Upon hearing Opaline's words, Argyle had only one instruction for the assembled crew on Lady of Legend's footplate. "RUN!"
Hitch wound the engine into forward gear and applied as much regulator as possible, with Pendennis Castle following a few moments later. Both engines blazed down the line as Opaline's forces chased them down with helicopters and aircraft.
Opaline switched on the loud speakers to address the crowd. "Give up, already!" she shouted. "I will have the Lost Engine! She is mine by right!"
Argyle looked back. "No you won't!" he shouted. "Because the magic you refuse to believe in will get the better of you!"
Opaline looked confused. "Getting the magic back is the entire point," she said, looking confused.
The choppers continued to blaze along, with periodic gunfire echoing from the choppers as they sped along at speed. This was proving to be quite dangerous. "What we could do with is a distraction!" Pipp shouted. "This footplate is getting extremely crowded!"
Just then, as they joined the WCML, Charles and Sophie appeared on one side on the fast line. "This the sort of thing you were looking for?" Charles asked, with a mirthful grin.
"How did you two get here?" Misty asked from Pendennis Castle.
"We travelled from Liverpool!" Sophie replied. "Now are you going to hop aboard?"
Hitch matched his speed with Charles, and Zipp hopped from one locomotive to another. He then repeated the process with Sophie and Pipp.
The two diesels slowed down to provide some of the enemy a distraction as they flew along. Suddenly, another unit joined the battle. Another set of jet fighters flew in, trying to engage them, but the pilots were flying too quickly and struggled to hit anything.
Seconds later, another jet aircraft flew in and buzzed Opaline's own fighter. "Who are you to fire upon me?" Opaline demanded.
"I think 20 years in the RAF gives me the authority to be a decent pilot," Zoom replied over the radio, trying to distract Opaline as best she could. She used every move in the book to drag the insane monarch to be off the tale of both her boss and her friends, determined at any cost to prevent them from being squished.
The sets of engines flew through Kilsby tunnel, and one of the choppers had the bright idea of flying down it. Unfortunately, this was not Mission: Impossible, and the chopper exploded inside the tunnel, blocking the access that particular tunnel mouth.
Passengers were utterly baffled by what was going on, and looked in surprise. Meanwhile, in the air, Opaline finally secured a missile lock and downed Zoom's jet- only for her own to suddenly take a hit.
"What?" she said. "Where did that missile come from?" She punched the ejector seat and flew into the air just as a Tornado flew past.
The pilot of the Tornado switched frequencies. "Glad to be of service, my fellows," he said, before his jet climbed away.
Sunny recognised the voice. "Hey, that the fighter pilot who saved our bacon in Switzerland!"
Suddenly, Diesel 10 roared in from the Northampton Loop, cackling maniacally. A quick look revealed Boomer at the controls. "Time to even the score," the man said.
"Oh, look at this," Diesel 10 sneered. "Piles of scrap iron unable to harm a fly. Good thing Pinchy's hungry!"
He roared over the lines, much to the frustration of oncoming trains, and began to snap at the two engines. Thankfully, he was unable to hit anything.
"This claw is such shoddy engineering!" Boomer complained.
Several lorries raced in from the side, having seemingly bounced off the motorway to get there. Sprout was standing in one of the trucks. "Time to finish what I started!" he shouted. "The Lost Engine will be mine!"
But just as his forces closed in, a familiar whirr of rotor blades could be heard. Lord Haven looked behind him. "Thunder?" he asked.
Thunder then came on over the radio. "Not if I blow you to kingdom come first!" he said, and released a barrage of rockets, blowing up the trucks. They bounced along the lineside and came to a sudden stop, with a series of bangs.
Misty cheered from the footplate of Pendennis Castle. "We did it!"
The two engines whistles loudly as they continued on their way down the West Coast Mainline."
After all that was over, the families and Firelight gathered at the Haven residence. "Well," Izzy said, "that was quite the adventure, wasn't it?"
"Some of it was more perilous than others," Argyle admitted. "But we made it home, and more importantly the Lost Engine is safe."
"Thank goodness you spotted that piece on that book," Pipp said to Izzy. "Or else we'd probably never have found the Lost Engine!"
"Speaking of the Lost Engine," said Firelight, "what's the plan with caring for her? Or Pendennis Castle for that matter?"
"Sadly, we don't have the facilities at Falmouth to care for three large steam engines," Zipp explained. "Lady of Legend has already been sent to Didcot to be looked after, and Pendennis Castle is going to Tyseley, near Birmingham. That way both of them can get the proper care and maintenance they need."
"I say a celebration is in order," Isaac said. "Is that a good idea?"
"I say we have a meal to celebrate," Lord Haven suggested. "We've been saving something for a special occasion, haven't we dear?"
"Great minds think alike, it seems," Lady Haven smiled.
As the assembled crew dug into a nicely cooked meal, they reflected on the adventures of the last year or so. The unlikely journey across Britain that brought them together and brought the magic back. The scrapes and thrills that living in Falmouth brought. And, of course, meeting Misty, whom they now regarded as basically family.
As merriment and laughter flowed, there was no doubt their lives had changed dramatically in that time. But it was for the better.
They all had each other. And they wouldn't have it any other way.