."
"He's got me to act as some ballast!" Ray called, who had now been hooked up. "Just give the word and we'll start pulling!"
"Roger that!" Sunny replied. "Let's go, Salty."
"Let's go, matey," Salty said, with grit in his face. "Any sailor knows that when they go to sea they may not come back. Let's either save your friends or we die trying."
Salty's engine roared as he began to advance against the storm. Goldie slowly let out Harvey's chain to allow Salty to move forward. Izzy sprinted alongside and jumped up on the steps and knocked on the door.
Sunny opened the door. "Izzy! What are you doing?"
Izzy then handed Sunny a lantern. "Take this! It's a good luck lantern! I originally made it for your birthday, but I'm giving it to you now as you might not make it back! If ever you find yourself in darkness, use it to light your way!"
"Thanks Izzy!" Sunny replied. "If I don't make it back, know that meeting you guys was one of the best things that ever happened to me."
Izzy saluted. "The honour is all mine!" She then hopped off the steps and watched as Salty advanced into the darkness.
"Don't just stand there gawking!" Hitch called. "Get to Porter and help against the storm! It's only by working together we can end this disaster!"
The interior of the portal was a place unlike anything anybody had ever seen before. A space seemingly empty and full of nothing apart from the odd purple glow, the emptiness of the place have Salty some seriously strange vibes. "Are we the first, apart from those gone from the world, to be glimpsing Davy Jones' Locker?" he asked.
"I hope not," Sunny replied. "From what I've heard Davy Jones has a foul temper."
The duo located Posey and several others soon enough. And it was just as well, as Sunny was starting to feel weird. The deeper into this place she went, the more off she felt. She had placed the lamp on the cabin console as Salty had advanced forward, and noticed the substance inside was glowing, cutting against the lightless shades of this strange dark realm.
Even more confusing was how Salty didn't seem to be falling forward, as if he was running on invisible track in space itself. He came to a stop in front of the rescuees.
Sunny secured Salty's brakes, and hopped out of the door. No sooner had she exited, then she felt strange energies wash over her, and a bright glow emanating from beind. She turned her head and saw the same translucent wings from previous. "Of course! This place amplifies magic! That's why the Non-Faceless Vehicles have been losing their abilities, as it got sucked in here!"
She flew over to Posey and her compatriots, and reached her hand forward. "Come on! I'm here to help you!"
Posey nodded, sensing the alternative, and grabbed on to Sunny's. "Do what you have to!"
Sunny focused her mind and began moving backwards, her wings working against the ethereal currents of this dark dimension.
"I have no idea how this is working," Salty said, "but the track is beginning to feel a bit wobbly!"
This only intensified Sunny's efforts. She had soon reached the cab, and pushed Posey onboard before climbing in herself and shutting the cab door. She set Salty's engine to reverse, and fired up the engine.
She grabbed the cab radio. "NOW!"
On the other end, Goldie got the information. She pulled on some levers and advanced the mechanism. Harvey's line began to draw in, hopefully pulling Salty out.
"It's a good thing they weren't in further!" Harvey said. "I didn't have much chain left otherwise. How's it going at your end, Ray?"
"Pressure's good and holding!" he called, as a blast of wind hit. "Buffeting! Buffeting!"
Out on the dockside, Porter was rattling up and down with a coach, trying to collect as many people as possible from the landscape. "Get aboard!" he called.
Suddenly, a loud roar started up from the portal, and the form of Salty emerged from the chaos, with Posey onboard. But no sign of Sunny.
"Sunny?" Izzy asked.
Seconds later, a ball of golden energy seemed to build up in the portal, and Sunny roared out of it, still powered up. To avoid a head on collision, she pulled up and flew high into the air, overlooking the town once more. With the last of her strength, she turned and focused the energy into the portal succesfully shutting it.
Only she hadn't considered her current location. As her wings vanished, she looked down. "This is gonna suck."
She then began to fall towards the ground. But seconds before she would have crashed into it, she stopped abruptly, and bounced up in the air. She looked around and saw her friends holding a trampoline. "Guys?" she asked. "Where'd you find the trampoline?"
"I found it blowing along the beachfront," Pipp replied. "Me and Sophie moved it up here whilst you were in the portal, just in case."
"Thanks for saving me," Sunny replied. "I doubt hitting the concrete at that speed would have been fun."
"After all you've done for us, it was the least we could do," Zipp smiled.
As rainbow energy glowed in the distance in the viscinity of the lighthouse (where the crystals were housed), Posey walked over to them. She looked quite downtrodden.
"I wish to apologise for what I said about not only you five, but the vehicles as well," she said. "Turns out they can be really useful after all, as I suspect there'd be no dockside left without them. And Sunny, I owe you my life- a debt that, in all likelihood, I will never be able to repay."
Sunny got off the trampoline and walked over. "Hey, no biggie. Apology accepted."
"I'd also like to withdraw the previous noise complaint. The trucks can sing as many sea shanties as they want in my view."
Argyle, Isaac, and Haven had also made their way over. "Great work, you five!" Argyle called. He turned his attention to Sunny. "I couldn't be more proud to call you my daughter."
"And everybody else performed swimmingly," Haven smiled. "I noticed a nice property for sale on my way down. It seemed reasonably large and suitable for our needs, and furthermore has rail access."
Pipp looked excited. "You mean?"
"Yes. We're going to purchase it, restore it, and live half the year here!"
"And," Isaac added, "I just received orders for working on an offshire drilling platform near an archipelago of imprudence."
Izzy got the joke, and began laughing. "Don't be scilly!" she said. "Does that mean?"
"I'll be using Falmouth as a base to get out there. There's the small heliport, so I can catch a helicopter when I need to travel out there."
"How things have changed since the last year," Hitch said. "We even had a new friend join us." He looked around. "Hold on a minute. Where is Misty?"