//------------------------------//
// Knights of the Round 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: Journey beyond Cornwall 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

"Yes, the lions are still hunting," Misty replied.

"Huzzah!" the male voice said. "She is one of us!"

"We must get them to safety," said the female voice.

"Who are you, exactly, and why should I trust you?" Bellerophon asked.

"We are Knights of the Round," said the male voice. "You should aim to return to the yard where this all began, and ensure you arrive in one piece. The ones with the gears and the name like a forest shall greet you upon your return. Now we must fly, for we're working behind schedule. INVISIBILITY ON!"

Moments later, Bellerophon moved off the siding and ran as quickly as he could through the darkness. He had no clue if Frankie was on his trail behind him, and had to move fast to avoid being caught (or so he thought). This stretch of railway looked completely different at night. It was incredibly dark, and the trees seemed to be threatening rather than comforting. Their long, spindly branches and the lack of light above turned them into ghostly figures trying to grasp them. It was rather frightening, and Bellerophon longed for a safe haven to hide in, to take refuge from the insanity of the world around him.

And, at last, he seemed to arrive somewhere reasonably safe. He arrived at the yard from all those days ago, and once he was safely in he heard two gates shutting behind him. He rolled further in, and into a siding. Here he gave in to his exhaustion, and fell off into sleep most deserved.





"Good morning!"

Misty woke with a start to see Izzy standing in front of her. "Err, hi?" she asked.

"Glad to see you made it here!" Izzy smiled. "They're currently cooking breakfast, so I'm here to take your order?" She handed Misty a piece of paper.

Misty had a mix of emotions. "Where were you two?" she asked. "Bellerophon and I were basically enslaved by that place!"

"I was here, helping the others plan breaking you out!" Izzy protested. "One egg or two?"

Misty consulted the piece of paper she'd been given. She circled a couple of different options with a pen and then handed it back.

Izzy glanced over it. "One sausage, one bacon, 2 egg, and 1 black pudding. I'll let them know!"

As Izzy set off into the distance, Bellerophon sighed. "I wonder how they'll cook that? This place looked pretty sparse."

"Beats me," Misty sighed. "At least it's not white pudding."

"And did those feet-!"





Once breakfast was concluded, the figures all assembled. Ashleigh and Fergus were there, as was Tempest Shadow, but two new figures had joined them. One of them was a man with charcoal skin, red eyes, and black hair, currently clad in a business suit. The other was a woman with purplish skin and icy blue hair, coupled with similarly icy blue eyes. She currently wore a blue dress with a white apron and tights, coupled with a selection of useful tools handy for engine work.

And a new engine was there as well. He was a much larger engine than the others, as he had four leading wheels, six driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. He had a largish smokebox and boiler, combined with a round topped firebox and a cab that barely poked over the top of the safety valve bonnet. He had an eight wheeled tender, and he was painted dark green, with the same emblem as Porter on the tender.

His nameplates read Sir Gillemere, and his chimney was rather odd. It had three smoke release valves, instead of one! "Hello, brave and noble knight!" he said. "We are the Knights of the Round, champions of the downtrodden, defenders of those who cannot defend themselves! I am Sir Gillemere, and who art thou, fair squire?"

"I'm Bellerophon. Excuse me?" Bellerophon asked the big engine, "but why do you have three chimneys?"

"A good question, Sir Bellerophon," Sir Gillemere replied. "During the War, I was fitted with a smoke dispersal system so that German aircraft couldn't see me. I was refitted with it recently to assist in the war."

"War?" Misty asked.

"We should probably explain who we are, Radiant," said the man.

"Right you are, Sombra," the woman said. "I am Radiant Hope, and this is Sombra. You've already met Tempest. We are members of an organisation called the Locomotive Liberation Front. We are on the frontlines of a struggle against a mad woman who wants to conquer the entire country and rule it under her iron grip."

"Opaline?" Izzy ventured.

"How did you know?" Sombra asked.

"We've heard mentions of her before," Porter said.

"As a result," Hope continued, "we have assembled forces in different parts of the country to counter her forces and rescue the engines she has enslaved. And that steelworks is a critical target, which is why we have assembled engines experienced in combating Opaline. Ashleigh and myself survived an attack on a coal mine where we worked. Fergus and Tempest defended his cement works from attack. And Sir Gillemere has a personal vendetta against her."

"Her followers destroyed my brothers and sisters," the engine replied. "And now, hopefully, we can strike a blow against her."

Sombra switched on a display. "The steelworks is a front. It's a cover for a spectra factory, which is the lifeblood of sentient machines. If she controls it, she'll be able to control them. This we cannot allow."

Upon hearing that word, Misty felt an intense sense of shame. She had delivered that spectra sample to Opaline, which was presumably the source of this factory. And these engines were in a mess because of her.

"We need to launch an attack to disable the facility and disrupt her operations," Hope continued. "We have some with combat experience, and an ex-soldier."

"I actually have no combat experience," Tempest mentioned.

"I thought you said you served in the army!" Sombra said.

"I was assigned to a base in Germany and lost my forearm in a car crash. I still have the training in there, but I've never experienced actual battle. Still, I'm more than prepared to try."