Hello there, everyone. I am Edward, No. II of Sir Topham Hatt's engines, and welcome to the island of Sodor… At least, if it actually was the island of Sodor. Now, I know what everyone's thinking. "Edward, if this isn't set in Sodor, why's the title called, "A Sudrian Story"? Explain". Well, that's why I'm here for. Truth is, the island we're in is an artificial clone of Sodor. Why and how and when did the Fat Controller built all this? He never tells us these things until it's not only done but a couple of months after it has been finished. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. My friends and I are here to act as some sort of leader for countless engines from across the world. I am the leader of three engines, all of which are from Canada. If you asked me, I'd said that we should swap them around to ensure a fair chance. I'm not saying that they're weak or anything like there, I'm just saying that because of logic. I mean James has to deal with the Germans, and Thomas's stuck between the French. Not that much diversity if you take into consideration that we're dealing with only the Northern Hemisphere, the sole exception of Australia, and a majority of them are from Europe. Yeah, things ain't going to end well… I remember that day. The day where we got tricked and got sent to this miserable excuse of a Sodor replacement. And it all started out like this.
It was a fine summer morning, Percy have just returned from his night mail train service and Gordon's heading off to pull the express. At least, until the Fat Controller come around to Knapford Station and informed him that he's needed back at the sheds. Gordon returned, cross and impatient. Sir Topham then talk to all eight of us, with others who overheard the conversation.
"Alright, as you can tell. I have a couple of announcements to make. First, there's a competition going in the Mainland and I've managed to secure all eight of you a spot in it." All of us whistles like crazy until, "Silence!" The sheds went silence. "Anyway, where was I? Right. Because the competition's going to take a couple of days, someone will be doing your jobs. The ship leaves tonight, and I want you all to teach your temporally successors on how to manage your jobs correctly." He then walked away, leaving us to choice our apprentices.
"So, whose's picking who?" asked Percy.
"I'll go first." answered Thomas. "I'll take Stanley. Wherever he is."
"Hmm… Murdock can take my place." said Henry, with regards to The Flying Kipper.
"I got Mavis." chimed Toby.
"Neville's take my place" whistled Emily. "He'll take good care of my trains while I'm gone."
"Well I guess Conner and Caitlyn going to have to do." said Gordon. "They're the fastest engines that are capable of pulling Express. Aside from me." Gordon chimed in.
"I guess Charlie." said Percy. "But if she's not available, then Billy."
"James, aren't you going to choice?" I ask, cheerfully.
"I don't want to."
"Do it." I said, grudgingly.
"Ugh. If I'm going to have to choice, it'll be Arthur." said James. "I know he's trustworthy. Not to mention his spotless record."
"Um… Didn't he calmed down on that after that accident with the-"
"No one cares, Thomas. It's my choice, not yours." snapped the red engine.
"James. You got to control your temper." I said to him.
"I'm sorry, Edward. It's just that this is all sudden and I'm not ready to say goodbye to my coaches."
""Your coaches". You don't even have a particular coach as your favorite."
"Well… Edward, do you wanna be a great uncle?" Everyone gasped with shock on their face. "No? … Figures."
"And besides. This change isn't so sudden when you think about what's been happening the last couple of months.
"What do you mean?" said Percy.
"Well, Percy. Remember that night where instead of pulling mail train, you were pulling a heavy train with Rosie and Charlie to the docks."
"Yeah, what about it"
"Did you ask them what was in it?"
"I did. No one got a clue of what's in those crates."
"How about you, Henry? Instead of pulling fish train, you were pulling another heavy train with Murdock on the back, similar to Percy's."
"Yeah… Are you saying that Sir Topham is building something?"
"Yes. What exactly is belong my knowledge?"
"Maybe he's building an another engine." answered Percy.
"If that were the case, they would've been sent to the Steamworks, not the docks."
"I don't like where this is going." said Henry, nervously.
"You right, Henry. What our controller's doing behind our backs may not pleasant. Not to mention this "so-called" competition. We've already had the Great Race not too long ago, and none of our drivers nor our fireman have mentioned that such a competition would occur around this time."
"But what if it's true? We'll never know unless we do what he want to."
"Alright, see you all at the docks." I said, and we went off our merry way. The reason why I didn't choose anyone was because I was skeptical about this trip so I've went about the island and doing my usual jobs, while keeping a close eyes on every station. Each station I pass, there was no mention of a competition. When I ask each and every stationmasters, they all said the same thing. They don't informed about this competition, nor did they even knew the existence of it. Meanwhile, everyone have been guiding their replacements on how to do their jobs, which some fairer better than others. One more thing I forgot to mention was that at the back of the sheds, while we were talking about the trip, a number of engines overheard. I couldn't exactly say they were, nor how we notice them. But among them were Rosie and Molly. They were not only puzzled by this arrangement but were also saddened by the news, as they wouldn't be seeing us for a long time. And what they did will be something that will most likely bite themselves back in their tenders.
Anyway, later on that day, after we have finished giving our successors some levels of knowledge on our jobs, we've went to the docks, where Cranky lift us all onto a ship. It was a strange one, something you see like from the olden days, as well as vaguely looking like a pirate. Like always, Salty laments that he isn't on it 'cause he would be a great captain. Not that I'm complaining. Now, remember what I said about our friends doing something reckless. Well, they decided to get on a ship as well. The problem was that not only did it sustained massive damage over the years, but it also had an intoxicated crew at the time. And due to that among other reasons, only a few could come abroad. They followed us from a distance for a couple of hours before mysteriously disappearing. I could only hope that they're alright. Eventually, we engines grew impatiently and started to tell tall tales, especially me. It should be noted that we increasingly became skeptical of the event as it shouldn't take this long to get to the Mainline. Finally, when it was nighttime, we doze off to sleep one-by-one. When we woke up, the unthinkable happen.
"Cinders and Ashes!" Exclaimed Thomas.
"What?" Shouted Gordon. "I- I can't-"
"*Yawn* What are you two yapping about?" asked Emily, who was rudely woken up.
"Um… Guys." shuttered Percy. "Why are we back at the docks?" Some of us were confused and some of us were cross.
"Alright, what's the meaning of this?" rebutted James. "I was supposed to get an award to put at my brith, not go back empty-handed."
"Now, now, James. Perhaps there's a reason why we're back at the island…" It was then I noticed that something was off with the dock. "With no Cranky, no Carla, no Salty…"
"What is going on?" Said Toby as he slowly wakes up.
"We've been tricked." Said Henry.
"Nonsense." Said a familiar voice. "You are not tricked. There's an award for each and everyone of you."
"Then where is it, sir."
"It's over by the sheds."
"Hey, Edward." said James.
"Yeah." I replied.
"I don't think this is Sodor."
"Well, you don't say."
"I mean, there's no Cranky nor Carla. I mean how do you hide two crane in a dock of of all places."
"Now, listen Jame- Wait. Why does it feel like we're dropping below sea level?"
"That's because you are." Said Sir Topham Hatt. Then everyone quickly panicked. "SILENCE!" The engines still persisted to whistled like hell just broke loose. "Welp, I wanted to warn them. Time to enjoy some desserts." And he jump off the sinking ship, with all of us still panicking. Eventually, we all calm down, aside from James. We quickly devise a highly complicated plan to not only stop the ship from sinking but also get us out of here. Until we had enough of James's screaming and kick him off the boat, which then sparked a simpler solution of jumping off the ship, with minor injuries. There, we gave a chase towards the shed. With every station we passed, we notice more and more of the differences. Not only were the stations deserted with no one around, there was these awful noises that sound like something out of a horror film. It felt like a ghost town. However, when we reach the shed, we were greeted by a multitude of engines, none of which we're ever seen before.
"Ah. You've made it in a nick of time." Said the Fat Controller.
"You left us for dead!" Shouted James, who whistled angrily.
"Now listen, James. If you had been clever, you would've figure out that there was a button that could stop the sinking, as well as a ramp to help you on the way down." We couldn't have been more embarrassed. "Now, where was I? Oh yes. These are your rewards." We looked at the new engines, puzzled. "You have been tasked to take care of these international engines from around the world."
"But aren't most of them from Europe-"
"SILENCE!"
He sure does love to repeat that line, James whispered to himself.
"Anyway, I'll put you all in charge of a group of three engines. Thomas, you'll take the French. Edward, the Canadians are your service. Henry, the Finnish engines will be by your side. Gordon, treat your Italian comrades with respect. James, you have taken the Germans."
Why am I in charge of these Jerries, James thought to himself.
"Percy, don't get stuck between Poland now. Today, the Spaniards have come to your aid. And Emily… Good luck with the Aussies!" Said Sir Topham as he left us all to deal with these engines. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly proud of my group at first. Don't get me wrong, I did appreciated their efforts from time to time, but they can be a little too normal for my liking. But hey, at least they got their independence the correct way, amirite?
Not exactly.
Shut up, stupid James that suddenly appeared in my writing. Get out of my journal!
Fine… It's not like you're using this place for much anyway. *Leaves*
*Pauses for a couple of seconds* Moving on. Let's get on with the engines I've been assigned to deal with. The first one is a Canadian National Class X-10-a, named Aurora. To be honest, when I first heard her story, I couldn't be more angry at at Interstate Commerce Commission, or ICC. To elaborate, she was to be the first locomotive to run as a Steamtown excursion locomotive, and was intended to become the primary excursion power. Unfortunately, the ICC denied her boiler certification, and what's more worst is that her maintenance records have been lost in a roundhouse fire in Canada, so the only way to verify her boiler condition was to give her an expensive overhaul. She was sadly put on static display for many decades until somehow, Sir Topham Hatt got his hands on her and gave her a complete overhaul and was given a second chance at being really useful. She runs the Passenger train now, as well as the occasionally goods train. Surprising, she's pretty calm about all of this, not even feeling angry at the people who indirectly caused her to be static for so many years. Then again, she did made a couple of friends, who unfortunately couldn't find their happy ending like she did. Not that being on display is wrong, but at least you can be given a second chance at being very useful.
On to the the second one, a CN E-10-a, named William. Most of his career on Canadian Nationals is unknown; when ever he is asked about it, he changes the subject almost immediately. He was purchased by steam engine collector F. Nelson Blount, and continue operations on Green Mountain Railroad. He quickly became his favorite engine and would often be found at the throttle until his passing in 1967. Then, he was sold to the Strasburg Rail Road, but was stranded when Hurricane Agnes caused the Susquehanna River to flood much of the area. William spent several days submerged in the rail yard but emerged with little to no damage. Physically, I meant to say. Mentally, not so much. He's now the case of good old PTSD when it comes to hurricanes and the like. In his time on Strasburg, Pennsylvania, he've had a relationship with an PR D16sb, who he referred to as Angel. He would speak highly of her, often telling us stories of him, Angel and the other engine who worked on their railway. If you ask me, I'd say he's homesick.
The last one, Noah, is a CN O-18-a. Nothing much can be said about his time with Canadian National Railway, as he was kind of like your average joe. He was spared scrapping after his retirement and was sold to Canada Dominion Sugar for additional years of service, followed by the Ontario government for a failed project, and then by Dwight Smith on founding the Conway Scenic Railroad. Wow, he's pretty popular around Canada… Anyway, Noah was the only engine in its earlier years, so he must be pretty lonely and was desperate for making friends when new ones arrive. Nowadays, he operates mid-September and October seasons only, for special passenger trains. He used to run during summer months, but it stopped abruptly. Out of all the three engines, Noah's a combination of the other two. Like Aurora, he is pretty indecisive and wants to make friends, but he doesn't go around moping about his fate nor is he shy. Like William, he takes pride in his work and doesn't try to take any shortcuts unless he has to, but he's not rude nor is he self-absorbed. At least, not as self-absorbed as Gordon or William. Did you know that he was once in a relatively obscure movie? Who knew.
Anyway, when we were done with our usual work, we've returned to our sheds over in Wellsworth, which now have five births instead of two as well as a turntable. Now much money and time did our controller have to do all of this! I mean, come on! If you want to change the sheds into something more comfortable, then why not make Tidmouth sheds into Tidmouth City for crying out loud. 'Cuse my manners. Now, where were we? Oh, the first one to speak up was…
"Ugh. I cannot believe we have old slow coach here bossing us around. If I was captain, we would get things done much more quickly!" Said William.
"Oh, really. Then why were you late to pick up your passengers at Knapford?" Said Aurora.
"Because someone was in my way."
"Well, it's not my fault that I was too busy talking with the other engines." Retorted Noah.
"And that's why you should've stay behind and had Angel taken your place."
"Oh, it's about Angel, isn't it. Well, why don't you go ahead an-"
"Knock it off you two! We are here for a reason." I said to them.
"Yes, it is to get some shut-eye!" And William quickly slept without another word.
"Rude…"
"You can say that again. What are we going to do tomorrow, Edward?"
"I honesty don't know. Usually, the Fat Controller tells us on what jobs we do in the morning."
"Oh, alright then…" And everyone went asleep. Well, all except for me. Like I said earlier, I was skeptical about this island. I mean, it's just so close to the real Sodor, but at the same time, isn't. So, without making a sound that could wake them up, I chuffed off into the night, hoping to get some answer. It was… mostly uneventful to say the least. All I saw was some of the other groups doing their own tasks. You know, Percy's mail train, Henry's Flying Kipper, some engines running away from an engine disguised as a ghost, and so on. However, there was this one incident. At a level crossing near Suddery, I saw some steam puffs and a show of an engine behind a number of trees. When I came over to there, they were gone. I swear I thought I saw something. However, the shadow surely didn't belong to my friends or the other engines. It was all box-like. Regardless, I was tired and decided to turn back to the sheds, only for Noah to be watching some crackhead get into a fistfight on Disneyland of all places while William complained about not getting sleep like usually. Thankfully, no one ask what I was doing. Not that no one seem to notice I was gone. They seem to be having their own feud. Eventually, William had enough and broke the TV, and everyone went to sleep, for real this time.
Inside a dim office, the Fat Controller was on his desk when two men enter the scene.
"Sir," said a voice, "We have the items you so desired."
"Good…" Said the Fat Controller. "Put them over there." One of the men disposed the box on the man's desk. "They will be of use in time. Now go fetch me the others. I've like to have a few words with them."
The two men left, as another set of two males enter the office.
"Look, if you're talking about what happen with the ship, we're fixing it up."
"And you better. But, I'm not here to talk about that." The two men looked on with curiosity. "I'm here to talk about this…" The screen on his desk was turned on as the footage rolls. Near the Suddery level crossing, there was a yellow box-like engine who quickly puffed away. "Care to explain."
"Um… I don't know to be honest with you, sir."
"Same here. They're not in our list."
"Then get them out of the island. If they know about our plans, we're done for."
"Yeah, boss." Enraged by being called boss, the Fat Controller leap over his desk and hold the man at the choker.
"Call me boss one time, and you'll be punished severely."
"Yes, sir. S-Sorry sir." Said the frightened man. "Say, what ever happen to him? You know, the one you-"
"He's gone now. I've put him in a place no one will ever find him."
Inside a ship heading towards India, there was a crate jumping about, causing all sort of confusion. Eventually, one of the crewman decided to open up the crate and out came Sir Topham Hatt, all tied up and was in a poor condition.
"I need to go to Sodor, and tell the others…"
"Tell the others what, sir?"
"My engines are in danger."
Author's Note: And so, this is the start of a very convoluted story that will makes the entire Kingdom Hearts lore look coherent in comparison. I can alrighty tell how poorly this will end, but hey. What am I to change my fate? If you like it, leave a review. If you absolute hate it with a burning passion, please make an essay out of it. I would love to heard it. As well as the usual criticism that I might take into consideration when creating the next chapter (which could be around mid-July).