Sodor's New Worker (Semi-Hiatus Due to an AO3 rewrite)

Under The Veil

   Bonnie was hungry and tired. All she wanted to do that evening was make a cup of noodles, put an egg in it, and chow down. Maybe cuddle up with Duck if he was there.

   But no, what was there was a crowd of people and engines, hogging up her sheds. She heard whispers and mutters, but one voice stuck out more than the others.

   Puffing forward, she noticed Alfred in the middle of the crowd, smug as ever, preaching whatever nonsense he could fit in their smokeboxes.

"What...is going on." she muttered to Percy, who was the closest one she could access.

"Oh, Bonnie!" he whispered. "Hello! Uhm, Alfred's preaching some crud. Saying that one of us is an imposter. Dragging it out, won't exactly tell us who.."

"Who all is here? Clogging up my sheds. I want to go to sleep."

"Let's see..all of Tidmouth, Diesel Ten and his family. Arsenia, Jenny...Toby...all of the Little Western..I think Rosie and Travis are here?? I didn't see them, but Alfred sure tried to get them over here."

"So Duck's here?"

"He's in here somewhere. You know what he looks like. He's not that hard to spot."

"Mm." she grunted.

   Instead of looking for her boyfriend, she stayed inconspicuous, remaining next to Percy, listening to what this wretched B12 had to say for himself. 

"You all have been living with an impostor, right under your noses!" he preached, having that wicked smile on his face. "I knew you Sudrian engines were a naive lot...but not this bad."

"If you're not going to provide any context," she heard Duck huff. "Please get out of our sheds. Bonnie's due back any minute and I'm sure she's exhausted."

"Ah, our star.." Alfred laughed. "I'm sure she'd like to hear this too."

"Star?" Gordon questioned. "What, are you saying Bonnie is an impostor?"

"I might be."

"Now why would you go on and make lies up about someone you don't know?"

   From the crowd, she saw Gordon step toward the B12, looking very cross.

"As far as I know, that engine has done nothing to you." he bellowed. "You are just as bad as you were when I worked on the LNER. You always tried to make your way up top by whatever means necessary. You did it then, you did this to Henry, and now you're doing it to someone completely unrelated to you."

"Trust me, Gordon, that gnat is hiding much more than you could ever imagine.." he sneered. "She isn't who she says she is, but I know, I KNOW who she really is."

"Then what is she!?" Gordon yelled, with others chiming in, wondering what she truly was. "A BR Spy!? Her Radiance herself!? Because whatever it is, I'm sure it's not that important."

   Bonnie groaned to herself, just listening to the two former LNER engines bicker and banter about her. About their history together, about what he did to Henry. To just hear all the noise they made made her head hurt. She just wanted to eat something and go to sleep.

   She then caught eye contact with Duck, who tensed up the moment he saw her. Bonnie knew from the look on his face that she needed to get out of there.

'Go.' he mouthed. 'You need to leave. Now.'

   But she didn't care. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to know if that wretched excuse for an engine would really sell her out just because he could. After everything she willingly did, she was shocked to see him do this without being prompted.