Chapter 12-Dies Irae
The situation at the construction site was basically stopped. The line's construction was basically an afterthought by this point, and the production of anything was stopped. To absolutely nobody's surprise, the working environment was essentially stopped entirely. Tourists had started to arrive to witness the new arrivals, and the other parts of the system were loaded with more passengers to try and see the new sights. And a geology team was hard at work, trying to make sense of the caverns that had been located, as the various passages running through it were a source of interest for the geology and potholing communities. To nobody's surprise, the world of work had basically ground to a halt. Argyle and Isaac were busy taking extensive technical drawings of the new arrivals, whilst the other tents clattered to the sounds of keyboards and whirr of machinery that was pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge.
Sadly, not everybody saw it that way. Porter sighed as he sat in the siding, next to his fellow engines. "Nothing going on," he said. "Nothing for us to do."
"Well, I suppose that a rest is nice, but the sun is a bit annoying," Sophie admitted.
"And our drivers are still nowhere to be found," Rebecca said sadly. "Where could Hitch be? It's not like him to vanish for long periods of time. Where has he gone? I hope he's OK."
Porter sighed again. "Same with Izzy. I mean Goldie does her best, but it's just not the same, if you know what I mean."
"I know precisely what you mean," Charles said sadly. It had been a long time since anybody had seen him this down, and this was a bit of a shock for those who knew him as this loud, brash, bellicose figure when on a normal working day.
Porter stayed quiet for a second. "Bored and alone. Can't think of a worse combination. You know, I honestly wish something would happen and lift this boredom."
Charles looked over. "I'd be careful about wishing for something to happen," he said.
Porter looked stunned. "Did you just advise me to be careful?" he asked.
"Yes, I did. Why?"
"Where is Charles and what have you done with him?"
Charles sighed. "Please take this seriously, Porter. Every single time somebody, whether or or the drivers, have wished something would happen we usually get propelled into another crazy adventure- which is something I'd prefer we don't get involved in."
There was a moment of silence as well. "Well, when you put it like that-"
"And like the rest of you I miss them." Charles paused, but sounded like he was on the verge of choking up. "Zipp's been gone for a while now, and they all seemed like a permanent fixture of my existence. And now she's gone. I guess it shows nothing lasts forever, eh?"
The other engines stayed silent, out of respect. But they had heard nothing from the other folks for a bit, and wondered where they could be.
The adults had since decamped to the home that Lady Haven had decided to rent for the duration of the stay, and their eyes were glued to a monitor, seeing the images floating across the screen.
"This is like the time we were hunting for the crystals," Argyle said. "We must have watched a lot of CCTV footage that week."
"A shame Robert couldn't be here," Lady Haven replied, "but somebody has to watch the home whilst I'm away. Besides, a change is as good as a rest, so to speak. And we've found something that I think gives us a lead to our missing children."
"What is it?" Aurora asked, brushing some hair out of her eyes and away from her glasses. "For them to vanish with no trace is just unlike them."
"Then we're lucky we found this," Lady Haven said. "It turns out the area around the hole in the ground was being monitored by security cameras, and that somebody entered the system and tried to get the footage deleted. Luckily, somebody had backed it up beforehand and then I was able to use my contacts to access the footage and get it here."
She reached forward and hit play. "It has sound, so we can hear what they're saying."
"Can you believe this? It's sparkling down there! This is like something out of a fantasy movie!"
"This is incredible! This confirms this is another branch of the caverns! I have to tell dad right away!"
"That's Sunny's voice!" Argyle said. "She'd called me only a little while earlier that she was hanging out with her friends for a bit."
"I'll take some pictures! Say chee-"
Suddenly, a loud explosion could be seen in the footage, and the ground below them started to shake.
"What was that?"
"Get back from the hole! Run!"
The ground beneath them gave way and the bright lights only increased in intensity as they fell.
And then the screams abruptly stopped.
Argyle turned to one side. "Excuse me for a moment." He then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"They didn't vanish in an accident. Somebody tried to get rid of them." Isaac blinked in disbelief. "But who? Or why?"
Goldie was breathing heavily as she processed the scene. "You bastard," she said, firmly. "If any harm has come to Sunny, I'll make you wish you were never born."
Before anybody else could say anything, they heard a noise outside. "I'll go look," Goldie quickly said, and slipped out of the room before following the sound to the kitchen.
Argyle was there, turned away from her. And it was clear that he was crying. "This is all my fault," he said quietly, shuddering between sobs.
"Argyle, this isn't your fault-" Goldie said.
"I'm her father! I'm supposed to keep her safe. If I can't do that what sort of man am I?"
"She's my daughter too. But we're going to find whomever did this, and make them pay for what they've done."
Argyle looked up. "That doesn't make it any easier. She must be so scared!"
Sunny was scared. Her face was contorted as she tried to resist the sound waves entering her brain. "Get... out!" she said, looking over to Zipp. Zipp appeared to be going through a similar experience if her facial expression was anything to go by.
After what felt like hours of struggle, Sunny was no longer able to resist, and her eyes flashed purple as she stood up. "I will do as you ask, Allura," she said, and began to shamble like a zombie towards her friends, her mouth locked in an unnatural grin.
Zipp follows her mere seconds later, her eyes similarly glazed over and smiling in that unnatural way that made Allura's control clear.
Allura looked over from the portal machine and smiled. "All it took was one mistake," she smiled. "And your entire plan fell apart. Now go, my minions, seize the others and stop them!"
The guards nodded, and ran across the field, moving to confront the rest of the Mane 6. They scattered, working to keep their ear equipment in their ears to avoid the strange effects of the machine.
Misty slipped and fell underneath some snow, hiding her temporarily from view, and by logical extension from the guards. Her head down, she began to formulate a plan in her mind to free her friends.
As Pipp ran by, trying to avoid the guards and the brainwashed workers that had been sent to chase her, Misty then spotted a discarded piece of industrial equipment nearby, and grabbed it. It was, to her lack of surprise, quite heavy, and as she grabbed it she finished formulating her plan in her mind. That machine was her target.
She checked her ears and secured the ear defenders in place before making her move. She poked her head up- and then pulled it down to stop Sunny from spotting her. Once that was out of the way, she dashed out of cover and sprinted for the machine. She breathed heavily as she pulled the object along- although she'd been working to improve her physical health, she was hardly an image of heavy physical power herself.
She slipped on some snow but eventually caught herself before stopping next to the machine. Now was her chance. Now she could change things for the better.
She wheeled the machinery up, swung it onto her shoulder, and then set about smashing the machine. Blow after blow hammered down on the machine as it sparked and began to malfunction. Within a few moments, the equipment dropped in pitch as the sound powered down, soon rendering it unable to function. The effect was somewhat reminiscent of a set of bagpipes running out of air, as the sound gradually dropped in pitch and volume until it was completely and totally silent during the events.
Misty panted as she dropped the thing she had grabbed, and looked around to see her friends.
Sunny shook her head, and suddenly spotted the other workers had seemingly broken from the spell. "Quick! Stop Allura!"
The workers, now free from Allura's control, turned on their former oppressor. The guards levelled their weapons at the workers.
"Think you can stop all of us?" Comet shouted. "You'll run out of bullets eventually!"
Allura laughed as her perimeter shrank in size as her soldiers menacingly pointed weapons. "You think you've won? I always knew that portal was a fake. I just needed to gauge your power- especially you, Sunny."
Sunny's eyes widened at that statement. "How do you know me?"
"I've been watching you lot for a long time- ever since February, for a matter of fact. You carry power within you, and the gas incident only proved it. Your resourcefulness and ability to think outside the box only proved to me how effective you can be when working together, and the power of the crystals only ensures this."
Izzy's eyes widened. How did this woman know so much about them?
"The Staff of Sacanas is already mine, and this mission is over." A chopper suddenly flew in overhead, the whirring of the blades sending snow flying and forcing the loggers back, as well as Sunny and her friends. It touched down, and Allura and her troops hopped onboard.
The woman laughed as the blades picked up to take off speed. "You may have wasted precious time in order to slow me down, but in that time how much stronger has Opaline become?'
As the chopper pulled out, flying away into the night sky, Pipp looked over. "Has Opaline been up to something while we've been here?"
"Wouldn't surprise me if she has," Zipp said, who pointed to a glowing light. "Look! A portal! And Arlesburgh's on the other side! We have to get back there!"
"Not arguing with you on that one!" Sunny said, walking to Violet. "Look, I know this is sudden, but Opaline's a threat to our homeland."
"Thank you for your help," Violet said. "We need to clean up here, but we won't forget you. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me!"
Sunny nodded, and with her friends jumped into the portal.
Opaline was being fitted with heavy armour plate and gauntlets, before a helmet was lowered over her head.
"Is the armour secure, your majesty?" asked a soldier.
Opaline shifted about to check the configuration of the plates and cables. "Perfect," she said. "Prepare yourselves. The time has arrived."
She switched on the visor display and switched over to Boomer. "Boomer, report in. Are you ready to initiate the operation?"
"Military assets ready to go. The sleeper units have been informed of their go orders, and are set to receive the code word."
Opaline nodded. "I am about to deploy now, and our forces in the bunker are prepped." She walked over to a display, and pushed a single button. "Time for decades of putting fingers in the right pies to pay off."
"Execute Omega Protocol. Code Word: CULLODEN."
Well, we're into another tense chapter, and the story continues to build. The title of this chapter is Latin, and translates as 'Day of Judgement', which is a fitting title I think for a chapter focused on major revelations.
The security footage plotline is loosely inspired by an episode of Luther, where the only trace the investigators have of a criminal is CCTV footage. This means they are perpetually playing catchup and trying to guess where the crook will strike next.
Opaline's armour looks like this:
Finally, the code word Opaline speaks has a reference to a notable episode in British history. Can you spot it?
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great chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter
amour from the past always finds its uses in future conflicts
He's in the last place you'd expect him to be Rebecca.
Same.
whether us or the drivers,*
You are innocent Argyle. Blaming yourself won't fix the problem.
Wait, what!
Wait, could she be working with Opaline?!
Gulp.
11879930
Glad you liked.
11879939
Indeed. One Australian guy built a suit of medieval armour to try and rob a bank. It didn't end well.
11879996
1. Indeed, trapped on the other side of the globe.
2. Yes.
3. Fixed.
4. Agreed. I thought it would be interesting to explore a more vulnerable side to Argyle; there is still an unfortunate attitude that men aren't allowed to show emotion or be upset, an attitude which is unfortunately rather toxic (hence why Argyle left the room earlier).
5. Yes.
6. Possibly.
7. Here we go. No turning back.
Here we go!
The big moment is among us!
11880224
Indeed. The moment we've been building to for nearly two years has arrived.
11880258
and hopefully we're gonna see where the Real Fat Controller has been the whole time.
11880266
Wait and see. All I can say is that I've pulled out all the stops.
11880273
Of course, I apologize, I’m just getting a little anxious.
11880751
Hey, it's OK. I recall feeling the same way when Chapter Six of Make your Mark came out, as we had no clue what was coming next.
11880812
True in that regard.
11880815
Though, obviously, I don't have that same tension on my end (as I wrote the story and thus know what happens).