They all arrived in Boston a few hours later and hid throughout most of the day, the few remaining steam engines there were kind enough to hide them in the sidings there. Diesels rolled along past them, doing their old jobs and growling loudly. All the engines sunk low and tried to let their frames shiver violently. Gordon however, stood firm and watched the diesels, ever since the previous night, he was examining the diesels more closely. They were all just doing their work. Some even greeted others as they went past with a goods or a passenger train. Gordon thought carefully about these diesels and how they were just engines just like them.
It was late evening when the crews came back and steamed them all up for the next part of the trip. They all fired them up, checked if anything was wrong in their systems, and refueled them with coal and water. Gordon was being inspected by Matt and was soon heading over to the water tower. "There are little coal hoppers and water towers now," sighed Matt, "most are out of order, hopefully we find a good place that has these resources before day breaks."
Gordon agreed with that. "A proper railway should have coal and water stations," he muttered under his breath.
"Well, we're not on a proper railway anymore Gordon." Papyrus puffed past his older brother, something which Lucy had said to Gordon last night made him chase after him. Matt leaped back.
"Oi! Gordon!" he yelled. This caught Papyrus' attention and he looked back to see Gordon puff up next to him.
"What is it?" he asked, stopping to allow his brother to come up next to him.
"Papyrus," said Gordon slowly, "I just want to talk to you."
"About what? Do you have a plan for us to get out of here and back on our designated route to Thesang? Cause if not--"
"Oh please," said Gordon, "I just want to talk to my brother that is all!"
Papyrus looked over, with a questionable look at him. "I remember it being the other way once," he said.
"Indeed," Gordon said, a small smile coming across his lips, "you would just love to see me move around the yard. Good times they were."
"Yes... a long time ago."
An awkward pause came between the two brothers. "The diesels from last night," said Papyrus, "do you trust them?"
Gordon thought briefly. "I know Edward is currently safe on Thesang," he replied, "and that diesel knew him well. I think I do trust them."
"You sound surprised."
"That's because I am!" Gordon said, a little stunned, "they weren't brooding, horrid, arrogant diesels, they were treating us like equals. They were treating us with respect. They were... helping us."
Papyrus scowled at that. "Either that or they tried to take us of course on purpose," he said, "give the Warclaws time to track us down."
"Well... they knew something only Edward and Thomas really know," said Gordon, "well... the only ones still alive to tell the tale."
Papyrus remembered what Gale had said to them and for the first time in a long while, he chuckled lightly. "So... you ran yourself all the way to the Furness Railway?" he said, "so that's why they call you Gordon on Sodor? To numb your ego?"
At first, Gordon's cheeks went red, and was about to retort, but he stopped himself and groaned. "Yes," he mumbled, "that was the case. I don't know why that diesel was told that story by Edward. What was his name... Gale right?"
"...He had a name?"
"Yes... he said it when introducing himself."
Papyrus' smile faded and he looked unbothered. "I did not know diesels gave themselves names. Ever heard of a diesel who gave themself a name?"
"Yes I have in fact," Gordon interjected, "the Fat Controller gave a name to a diesel railcar who came to look after Thomas' work. Then when Edward left another diesel came to look after his work."
Gordon felt like he said too much, as his brother's eyes darkened at hearing them. "You mean two diesels are on your railway? Looking after two of your friend's work?" he said.
"Indeed," said Gordon, not sure of what Papyrus was getting at.
His brother then snarled. "And you're gone too," he sighed, "looks like the third replacement will be coming after you now."
"Third... replacement?" Gordon repeated, "no Papyrus, you got it all wrong! Daisy and BoCo are only working as substitutes until Thomas and Edward get back!"
"But they have been brought by your Fat Controller, haven't they?" scowled Papyrus, "they will not go anywhere and Thomas and Edward haven't been ordered to go back yet!"
Gordon paused for a moment. "The Fat Controller would never--"
"Oh, I believe he wouldn't," Papyrus cut in, "it's when he's under pressure, it's when he's out of his office, then the actual replacement will happen. Then you won't be safe." Papyrus left Gordon on his own. Gordon thought carefully about what his brother had said to him, it made horrifyingly sense, but it did not sound right at all at the same time.
Papyrus moved up the yard, passing Hector and Gregory and stopping in front of their previous shed mate. "You there," he said, "Jamison, is it?"
Jamison perked up. "Yes sir!" he called, "I would bow to you ya, but ya see, I am a loco... but what can I do for a fashionable locomotive like yourself!"
"I need you to scout up the line ahead, check if there's any clear lines or any threats that could put this operation in jeopardy," ordered Papyrus, rolling his eyes at Jamison's words, "come back to me and report to me when needed, but you are allowed to do any methods necessary if you see a threat."
"Yes sir!" said Jamison, and he puffed off, proud to do that task given to him.
Another engine nearby looked over to Papyrus worriedly. "Are you sure about... him?" she asked, "he seems a bit... crazy."
"Sometimes you need crazy," huffed Papyrus, and he headed off. Gregory, who had watched the whole scene, puffed over to the other engine. She was an Atlantic, with a familiar build to the Great Northern C1 class. But what differentiated her from that class was her running board. This was an H2 class from the old LBSCR.
"I've only known Jamison for a few weeks," said Gregory, getting the Atlantic's attention, "he's... a bit crazy I will say."
"You're telling me," huffed the Atlantic, "I'm all for saving the lives of engines, but he's a risk to take."
"Well... as long as he does not have any fuel tankers with him, we'll be fine," said Gregory in amusement.
The Atlantic chuckled at that. "I'm Eileen," she greeted warmly, "and you are?"
"Gregory," smiled the O2.
Hector puffed into view and glared hard at the other engine. Eileen raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing he's your overprotective brother?"
"Yes..." huffed Gregory, "overprotective is the word. This is Hector."
Hector did not say, he just continued to glare at the other engine. Eileen still had her eyebrow raised. "I leave you two alone," she said. This time, Gregory looked over to Hector with a sharp glare.
"What?" asked Hector.
"Nice going, we can at least make allies here," he said, "but no, you have to frighten everyone here!"
"I am only protecting you from these thugs," Hector murmured under his breath.
"And these thugs are the only thing that is keeping us alive," snapped Gregory, "say what you will about them, but for goodness sake, stop brooding and glaring at everyone like they are a threat. You might as well be a Warclaw."
With that, Gregory moved off, Hector stayed, but his glaring stopped though as he looked at his buffers. His brow softened for a moment, until after a few seconds, he blinked and got back to his usual self. "I do brood," he brooded to himself, and he followed Gregory once again.
***
Jamison puffed down the line, he looked at all the houses and eyed anything that looked suspicious to him. Then again, anything would be suspicious to him. "Do ya see anything driver?" he asked.
"Not much," replied the man inside his cab, "but my old eyes aren't that good nowadays."
Suddenly, a diesel horn was heard from behind him "Oh poody woody," said Jamison, "SCATTER!" He then rushed down the line and onto another track, hiding behind a line of trucks. The diesel raced past, not hearing or seeing Jamison. It then continued on down the track and then change over to some points. Jamison's eyes widen and his jaw dropped as he saw where the diesel had gone.
"The diesel hive," he whispered in awe.
"That's a shed full of diesels," huffed his driver. It was, diesels were all huddled into one massive shed. There must've been double the amount of them in there than steam engines, all fast asleep though. Thankfully. Jamison breathed a sigh of relief when seeing this, he did not want to get caught by at least fifty diesels.
"We better go back and warn Papyrus," advised the driver, "he'll know what to do."
Jamison huffed once again. He then looked dully at the trucks that he hid behind and his eyes widened, his frown turned upside into bubbly excitement. "I've got an idea!" he gasped. The driver turned to see the trucks and saw what they were.
"No," he said firmly, "that isn't a good idea Jamison!"
"The diesels are a threat," said Jamison, as he backed up out of the siding to head into the other one, "Papyrus says stop a threat at all costs. So we might as well take them all out!"
He then switched sidings and buffered up to the fuel tankers. "Time to give them... an explosive time!" he cackled.
***
As the engines all gathered up, Gordon puffed up to Gregory and Hector. "Is everything alright?" he asked.
Gregory looked at his brother briefly. "Yeah," he replied, "I think everything is fine. You, however, don't look okay."
"What gives you that impression?" Gordon questioned, a little puzzled.
"Brothers can be exhausting," sighed Gregory, looking at Hector specifically. Hector looked back, then rolled his eyes and looked away again.
"Papyrus is a bit rough around the edges," said Gordon, "but it has been a while, and our siblings have been... scrapped. But I can talk to him about calming down a bit, reassure the others, and get you all to Thesang with no more hiccups."
"Better do it soon," said Gregory, "because I don't think-"
There was a loud, and almighty bang, it shook the ground, the rails vibrated and Matt, who was in Gordon's cab grabbed hold of something to keep himself steady. "What was that?" cried out Lucy.
Gordon looked up and then saw red, orange and yellow lighting coming from above. He had never seen something like... not since the war. His eyes widen in shock as he knew what that was. "An explosion?" he said, not sure whether to believe it himself. He then puffed off quickly to the source of the location.
"Gordon! Wait!" cried out Gregory, all the other engines watch in terror as Gordon plunged down the line and hurried to the scene. He exited the yards and went down the mainline for a brief while until at last, he came to the scene and his jaw dropped.
A shed was lit up, in flames as hot fire created havoc around the area. What was inside, were burning diesels, some of their engines were still exploding. None had survived it. All the while, Jamison stood in front of the scene, watching.
"What in god's name happened?" shouted Gordon, he looked over at the tender engine. He didn't look back though... just stared into the flames of the sheds, in awe of his work. The big engine gritted his teeth angrily. "Tell me god dammit!"
The engine slowly formed a small smile as he continue to watch the flames consume the rest of the shed as the objects inside melted away.
"Jamison."
Gordon looked back to see Papyrus arrive and run between the two engines, a few of the other steam engines came too. Looking at the scene in awe and shock. Papyrus glanced over to his brother, then looked down at Jamison with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?" he said in a dark voice.
The engine finally stopped looking at the flames and up at the Doncaster Pacific, he then smirked triumphantly. "As you can see," he said, "I just blew a shed up!"
A few gasps and whispers came from behind from hearing the confession. Papyrus wheeshed steam, calming them down. The flames continue to cackle and fume, stopping the silence from happening. "Explain yourself," Papyrus said.
"Why should I?" said Jamison, "there were diesels in there! I had to get rid of them somehow!"
"You shoved fuel tankers into that shed!" Gordon called out, "that is murder!"
Jamison stared at Gordon for a moment, then made an unimpressed face, rolled his eyes, and went back to looking at his chaos in wonder. A deep sigh came out of Papyrus, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, opening them to see the burning shapes inside the sheds. The burning light reflected in his purple eyes. "Let's move," he said, "someone would've notified the authorities."
As he began to reverse, Gordon paused, his brow crinkled into confusion. "Excuse me?" he said.
"We all must keep on moving Gor--"
"No," Gordon cut in, looking back at his brother, "we're just going to leave those engines in there?"
"They're not real engines Gordon."
"And you're not a real engine if you let this slide!"
Papyrus stopped, then moved back up next to the big engine. "What's actually wrong here Gordon?" he said calmly, "a shed is on fire and that will gain the attention of bystanders, they won't see us leave, we have to use this fire to our advantage. But we have to be quick here."
Gordon tensed up, what was Papyrus talking about? Was he that oblivious to the real issue here? "That blasted engine just murdered those diesels!" he exclaimed, "and you're not punishing him!"
"There's no need to," said Papyrus, "Jamison did what was right."
Something hit Gordon inside his boiler, something hard that twisted his steam pipes. "What are you talking about Papyrus?" he asked, "this wasn't right at all! They weren't a threat."
"They could've been!" snapped Papyrus, "if they spotted us they would've told control, and control would get those blasted Warclaws to come after us and kill us! Jamison noticed them first and acted on what was right!"
"Acted on what was right?! They were not a threat!"
"YES, THEY ARE! ALL OF THOSE BLASTED SQUARE-SHAPED BRUTES ARE THE SAME! DEVIOUS, UGLY MURDERERS!"
Gordon moved back a little, shocked by what he said. He peered closely at Papyrus, he was angered and breathing heavily, his frames shuddering in unkept anger. "You don't know if that would've happened," murmured Gordon, "those diesels could've been the same as the ones we met last night."
"No they're not," said Papyrus, steam coming out of his cylinders, "none of them are trustworthy. They are all traitorous bastards."
The engines behind blinked and looked at each other in unified shock. Gordon also stared at Papyrus in disbelief. "What happened to you?" he whispered, "you're not the brother I remembered, you're not my brother. The Papyrus I knew would've made sure justice was served!"
Papyrus rolled his eyes in response, looking away in disappointment. "Some things change when mass murder is done to your fellow kind," he said solemnly, "I thought you would've understood that. After all, all diesels are ugly, smelly, and noisy, that betray you in a heartbeat."
Gordon looked away in shame, looking down at the rails. Another sigh came from Papyrus. "I am tired of this brother," he said, "of all us this death and betrayal... of all of this hope. All I want... is to just get these engines there... no matter how many diesels I have to scrap."
With that, the Pacific moved off, reversing from the destruction. "Let's move quickly," he called to the engines, "no more time is left, we'll get to the next quiet station. Move it!"
All the engines followed quietly, even Jamison stopped looking at his work to rattle away. A few went with a quiet agreement with Papyrus, others hesitated though, unknowing of what to do, looking at Gordon who stood there, none of them knew what he was going to do next. Angela looked at the sight pitifully and then looked back at Papyrus with an angered look. Hector and Gregory also stayed still longer than most. The older brother sniffed disapprovingly. "Exactly the way I thought it would go," he said to Gregory, "all of it becoming just fire and smoke and death."
He moved off, heading back to the mainline to follow the rest of the group. Gregory remained though, only a few did. Lucy, Eileen, and himself, waiting for Gordon to do something. But the big engine just stayed there, sitting and watching the flames.
"Why aren't you going?" asked Lucy.
"I want to follow someone who understands mercy instead of one that craves bloodshed on innocent engines," Eileen said quietly.
Gordon continued to stare at the scene that lay before. Processing what had occurred. He didn't understand it, the world, his brother, what was right...
But as he watched the corpses burn in the shed, Gordon knew he couldn't follow Papyrus... not after this... he couldn't. Sirens were then heard, stopping Gordon's chaotic thoughts stop. He immediately began to reverse once he realised he couldn't stay.
"What now?" asked Gregory, as the big engine came back.
"You join the others," Gordon said, "I can't travel with them any longer, I will continue to Thesang on my own, meet with Edward and Thomas and see if I can plan to get you all there as safely as promised."
"Who said you'll be going on your own," said Eileen, "I won't go with them either, they betrayed their own morals with delusions."
"I'll come with you as well," Lucy agreed, "I won't go with Papyrus, I don't think his mind is stable anymore."
They then all looked at Gregory, who gulped. "My brother..." he said slowly, looking back, "he's gone with the others."
"Hector is very capable Greg," said Lucy, "he'll be fine."
"You can come with us, but it's your choice," said Eileen, who smiled kindly at him. Gregory looked back, then returned to look at Eileen, Gordon, and Lucy. He then sighed deeply.
"Where shall we go?" he said.
Gordon began to reverse. "We go further back to the previous junction and take the other line, we'll get our surroundings in the morning," he explained, and the three engines followed him.
As they got to the points, leading back to the mainline, Gordon looked further along. All the engines had gone and followed Papyrus, even Hector had gone. Most likely not realising that Gordon and the rest of the other engines will not follow. It wouldn't matter, they'd be fine, they will only leave a trail of blood and scrap on their journey. Gordon looked at the darkness one last time, hesitating a bit, but then reversed, heading back to the previous junction, going through the city for a bit, with the lights reflecting on the rails. Gregory also hesitated, but looking at Eileen's comforting smile made him go on. The Southern Atlantic then followed with Lucy puffing backward as well.
The three other engines all had looks of hope to have a better run than with the intensity of Papyrus' group, but Gordon's face remained solemn and distant, still thinking about what Papyrus had said. He hadn't even said goodbye to him, because when they would next meet, the path Papyrus was taking would only form a shell of what he once was...