Chapter 16-Behind Enemy Lines
Alphabittle had been given no chance to escape when the invasion first hit. He had been at home, minding his own business when the first explosions rocked Falmouth, and had been caught completely by surprise.
As he looked out at the scenes of chaos before him, of soldiers marching down streets and hunting for survivors, he was very concerned. "Thought I'd finally seen the back of this sort of thing," he commented, before ducking down to ensure that nobody outside could see him.
There was a knock at the door. "IN THE NAME OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN OPALINE, YOU WILL OPEN THE DOOR AT ONCE AND SURRENDER YOURSELF TO THE AUTHORITIES!"
Like Hell I'll do that, Alphabittle thought to himself, and began to make his way upstairs to the loft. He had to move quietly to ensure he wasn't detected, but soon was able to reach the loft without alerting anybody outside the building.
Quietly, he dropped the ladder and climbed up, looking to his left as his head popped through the hole as if he knew where what he was looking for already was. He climbed in and found a box, sliding it back to reveal a box absolutely packed to the brim with gear. A radio, a flashlight, an old military uniform, and even a single revolver he kept for emergencies.
He pulled them out and quickly pulled the uniform on, combined with adding the holster for the revolver to his hip and loading five rounds into the cylinder. Whilst doing so, he caught sight of a photograph at the bottom, so he gave it a look.
It showed him, back when he was in the prime of his life, with his daughter and wife. Long since ex wife, to be exact. His eyes narrowed as they scanned over the woman in the scene. "Faven, if we ever meet again you'd better have a damn good explanation for why you left."
Suddenly, there was a crash from downstairs, and Alphabittle hid behind a column. A soldier climbed the stairs and stopped in the loft, looking about. "Who's there? Come out with your hands up!"
Alphabittle waited. "Right here." He then lunged forward and shoved the soldier back down the ladder, dropping back before the loud bang that signified the soldier hitting the bottom was audible.
Once he was done there, he kicked the skylight open and climbed out before sliding down the roof to the bottom. He dashed along the street, avoiding any and all contact with the enemy. He was, after all, just one man. And one man against an army would not end well, he suspected.
Eventually, he found the road leading out of Falmouth, and found several military vehicles parked, loaded with survivors.
"Sir?" a soldier said with astonishment. "We weren't aware of other survivors!"
"There's still plenty of fight left in this warhorse," Alphabittle replied. "Now then, where are we going?"
"Wherever we are needed," the soldier said. "Now then, sir, if you're joining us we'll be on our way."
Alphabittle nodded as he boarded a truck. "61 and back in battle. Didn't think I'd see this again."
"Go! Go! Go!" Sombra shouted. "Get those heavy guns moved up into position!"
"Sir!" Ashleigh shouted, as she began the work of propelling heavy wagons forward.
The LLF were entrenched near Darlington, the same place where Misty had befriended them all those months ago. With the added power of a new engine, Hurricane, they felt they had a better chance at survival.
Sir Gillemere looked over. "I'll distract them!" he shouted. "INVISIBILITY ON!"
A vast blast of smoke soon covered the battlefield as an improvised smokescreen, impairing the vision of the enemy forces that were approaching their position. They advanced slowly through the fog, trying to figure out where they were.
When suddenly-
"FIRE!"
Suddenly, and without warning, a set of rail guns fired from their mounts on rail wagons. Three of the four shots struck home without trouble, blowing the offending vehicle to pieces with a set of explosions.
On the other side of the field, Fergus propelled a set of wagons forward to block the way. "Take this!" he said.
"DRIVE THEM OUT OF THE ENCAMPMENT!" shouted a voice. "SURRENDER NOW AND YOU WILL BE TREATED KINDLY!"
Radiant Hope did not take kindly to this sentiment. "We'd rather die free than in service of that tyrant you follow!"
"Then die you shall," came the reply. "Bring their remains to the Queen as a gift!"
The enemy redoubled their attack, the roar of engines only accentuating the threat being faced.
"Get those anti tank guns reloaded, now!" Ashleigh shouted. "They're all that's standing between us and our defeat!"
A set of blades thundered overhead as a chopper of some sort moved into position overhead, trying to clear the smoke that Sir Gillemere was producing with its blades.
"Sir Gillemere?" Hurricane called. "This isn't working!"
"I suspect we'll need a miracle to hold them off!" the large express engine replied, as weapons continued to thunder all around him.
Suddenly, it seemed as though his prayers were answered, as they fray was joined by the whine of the engines of jet fighters. They roared in overhead, firing off their payloads at the advancing tanks and destroying them utterly.
Once the silence fell, the survivors looked at one another in astonishment. "Sound off!" Tempest Shadow called.
"Ashleigh, here!"
Fergus, here!"
"Hurricane, here!"
"Sir Gillemere, here!"
"Sombra, here!"
"Radiant Hope, here!"
"Celeano, here!"
Tempest nodded and booted up a communications module built into her armour. "This is not good," she said. "The entire country is under attack from Opaline's forces- and we're losing. Reinforcements needed, pulling back, suffering heavy losses- it's not looking promising for us to say the least."
"There has to be a way we can fight back!" Hurricane said. "We can't just give up here and let them win!"
Tempest focused her ears. "Hang on. Call coming in from Sodor. The speaker is... wait, it's that girl we helped! Misty!"
"She's a friend," said Sir Gillemere. "And the chivalric code of honour states you never leave a friend behind. Forth, noble knights! We must defeat these foes and return peace to the land!"
"Once we're done cleaning the mess from the entrance so we can get out," Ashleigh pointed out.
Knapford had soon born the brunt of the enemy attack.
Twilight glanced about her when she heard the sirens go off. "What's going on?" she asked. "The air raid sirens haven't been used here in nearly a century!"
"That's because your idiocy has brought the future early," said a cold voice, as Ryan rolled into view.
"Ryan!" Thomas said. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ryan said, with a cold smile. "I was sent here to bring about the future. Opaline was destined to rule this land, and it was my duty to ensure such a task was completed. A bit of chaos there, some complaining passengers here- all intended to ensure nobody realised what was really going on. And how ironic is how it really worked and came together."
Thomas' eyes widened in horror. "That Opaline!" he said. "She was the woman we helped at the dig site! What have we done?"
"Helped to bring about a new and glorious age for this country," Ryan replied. "Opaline will run this land well. The collapsing ground, the dynamite in the floor, the new engines- all of that was made possible thanks to you, Thomas. How ironic that the engine who brought this all about was the one most likely to be opposed to her plans. But I must thank you. Your idiocy does make you extremely useful."
Twilight was in a state of shock. "We made this all happen?" she said, in shock and some silence. "What have we done?"
"Look around you," Ryan said, as he suddenly charged. Within moments he had Thomas pinned at the end of a siding, and pushed into some buffers.
Thomas tried to push back, but couldn't.
"This is too easy," Ryan said. "I'm far bigger and stronger than you, after all. You won't escape. At least not before I've had my fun."
He backed up, stopped, and then charged again, smashing into Thomas' front buffer beam and damaging it. "This is for all the engines pushed aside by your desire to be number one! Well, you're not so useful now, are you, you little blue embarrassment?!"
Thomas had no chance to reply before Ryan suddenly backed off. "Looks like you got lucky, Thomas," he said, coldly. "I'm needed elsewhere. But you shan't escape so easily next time. Run, and I may spare you your life."
Thomas needed no prompting, and exited the siding as fast as he could, puffing down the mainline as fast as his wheels could carry him.
He was still trying to process all that he had seen. All of this, all this chaos so far, was his fault.
And there was virtually no chance he was coming back from it.
Hitch sprinted forward over the battlefield, trying to navigate towards his allies. "Fall back!" he shouted. "We cannot hold them!"
Several figures nodded and began to retreat towards allied lines far away. The enemy weren't letting up, though, and were still approaching at speed across the terrain.
Hitch then spotted something on the ground- a weapon he could use. He picked it up, and attached the attached backpack to his back, followed by him adding the main cabling and grabbing the weapon. He then linked the weapon to the cabling, gripped the carry handle, and gave the rotation test handle a quick squeeze.
"Good, it's still working," he said. He checked it over again. "Guys, fall back. I'm going to hold them off."
"Hitch, what are you doing?" Sunny radioed. "There's no way you'll be able to hold them off on your own!"
I'm buying you guys time," Hitch replied, as he raised the weapon and pulled the trigger. The barrels spooled up and within seconds a hail of white hot led was pouring out of the weapon. "Fall back. That's an order. I'll see you on the other side, Sunny."
Protesting from Sunny began, but Hitch simply switched the radio off and continued firing on the approaching troops, cutting them down with expertly laid fire.
"SURRENDER YOUR ARMS!" shouted a soldier, as more soldiers pushed forward.
Hitch shook his head. "GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!"
Rounds continued to fly downrange and into the enemy, cutting several of them down in a hail of weapons fire. Hitch never let up the fire though, determined to ensure his friends escaped.
Suddenly, his weapon stopped firing, and the display on it beeped. He looked down, and saw something concerning.
OUT OF AMMUNITION.
He pulled the trigger, and heard the distinctive 'dead man's click'. He had no chance to disconnect the weapon before they were on top of him, knocking him to the floor with a bang.
Hitch pulled a grenade off his belt, released the pin and lever, and rolled it in the direction of the enemy, determined to take a few more of them out. The explosion shook the terrain and blew the land apart, more mud and dirt flying about.
The soldier who had pinned him down was not affected, however. He flipped Hitch over and handcuffed him, before halling him to his feet.
"I imagine Opaline will be glad to have at least one of you meddling kids to add to her collection," he said, with a smirk.
Hitch was led away across the smoking remains of the field where he and his allies had made their final stand against Opaline. He looked sadly, knowing this was it, and the war was lost.
They had lost.
It was all for nothing.
He walked past a familiar light pacific, and saw she had no face.
Opaline had gotten to her.
Truly was this their darkest hour. All seemed lost. The war was over.
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they fought like the last defenders of Berlin
great chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter hitch last stand reminds me of Arthur Mogan's Last Stand
Indeed!
You were tricked Thomas. Opaline does it to many, and Misty was one of them.
He did that on purpose, didn't he?
Rebecca!!!
11885097
Indeed they did.
11885104
Greater love hath no man, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
11885128
1. Hopefully they'll get it.
2. True, but I doubt it'll make Thomas feel much better.
3. Yes.
4. Only one NFV from the core cast remains.
11885188
mhm.
11885192
It's a dark day for all of us.
Wow! That bit with Alphabittle was cool! Say, what sidearm did you give him?
Hitch truly is a brave guy.
You know, I’m surprised you hadn’t shown what Dictator Hatt is doing in all of this.
That’s it the majority of the Falmouth engines, all that’s left are Salty and the North Western Railway Engines.
Thomas, you are not to blame for any of this, you can still make things right! Remember, LITTLE ENGINES CAN DO BIG THINGS!!
(But he’ll need some encouragement)
11885666
1. Sig Sauer P226.
2. I was quite impressed at how MYM Chapter 6 had him hold his own against Opaline, so it only felt fair to give him his moment of glory here.
3. We'll return to him later.
4. Indeed. It seems to be dark day indeed.
5. Agreed. It's never too late to atone for your mistakes.
11885861
Um, that's a semiautomatic 9mm pistol, not a revolver. It says in the chapter he grabs a revolver. Moreover a P226 holds a clip of 15 rounds.
That's a true Sheriff for you. (Cadet in the case here)
I figure so, he contributed to everything happening now. So he cannot be out of it.
For now it's dark, but every cloud has silver lining even when it rains.
Besides it's Dictator Hatt that's the real blame here, he set events forward by making Sodor look bad.
11885862
1. That teaches me to try and respond to comments without drinking caffeine in the morning. It's an upgraded Enfield No. 2.
2. Complete with a rotary cannon (I took a bit of artistic license here; such weapons would be almost impossible to carry about as ammunition sources and power packs would need to be carried).
3. Yes.
4. So don't be too downhearted, as things are bound to change.
5. Indeed. That mess will take a while to clean up.
11885871
Okay, that makes more sense. But is there a reason he only loaded 5 shots when it holds 6?
Actually there are such thing as hand held rotary cannons that can carry both ammo and power. There's one minigun in 5.56 that can do it.
All you gotta do is wear a smile and you will find, your sun will shine!
That it will, probably take more than Sir Topham Hatt to fix things after the Battle is over.
11885874
British soldiers of the Cold War era were trained to load five rounds instead of six. This was to prevent accidental misfires.
I was not aware of that when I wrote this; I had the XM134 in my mind at the time.
Well said.
11885881
Ah, like how they did with revolvers of the Old West.
It was in a YouTube video I saw a while back. Showcasing an XM556 Microgun. But I can relate to going to the hand held M134.
Indeed.
11885885
Precisely.
I'll track down a video of this weapon.
But the first priority is stopping Opaline.
11885890
Not just her, also Boomer, Dictator hatt, and all their terroristic conspirators.
11885891
Indeed.