A/N: Well, this is a request for asperman1. There are warnings for this containing death, suicide, debateable ethics and spoilers for Shed 17, so if you haven't seen it and want to, don't read this. For those who have seen it, I apologise if I recount too much of it for your liking. Hope you enjoy!
...
It was Halloween on Sodor, and the engines were at Tidmouth Sheds were watching old horror movies. The Fat Controller had not been keen on the idea lest the engines become too scared to sleep and subsequently too tired to work, but after begging from the engines, their crews decided to try it.
So a friend of Percy's crew lent them a screen and a projector and so they watched the Ghostbusters movie – James had insisted on trying it, and they decided it would be a good laugh. They were all amused- even Gordon was, briefly. But they hadn't been scared witless at all.
Next, they watched a documentary on the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879. It did scare the engines when they saw the engine plunge into the sea below, and it frightened them even more when they later learned it was an actual historical event. But nevertheless, by the time the second film was finished, the engines wanted to watch one more movie. However, the crews were aware of the late hour.
But then Henry's driver came up with an idea.
"Well, I have a nephew who told me about this clip on you guys that he saw a few days ago." He told the engines. "A friend of his told him about it. It lasts only half an hour, but apparently it's very scary."
"Let's watch it!" James insisted, and the others agreed, all expressing their curiosity.
"Alright." They relented. "Seeing as you're so insistent. But don't blame us if you're so traumatised by it. We've all heard of it."
"We wouldn't!" The engines chorused.
So after a bit of fiddling, the crews all got the video set up. It was a video called 'Shed 17.' The engines shushed each other and settled down to watch.
...
It started in Nazi Germany about a scientist named Wilhelm Götze who fled to Sodor from Germany to protect his and his family's lives. They watched as Hans, Wilhelm's son, grew up and started Sodor Research, and then he started a family.
The engines were disturbed the second poor young Thomas Götze strayed onto the line and was suddenly killed by a speeding train. The speed of what had happened made them jump.
"Well, that was tragic." James remarked quietly.
The others were about to agree but turned pale when a stray limb landed beside the line. They all shuddered in unison.
Later, they were all disturbed when Thomas chuffed out of the mysterious 'Shed 17' and realised the little boy who had been killed by the train was now the tank engine everyone knew and loved.
Slowly but surely, they watched as more and more characters were bio fused, grimacing as experiments went wrong. Edward was alarmed when he was shown to spray blood from his whistle when he tried to blow it. James, on the other hand, wasn't worried about his role in the video, though he did complain about not getting a bigger part. They were also surprised to see that the Fat Controller was depicted in a very negative manner. He was given a new nickname, was a lot meaner, but they also saw that engines could actually go inside his office, due to a large opening and tracks running up to his desk.
"Imagine how cool it would be if we could do that." Henry remarked.
"That would be a very different experience altogether." Edward replied. "I've wondered what being inside buildings rather than sheds or stations."
"Thomas has done it once." Percy reminded them, smirking. This set the other two engines off and they ended up laughing to themselves.
"Percy, I wish you hadn't brought it up." Thomas said, glaring at his best friend, who just grinned cheekily.
"Shush! We're watching!" James hissed, and the friends ceased their conversation.
Things went relatively light hearted for the most part, in a dark kind of way, until they witnessed Gordon's trial run in Sodor Research. They were witnesses to the Fat Controller's depicted cruelty at blaming the team, even though it was his fault, heard how he refused to get help for Gordon and the workmen who injured and they were scarred mentally at watching their proud and dignified friend experience extreme pain from being cooked alive before bursting into a ball of bloody blue flames. They all squirmed at how Harold met his end. Poor Percy was even more traumatised by that than even watching his own face fall off in a bloody fashion.
They watched in silent disbelief as Henry was used to clear up Gordon's remains and dumped them in the sea. Gordon couldn't tell if that was worse than being threatened the same fate by Ben, one of the tank engine twins. They were confused when Henry accidentally discovered Shed 17, but nothing was revealed. Later, Henry got the Flying Kipper, but no one was surprised at how it was said to be a killer train.
"Well, with all the stuff that's happened, it doesn't surprise me that's how they're depicting it." Henry complained.
They all agreed that the Kipper was a menace, and continued watching.
Soon enough, Henry met his fate, and the engines were horrified at Henry's gruesome death. But his last words to Thomas had inspired the little tank engine on a quest.
After that, no one paid much attention until they all suddenly heard the words 'not who he was, but rather, who he wasn't.' But they later regretted watching the end, especially Thomas.
...
At the end of the video, the engines didn't know what to say. They all had mixed reactions to it.
"Well, that was...interesting." Edward mused. "I thought the whole bio fusion process was intriguing... though watching me spurt blood from my whistle is unsettling."
"That video was scary!" Percy squeaked. "I'm not watching that again!"
"Me neither." Gordon told him. His face was pale, and he looked like he would be sick, if he could. "I didn't enjoy watching myself going up in flames. I mean, I exploded into a ball of blue fire!"
"And I was scrapped!" Henry wailed.
"Hey cut that out!" James snapped. "I didn't think there was much wrong with it. Weird, yes, but at least someone tried to think how we exist!"
"You're just saying that because nothing bad nothing happened to you in that!" Thomas protested. "I turned into...I don't even know what that was! But it was horrific!"
"Well, we did warn you." Henry's driver said.
"In that case, we better head home." Sidney Hever, Edward's fireman replied.
No amount of begging would persuade the crews to stay, so the engines were soon left alone in the sheds once their crews had disappeared into the distance. Even when they had gone, the engines were silent for a long time.
"So how do you think we came to be in existence?" Henry asked hesitantly.
"Who knows?" Edward replied. "No one really knows how we came to be..."
"What about the Thin Clergyman and his son? They might know." Percy suggested.
"And how are we going to ask them that? The Thin Clergyman's gone, and his son's not on Sodor." Thomas reminded his best friend.
"Oh..."
"How will we find out then?" James demanded. "I mean, we can't just leave our existence be ignored!"
"Well, we may have to. Humans have never been able to work out what the meaning of their existence is. Why will we be any different?" Gordon said.
"At any rate, it looks like Lady's gold dust wouldn't answer our questions." Thomas sighed shakily. "Well, we'd better get some sleep."
Ending the conversation on tribulations, the engines all wished each other goodnight and went to sleep, although Shed 17 and the questions of their existence still lingered in their subconscious...