//------------------------------// // Chapter 17-The Light of Hope // Story: Thomas and Friends: Secrets of Sodor // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Hitch didn't know how long he'd been out for when he finally came to. He glanced about himself, the world foggy and confusing. Strange shapes swirled in rows around him, and other objects were floating about as well. There were also some metal things in front of him. Some of them were vertical and some of them were horizontal, but none of them looked warm or welcoming. "Where am I," he said quietly, as he sat up, rubbing his back. "Must've taken quite the hit back there." "You're precisely where you need to be, Hitch," said another voice, one which he knew all too well. His vision had finally come back to normal. Hitch saw the last person he had wanted to see standing in front of the gate. "Oh. Opaline." "Not going to greet your rightful queen with the correct titles, huh?" Opaline replied, now having removed her helmet. "May I remind you that I am Her Britannic Majesty Opaline the First, Queen of the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, the ruler of Wales and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith and protector of the Seven Blades." Hitch shook his head. "Your titles mean nothing to me. You can add as many titles as you want. Doesn't disguise the fact you're a cold, heartless, selfish psycopath. What makes you think you have any right to run us?" "For the very same reason those pretenders thought they did," Opaline smiled, seemingly not concerned by the accusations Hitch had just levelled. "They think that just because some traitorous MPs wrote to their ancestor they have the right to kick the House of Stuart, who may I remind you were appointed to that position by powers on high, off their throne?" She paused. "And they held their spoils, not through morality or force of spirit or inherent goodness, but because they had more guns than us. A common theme throughout history." Hitch rolled his eyes. "Great, she's a Jacobite." "And now they know what it feels like to be the ones with the fewer guns!" Opaline laughed. "I'm already planning my coronation as we speak, and it shall be a glorious and magnificent occasion. Not as if any of those silly fools can stop me." Hitch leaned forward. "You haven't won, Opaline. We are still here. The light of liberty and freedom will never die so long as people who truly care for the freedom of others continue to live. Men like Thomas Payne, Jeremiah Brandreth, Fergus O'Conner- all of these heroes of freedom could have given up, and yet they struggled on against oppression. What makes you think we won't do the same for you?" Opaline smiled. "People tend to be unable to fight back when dead. I think it's high time the treason act was enforced again." Hitch smiled. "You can't shoot everybody, Opaline. And she's still out there. Sunny won't give up." Opaline snorted. "That little half breed. I'm aware of that, and I'll deal with the traitor in my own time. Besides, she forsook her birthright when she sided with those lesser beings. Make no mistake- only the strong survive in this world, as you're finding out the hard way." "Not the nicest of terrain, is it?" Ashleigh asked, as the engines of the LLF steamed across Britain. Many places and buildings were in fire, and the world seemed to be rife with smoke. Sounds of weapons fire had largely fallen silent, but they had to stay with their heads on the swivel in case the enemy made an appearance. "Just how did it come to this?" Fergus asked quietly. "This is the day we have all been dreading, my brave fellows," Sir Gillemere said. "Mordred has awoken to reclaim the throne denied to him by King Arthur, and we must all be ready. The final struggle between good and evil, for the fate of England, is upon us, and we must take lance in hand and fight to preserve the right of all people to be free." "Not quite sure quoting Mallory is appropriate right now," Tempest said, scanning the terrain. She was especially exposed as her engine had no cab, and this made her vulnerable to attack. They passed a rail yard, full of burning rolling stock. A weapons cache had been set ablaze in order to ensure Opaline's troops didn't get their hands on it. As they rolled past a radio, a broadcast from the BBC revealed that Opaline was in charge, and that all citizens of the Union of Great Britain were to swear an oath of loyalty to her. "Like we'd do that," Hurricane said. "After what she did to us, I'd be more than happy to see her rot in a prison cell." "Keep moving," Sombra said. "The line to Sodor comes off to our left, so we'll take it. Our friends need our help, and our help is what we shall give." A train loaded with tanks began to follow in their direction. The diesel on the front spoke to them. "Are the lions still hunting?" he asked. "They are indeed," Ashleigh replied. "Join us, the Knights of the Round. Sodor needs our help, and your tanks would help us greatly." The diesel looked over. "Of course. I don't know how many of us there are, but we shall fight regardless. The only thing required for the victory of evil is good men and engines do nothing." The column moved off, freshly reinforced by those willing to fight back against the darkness. Although the days were dark for lovers of freedom, it was but darkness. One day it would clear, and the glorious light would return. As they proceeded on their way, more reinforcements began to join. More and more engines joined the formation, soon turning a small group into a veritable army. A pair of troop trains were soon behind them, and they were making good ground towards Sodor. The final battle for the future of the world was about to begin. Far from the chaos of Alresburgh, the shattered heroes of Sodor had regrouped at Ulfstead Castle. Soldiers were maintaining their gear in the ancient courtyards that had withstood many a siege. Soldiers were drilling on the field. Thunder sat at a bench, his head in his hands. "All is lost," he said to himself. Zoom walked over. "I won't tolerate that sort of talk, Thunder," she said. "There's always a chance." Thunder looked up. "Who do you think you're kidding, boss? You saw what Opaline's capable of. There's no way we can win. No way we can fight back. We did what we could but it wasn't enough. We've already lost." This caught the attention of Lady Haven, who herself walked over. "No, Thunder," she said. "We haven't lost. That's what Opaline wants. To sap us of our spirits and make us surrender before we've even seen the battlefield. No. We can't afford to lose hope. Not now. If we don't fight like there's no tomorrow, their may not be a tomorrow to fight for. We've emerged from darker moments with our heads held high. If the pilots of the Battle of Britain hadn't kept going, we'd be having this conversation in German." Zoom glanced back. "My great grandfather was one of The Few." She looked at Thunder. "Don't let Opaline get to you. We can show her she is wrong, and put her back where she belongs- the pages of history." On the other side of the camp, Pipp was trying to rally her subscribers with a pep talk. "I know things look dark and grey out there, but don't give up. There's still a chance to win this. When the shadows of tyranny hung over our shores past we came together to drive the darkness back, and we can do it again. There is a better tomorrow waiting behind the clouds. And when we find it that victory will emerge all the sweeter." She looked over. "Zipp, anything to contribute?" Zipp, however, seemed to be in a state of despair. She'd given up. "What's the point?" she said. "We did our best and it wasn't enough." Pipp stepped over. "Whatever happened to the fearless, fire eating, heroic, intelligent Zipp Storm I knew?" she asked. "You'd always be the one inspiring me to keep going in the darkness that surrounded the world. And I know a war is somewhat outside of your comfort zone, but we don't have a choice. We have to keep going. If we give up now, think of all the people we won't be able to help tomorrow, Zipp." She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I know you're upset about Charles, and I'm upset about Sophie too. But if we don't stand together now we may never have a chance to avenge them." Zipp stood up and looked around. "In which case it is time to fight. Time to find a weapon and hope this plan works out for all of us." Thomas sat furthest from the others. He was miserable. After all, he felt this was all his fault. If he hadn't helped Opaline she wouldn't be in her position of power. There was a brief silence as several figures emerged from a building. Some of the soldiers were escorting a figure. Misty glanced up in surprise. "Sunny?" It was Sunny. But in place of her usual clothing was a suit of orange armour with purple lining, which looked both sleek and fantastical at the same time. Sunny shifted back a bit. "Maybe we could loosen the back plate slightly." She stopped in the centre of the courtyard, and quickly coughed. "May I have your attention, please?" she said. "Why are wearing all that?" a voice asked. "Because we have to take the fight to Opaline," Sunny replied. "I need protection in case a bullet comes my way." Izzy looked over, her face unusually serious. "Going back in there could kill you." Sunny nodded. "Not going back could kill us all. I know which I'd rather take." "I'd prefer you didn't die at all, actually," Argyle said. "But needs must in times of danger." Sunny stepped onto a small platform that had been placed down. "My fellow citizens," she said. "I know the day before us is a dark and terrible one. It seems as though the light of hope is gone, and that we have no chance of victory. But I tell you there is." A member of the crowd suddenly spoke up. "We're up against an entire army, Sunny. Is this really a hill worth dying on?" Sunny nodded. "2,000 years ago, this island nation was forged when a group of brave souls made their stand against tyranny on a hill. We remember Godred and his followers as heroes and legends- but they didn't start out that way. An unlikely alliance of ordinary people joined forces to take on the world's most powerful empire. And they won. Now we find ourselves tested by a conquerer who would reduce our nation to her personal fiefdom and cast us into chains." Suddenly, Zipp began to speak as well. "We fight not for material goals or needs- but to be free from destruction. We're fighting for the right to live, to love, to exist. Our numbers may be small, but the fewer of us, the greater share of honour." "They will speak of us in the halls of glory!" Pipp added, joining the platform. "They shall remember what feats we did this day. And gentlemen in our homeland will think themselves accursed they were not here on this hallowed ground." Sunny took over once more. "Today, we learned not to trust in steel or iron, but each other! We shall stand up and take the fight to them, and show them the true meaning of courage! So step forth, my brave fellows, and help me save the world!" The place fell oddly silent. But then, suddenly, to their surprise, a small voice in the crowd began to sing. "Hey, people, listen to me! You gotta hear what I'm sayin'! You've got that sparkle deep inside! You've got a talent worth displayin'! Suddenly, the others in the crowd began to join in. "We just need a little hope! We just need a little unity! We just need to find the ma-agic! That's inside of everybody! "Sometimes it feels a little hopeless! But things aren't always what they seem! Can you feel it? The energy? Yeah, the power is growing!" Sunny took up the speech once more. "They may take everything else from us, but they can't take our voices! They can't take us makes us human! They can't take the light of hope away from us! That's the true power that unites us all!" "Don't look now, things will get better/ So hold my hand 'cause we're growin' together! We've got the strength to take on whatever/ 'Cause we've got the magic, we've got the magic in us! "So everybody everywhere! Now is the time to raise your voices! You know it's time to show your courage, yeah! And nopony's gonna stop us, no! 'Cause there is hope when we're together/ And it grows stronger when we sing! So raise our voices in unison! Raise our voices in harmony, yeah! "Don't look now, things will get better/ So hold my hand 'cause we're growin' together! We've got the strength to take on whatever/ 'Cause we've got the magic, we've got the magic in us! "Just take another look, things are getting better! We're growin' stronger, growin' together! We'll always have each other forever/ 'Cause we've got the magic, we've got the magic in us!" "Don't look now!" Pipp added, as backing vocals. "Yeah, we've got the magic, we've got the magic in us!" "Don't look now!" "Yeah, we've got the magic, we've got the magic in us!" "Don't look now!" "Yeah, we've got the magic, we've got the magic in us!" "Don't look now!" "We've got the magic, we've got the magic in us!" The crowd were incredibly fired up, and went back to their tents to collect supplies and equipment. Banners lifted high from their mounts, and weapons were prepped for duty. Soldiers formed up on the battlefield, ready to march once more. Armoured vehicles were fired up and loaded with fuel, shells and bullets being placed in loaders and belt boxes. Other equipment was ferried to the front lines, heavy guns were placed onto transport trollies, and road vehicles prepared to move off. Thomas was coupled to the column, and Sunny took her position at the controls of Salty. "Salty, I know we may not make it back, so I just want to say working with you has been fantastic," Sunny said. "When you're going through hell, keep going," Salty replied. "I'll gladly give my life for the cause. Let's go and stop Opaline." Sunny looked out of the cab, and blasted Salty's horn. "TODAY WE ARE CANCELLING THE APOCALYPSE!"