• Published 1st May 2023
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Thomas and Friends: New Frontiers - The Blue EM2

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Chapter 9-So Hush, Buddy, Just get Lost in the Rush

Sunny awoke in the middle of a snowstorm. The sky was invisible, turned white by the intensity of the snow particles whirling around here, and the environment she found herself in was similarly hard to see. The sheer power of the storm made spotting where to go incredibly difficult.

"Hello?" she called. "Guys? Where are you?"

She started to make her way forward through the storm, the bitter cold biting at her face and threatening to blow her over. Sunny fought onwards despite the weather conditions. Even though she was fully clothed in warm winter gear the temperatures were so low they were beginning to get to her.

Suddenly, the world around her began to shift and distort. "Huh? What's going on?"

The storm seemed to be fading, but the walls of white all around seemed to be changing too. It looked like they were turning to... stone and concrete?

Before long, Sunny found herself in a vaguely gothic looking chamber. The chamber had vaulting walls on either side made of stone, and a long walkway from one end to the other. A large pit full of bubbling liquid sat inside the room, and three large stained glass windows stood at the end of the room. Beyond that was a door to the right, and underneath the stained glass windows was a throne so tall it seemed to scrape the ceiling.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" said a voice. "It's the fitting dwelling for the rightful monarch, don't you think?"

Suddenly, there was a jet of flame in front of Sunny, who pulled her hand over her eyes to avoid being blinded and to shield herself from the heat. When the flames dropped, her eyes widened in surprise.

A figure in a grey business suit stood on the other side. She had purple skin, piercing blue eyes, and white hair with blue streaks within it. "Hello, Sunny. I was wondering when we would meet at last."

Sunny blinked. "Who are you?"

Suddenly, music started up as if there was an invisible orchestra behind her. And the woman started to sing.

"You could call me evil, but/
I will go and take just what I need!
Don't need nobody with me!
Yes, it might be villainous/
But that's what makes me the perfect queen!
You will bow to me!"

"So hush, buddy, just/
Get lost in the rush/
Hypnotized by the words I'm saying!
Feel the heat, then the beat/
Mesmerized, go to sleep/
Like a lullaby, I'll be singing!"

Suddenly, jets of flame roared from torches on either side of the room. Which seemed to be in sync with the words the woman was singing.

"I've got the power! (power)
The fire that runs through my veins!
I've got the power! (power)
And you're going to feel/
You're going to feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da!
Oh, you'll feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da!" (oh, you'll feel)

The woman didn't even stop to take a breath, instead continuing into the next verse.

"You might think I'm wicked, but/
Don't be mad because I have a plan!
It spells out victory!!" (so, so, so)

Much like last time, more flames roared into the air, illuminating the room and allowing Sunny to pick out more details of the room.

"So hush, buddy, just/
Get lost in the rush/
Hypnotized by the words I'm saying!
Feel the heat, then the beat/
Mesmerized, go to sleep/
Like a lullaby, I'll be singing!"

"I've got the power/ (do you hear me?)
The fire that runs through my veins!
I've got the power! (power, power, power)
And you're going to feel/
You're going to feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da! (feel the fire!)
Oh, you'll feel the fla- a- a- ames, fla- a- a- ames/
La- da- da- dee- da- da- da!" (oh, you'll feel)

Sunny blinked.

The woman noticed this. "That's strange. You must have a strong constitution. You don't seem at all scared."

"I'm more confused than anything else," Sunny admitted. "I don't really know what you were singing about."

The woman snorted. "Truly a fool. Well, I guess an introduction is in order. I am Opaline."

Sunny's eyes widened. "You're the monster who tried to kill Misty!"

This seemed to trigger Opaline's bezerk button. More flames roared into the room as she leaned in. "That useless wretch! That incompetent buffoon couldn't tie her own shoelaces without falling over! And I had to do almost everything for her! Couldn't she see how much better things will be when I have returned to my rightful place in the world?" She paused. "And I have another thought for you, Sunny. What makes you think you can speak to your Queen like that?"

Sunny, now rather intimidated, looked surprised. "Britain has a King, not a Queen. Besides, if there was an Opaline of the House of Windsor I think we would know."

Opaline snorted. "Those imposters. That group of Germans have been keeping a throne they stole warm for the eventual return of the true rulers of Britain. For you see... I am a descendant of James Francis Edward Stuart. The traitors refer to him as the Old Pretender."

"Who?" Sunny asked.

"He was the son of James II, who was removed from power in an illegal power grab by some Dutchman," Opaline explained. "We, of the house of Stuart, fought to get our throne back, but the imposters held onto their power through violence and dark magic." She paused. "I will reclaim my birthright as Queen of Britain, and show the world why they were wrong to remove us from power! People should fear their rulers, as we only want the best for them! And when I am back, I shall restore British Railways to its rightful place in the United Kingdom and save the public from the drudgery of overpriced train tickets and badly maintained coaches!"

Sunny was shocked. "That doesn't give you the right to use violence! What makes you think you're better than any of us?"

"You're better than them," Opaline said suddenly. "You have magic coursing through your veins. You are destined to rule over them. You failed to claim your birthright, but I shall make sure that mistake is corrected." Opaline backed away, the flames roaring into the sky. "REMEMBER THESE WORDS, SUNNY! ONE DAY WE SHALL MEET AGAIN, AND I SHALL FINISH WHAT I STARTED!"

Sunny shook her head as the imagery began to fade from her vision. She was in the station at the top of the Jungfrau, and glanced about. "Huh? Where am I?"

"You're on top of the Jungfrau," said a voice, soon revealed to be Argyle. "You must have spaced out for a moment."

Sunny needed a second to process what she had just seen.


Things were considerably less peaceful in the Amazon. Thunder roared along the river in a Cobra Gunship, flying in on several boats. They had unloaded men and were attacking the train.

"Purbeck 2, move in and attack the boats!" radioed his boss, Zoom. "They're putting down heavy fire in our position, and I'm not sure how much longer we can hold!"

"Understood," Thunder radioed back. "Loading rocket pods." He flew in over the boats and lined up his reticule before locking each target. "Target lock confirmed. Rockets away."

A storm of missiles flew from the rocket pod and slammed into their targets, blowing open their hulls and sinking them in the drift. Unfortunately, Thunder hadn't considered their location, and the boats sank in shallow water, meaning all the stuff in them was still intact. Seeing another set of boats incoming, he spooled up the front chopper gun and opened fire.

The spray of bullets peppered one of the hulls with rounds whilst the rocket pods reloaded. The chopper thundered over and swung about to find the rest of its targets, only to find the boats were seemingly driven off.

"Purbeck 2 to Zoom Actual, targets driven off. Enemy forces appear to be retreating, over."

"Understood, Purbeck 2. Dispatching small force for recon."


Later on, after Thunder had landed Purbeck 2, he joined his colleagues in a security debrief. Zoom was leading it. "Well, I've got good news and bad news," she said.

"What's the bad news?" asked one soldier.

"The bridge we'd build? It's been damaged, so we'll need to repair it. Not only that, most of the attackers escaped."

"So, what's the good news?" Thunder enquired.

"The good news is that nobody was injured. Quick thinking drove that attack off. We also know who sent them to attack us, based on some tapes we found on one of the boats." She pressed play.

A man in a leather jacket appeared on screen. "You must incapacitate and slow down the Havens," he said. "Opaline's plan will struggle to succeed unless you do. Time to show those aristocrats that money doesn't save you all the time."

Zoom glanced back at them. "As you can see, we're up against a wanted criminal. None other than P. T. Boomer."

Author's Note:

Well, this was a turn for my writing! Firstly, Opaline's backstory is based on real British history. The Stuarts were indeed booted from the throne by the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and then spent much of the next 100 years trying to get it back (one such effort included the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, which is the time period in which the TV series Outlander is set). Where I deviate from history is where the family tree went; the current claimant of the Stuart throne is a German prince, not a British person (although there is an Earl Stuart related to him).

Purbeck 2 is a retired USMC AH-1 Super Cobra, allocated to the family as part of the security detail. Predominantly a ground attack machine, it has served in a variety of roles in history, being favoured by the USMC over the later AH-64 Apache.