"You thought you could escape from me, you little hussy, huh?"

Misty suddenly shot up in her bed and looked around in confusion. "Huh? Who's there?"

But nobody replied.

Misty shrugged. "I was probably just hearing things." She lay back down. "I'll try and get some more sleep."

"I don't recall giving you permission to sleep, Misty."

Misty had barely any time to react before she was suddenly yanked forward, her eyes darting open as she was rudely jolted awake by whatever was going on.

Her eyes focused in on the last figure she had wanted to see here.

"Honestly, did anybody ever teach you any manners, Misty? Look somebody in the eye when they are talking to you!"

Misty blinked in horror at who was standing there. The same scorched armour. The helmet which hid part of her face. The gauntlets which seemed to crackle with energy that flowed through energy cables. "Opaline?"

"No, Donald Duck," Opaline replied. "Who do you think, Misty?"

Misty tried to scramble backwards, but the woman's grip was too strong. "N- no! How can you be here?"

"Some things are just best left unexplained," Opaline smiled, as she continued to hold Misty in a vice like grip. "Now then, you running away from me like that caused me a lot of bother. And I don't like loose ends being unresolved. So, tell me... how have you been enjoying life in the sun whilst I rot in a prison cell?"

Misty's eyes went wide with horror. "How can you be here and there at the same time?" she asked, quietly.

"Am I really here?" Opaline asked. "You see, Misty, anybody who we encounter leaves an imprint on us in our lives. This imprint can be positive or negative, but you, unfortunately, betrayed me, and for that you will not be able to escape."

Misty tried to close her eyes as the painful memories of her life under Opaline started to flood back.

"YOU IMBECILE! Can't you do anything right?"

"I- I buried it in a place I could easily find it again, but it got moved and-"

"I've had enough of your excuses. You have messed up one too many times. You are on your last chance, Misty. If you fail me again, there's an orphanage with your name on it."

Misty's memories were suddenly interrupted by Opaline grabbing her again. "What did I say about looking somebody in the eye when they are talking to you?"

Misty's quietly whimpered. "This is all in my head..." she said quietly.

"Is it?" Opaline smiled, her grin spreading across her face like a demented Cheshire Cat. "Maybe this is all in mine. Perhaps you are a figment of my imagination."

Misty started to shuffle backwards to give herself more room between herself and Opaline, but her tormenter simply stepped closer. "You know, Misty, I'll always be a part of you. I was there through your formative years. I raised you, shaped you. You have nightmares of me. You cannot escape me, Misty! I'LL BE WITH YOU TO THE DAY YOU DIE!"

Opaline suddenly covered the ground with blinding speed towards the terrified girl. Misty, understandably, screamed and lunged back. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Her fist came not into contact with metal but what felt like a face, and suddenly the sounds around her started to shift. Misty slowly opened her eyes to see there was no sign of Opaline anywhere. Instead, Faven had stumbled backwards and had her hand over her nose.

Misty looked from Faven to herself, and saw her left hand was clenched into a fist. She'd just punched her own mother.

Misty looked up, fearful. "No," she said quietly, trying to hold back the tears. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

As Faven stepped closer, Misty shuffled back again. "I'll do what you want! PLEASE, JUST DON'T HIT ME!"

Faven stopped, her hand now down at her side. Instead of looking angry, she just looked utterly confused. "Misty, what made you think I'd hit you?"

"I thought everybody hit people when they were mad with them," Misty said. "That's what Opaline did."

"I'm more confused than anything else," Faven admitted. "You started screaming in the middle of the night and kept mentioning this Opaline person. Who is she?"

Alphabittle looked bitterly at her. "The very same person I've had to help her with this entire time. You'd know that if you hadn't left." He then walked away without saying another word.

Faven ignored him, and sat down next to Misty. "Come here, Misty," she said.

Misty bolted over with great speed and stopped. "Y- yes, ma'am," she said.

"I want you to explain to me who this Opaline is and what happened," Faven said calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I can't help you if I don't know what happened."

So, Misty told her as much as she remembered. Basically being used as a slave. Sent on spying missions. Not being fed properly and having to scavenge food from bins. Struggling with other problems. Stealing things for Opaline. Being thrown from a train and nearly dying as a result. And then the ongoing battles with Opaline.

Faven looked horrified when Misty had finished. "You really can't remember us at all?"

"No," Misty said. "I don't really know who I am. How can I when my mind is in such a mess?"

Faven stepped up for a moment, and turned towards the door. She seemed to be shaking.

Misty got up and walked over to try and figure out what was wrong. She soon got a clue. Her mother was crying, who then unexpectedly pulled her into a hug.

"Misty... what did Opaline do to you?"

Misty was silent for a moment, then replied. "What didn't she do?"

The next morning, work got underway on getting the plan into motion. Faven had powered up the Firebat, freshly refuelled and ready for combat, and used it to get Janet back on the rails. Once the stock from the crash had been dealt with, Alphabittle conducted checks on Janet and concluded she was safe to operate.

"Not sure that will fit in the cab," he said to Faven.

"I'll ride on the outside," she replied, hopping onto the cab steps and holding onto a grab handle. "This will secure me in place."

Once she was onboard, Alphabittle engaged a forward light, and Faven swung the light on the Firebat forward to illuminate the track ahead of them. Once the way was lit, they could proceed to the old coal mine.

The journey was tense and silent, with the trio looking about carefully for any threat from the treeline. Strange screams and loud noises echoed through the forest, undoubtedly belonging to those unfortunate enough to be infected with Swamp Fever.

"How much further to the coal mine?" Alphabittle asked.

"Only a few miles," Faven replied. "I assume this is as fast as we can go?"

"With how bumpy this track is, I daren't risk going any faster," Alphabittle answered. "If we derail again it'll slow us down on the move."

Misty continued to look ahead, her eyes still locked in a stare. How had this become her life? She'd never asked for this. Something in her simply craved a normal life- and the childhood Opaline had stolen from her. Even if the monster was rotting behind bars, nothing would ever give Misty those years back.

The journey continued with tension, the trio scanning about trying to find out where the enemy were. The train rattled along, the familiar rumble of a Class 37 engine sounding around the area as the train rumbled along. But at last they came closer to reaching the destination, and soon the fimilar pithead gear of a coal mine loomed into view.

The mine looked like it hadn't been maintained in many years. Structures were rusting and collapsing, and much of the landscape was covered in abandoned machinery.

That, and zombies. Lots of zombies.

"Keep Janet back," Faven said, hopping off the side of the engine. "I'll clear them out."

So she did, the Firebat's twin flamethrowers finishing them off with lethal efficiency. Misty had to cover her nose to deal with the consuming aroma of charred flesh and burning wood. Janet was moved into position and coupled to the tankers, and once the brake hoses were tied on they were on their way.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the destination. It was a small grove with a pond in the middle. The rear tankers had been opened to let fuel drain into the ground and give the region some greater combustability.

Unfortunately, it seemed their arrival was anticipated. A great force of the undead stood there, and above them levitated an eldritch monstrosity from nightmare itself.

"Nice to see you again, Faven," he said. "I thought you wouldn't be coming back."

"I have unfinished business with you," Faven replied. "This ends, now."

"Nothing ends whilst this forest stands," the figure said. "ATTACK!"

Author's Note

I doubt you were expecting to see Opaline again, but this sequence was intended as a reflection of a common symptom of abuse or trauma; seeing your abuser in different places (such as your nightmares, or unpleasant experiences being triggered by people who resemble them or places you associate with them). Cindy Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford, recalled for years after escaping from her mother that she had nightmares of the abuse she suffered. This also seems to have carried over into Tell your Tale; in the episode The Lone Alicorn Sunny has repeated PTSD flashbacks as a consequence of being back in Opaline's castle, and Emotional Rollercoaster reveals Misty has very low self-esteem-no doubt a consequence of Opaline belittling her for years.

But now we have seen the main villain, and it is time for the final battle to commence.