Fractured

…

Alternate turn to the movie 'The Adventure Begins'

To: Goldsaddletank,
you are truly amazing, sis! Half of my stories wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for you!- this one included!

Notes: also, I know that he wasn't in the movie, but I'm adding Toby.

…

The Express thundered down the line one sunny and warm day on the Island of Sodor. Pulling said train was Gordon, the big No4 engine. He was soaring down the main line faster than he had ever been before- he was happier than ever as well.

As well as the big train that he was pulling, Gordon was also pulling a very much cherished addition: Thomas.

Thomas, a small E2 No1 tank engine, only just a few days ago, had arrived on Sodor, and he did not have a very good relationship with Gordon to say the least. The blue engines seemed to have an unspoken rivalry between them.

That could be proven because every time Thomas saw Gordon taking a nap, he would blow his whistle, and yell in a cheeky voice, 'Wake up, lazybones!'

Well, Gordon had had enough, and he decided to take his revenge.

He now had Thomas hooked up behind the Express, and was forcefully pulling the blue engine down the line.

Thomas absolutely hated it. He had never gone this fast, his wheels were aching oh so terribly, and- was that cracking under him he could hear?

He didn't have time to ponder the sound he heard beneath him.

"Stop! Stooop!" He cried out in pain.

Gordon only laughed. "Come on! Keep up!" He called to the small E2 engine.

Each time Thomas would cry out, Gordon would only laugh, and, it would seem to Thomas, that Gordon would speed up.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Gordon laughed as he kept going.

Thomas felt like crying- he was out of breath, and just wanted to stop. Suddenly, he saw Edward, his mentor and friend, coming towards them on the opposite track, pulling a freight train.

Despite knowing that he couldn't do anything, Thomas called for the older blue engine.

"Edward!" He called out, drawing out his call as he passed him.

Edward screeched to a stop as he heard the young blue engine call for him. "Thomas?!" He called out in worry.

But, Thomas didn't hear his mentor's concerned cry. He was forced to go on.

He was still suffering.

He felt as though he was going to black out- he could feel his boiler running out of water quickly, the pain in his wheels was past unbearable, and he could still hear the cracking below him.

Finally, Gordon, the Express, and Thomas, reached their final destination: Wellsworth Station.

Gordon braked just as the clock reached 8:17a.m.

"Oh, yes!" Gordon smirked, happy that he made it on time- as always, he would say to himself.

Thomas was panting and gasping in pain and loss for breath, as he was finally uncoupled from the Express.

He whimpered as he tried his best to back away- he was extremely thirsty, and his wheels were hurting so bad…

"Ha!" Gordon laughed. "Well, little Thomas! Now you know what hard work is like, don't you?!" He laughed as he steamed away with the Express full of passengers behind him.

Thomas didn't answer- he couldn't. His eyes were clenched shut as he fought desperately not to sob.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open as he heard a loud 'CRACK!' from underneath him. He screamed in pain as the loud cracks kept coming, and the pain in his wheels increased.

"Thomas!" His driver yelled in fear and concern.

"What's wrong?!" His fireman asked.

There was one more, final 'CRACK!' and then, Thomas screamed once more as he started falling over, and landed on the track on his side, with a loud 'THUD!'

His driver and firemen luckily jumped away before they were harmed. Quickly, they ran back to their engine, to see what happened.

Their eyes widened in horror, and they covered their mouths to silence their cries.

The reason Thomas fell over, was because his wheels- broke.

His wheels were now slowly crumbling to pieces, off of Thomas, and onto the track below him. Thomas' driver and fireman both breathed deeply before they started to scream for help, uncertain of what to do.

Through it all, Thomas was screaming and crying in pain. This pain was excruciatingly unbearable.

Then suddenly-

"Thomas!"

Thomas tried his best to open his eyes to that familiar and comforting voice, but he couldn't.

"E-Edward…" Thomas whimpered.

Edward quickly steamed over to Thomas, in complete shock. There was his mentee, laying on his side with his wheels… crumbling to pieces.

"Oh my gosh Thomas!" Edward cried out in horror. "What- what happened?!"

Before Thomas could even try to answer, Edward heard a familiar jingle. He looked away from the fallen engine, to see Toby steam over to them with Judy and Jerome.

"Toby!" Edward bawled in relief.

Toby stared at Thomas in dismay. "Oh gosh…"

Workers quickly got to work, wrapping chains around Thomas, but being gentle, because it seemed that every time they touched Thomas, he would cry in pain.

"Have you got him at the front there, Judy?" Jerome asked.

"Yes Jerome, ready to lift!" Judy replied.

"Me too!" Jerome said as he and Judy began to lift Thomas off the side of the track.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Thomas cried in fear and pain.

Jerome chuckled a bit. "You're alright, you're alright!"

"We've got you!" Judy reassured.

Then Thomas' driver came up to a worker, a troubled expression on his face. "It seems that we won't be able to put Thomas on a flatbed." He said. "His wheels…"

The worker nodded. "I know. It looks like we'll have to crane lift him to the Steamworks. But first, we need to grab Thomas' wheel pieces."

Everyone nodded, and then Thomas' driver, fireman, and a few other workers started gathering the broken pieces.

About ten minutes later, when all the pieces were gathered, a workman nodded. "Let's go." He said.

Toby jingled his bell in acknowledgment, then slowly chuffed forward, pulling Judy and Jerome, heading to the Steamworks.

Edward followed on the track next to Thomas so he could talk to the small engine.

"Gordon did it Edward…" Thomas whimpered. "But it was all my fault!" He sobbed. "If- if I hadn't teased Gordon so much, and just left him alone, this never would have happened!" He wept. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never talk to Gordon again!" Thomas sobbed.

Edward didn't know what to say. Thomas was right- if he hadn't teased Gordon, this wouldn't have happened. But at the same time, it was also Gordon's fault. He had decided to force Thomas along the line to apparently teach him a 'lesson'. And look what happened.

Edward weeshed angrily at this thought. "Thomas..." He said soothingly. "Thomas, look at me." He said.

After a few moments, Thomas opened his teary eyes to look at his mentor.

"You are right." Edward said. "If you hadn't teased Gordon, this wouldn't have happened. But, it's also Gordon's fault as well." He said.

Thomas looked at him, wanting him to continue.

Edward sighed. "It was Gordon's choice to pull away before you could be uncoupled. It was Gordon's choice to force you along the line, and not slow down, but instead to speed up when you begged him to stop." He said.

"I can understand him wanting to teach you a lesson to not wake him up anymore, but to do this- to make you go so fast to the point where your wheels break, and leave you in unbearable pain, is not a lesson." Edward said firmly. "It wasn't just your fault."

Thomas sniffed, and tried his best to make a noise that indicated that he understood, but instead, he only cried out in pain.

…

When they reached the Steamworks, Victor and Kevin were appalled at Thomas' condition.

"Who are you, young friend?" Victor asked as he slowly approached Thomas.

Thomas looked away as he cringed in pain. "T-Thomas…" He mumbled. "I just arrived on Sodor a few days ago…"

"What happened to you?" Kevin asked.

Thomas whimpered. "I… I was forced to go down the main line while coupled up to the Express a-and…" But he was cut off.

"Gordon did this to you!?" Victor asked in shock.

Thomas looked back at him, surprised. "You know him?" He asked.

Kevin sighed. "Of course. Everyone knows Gordon."

"I knew that he was capable of doing nearly anything he wanted but… to do this…" Victor gasped.

Thomas' fireman shook his head. "That's beside the point." He said. "Victor, do you have any replacement wheels for an E2 engine?" He asked.

The Cuban engine reversed and looked around the Steamworks with his workers help to see if they had any wheels for Thomas.

A few minutes later, Victor came back, a sad expression on his face. "No, I am afraid we don't have any wheels like that."

"Then what are we going to do?" Edward asked.

Then a man with black hair and grey eyes stepped forward. "We can glue Thomas' wheels back together." He said.

"How long will that take?" Thomas whispered.

"About two months." The man replied.

"Two months?! Edward gasped.

"It's the only thing we can do." He said.

Thomas sighed. "Ok… ok, do it." He said.

Victor blew his whistle. "Just a moment, now." He said. "Now, as you all know I am manager of the Steamworks. So it's my job to know everything about a new engine, like a doctor with his patient." He said. "Now, Thomas. I know you are an E2 engine, who just arrived here a few days ago, but I need to know one more thing. How old are you?"

Thomas gave a pained smiled. "I'm eight years old." He replied.

Everyone's eyes widen. "You're so young…" Kevin mumbled.

Thomas hummed. "I know." He said.

Edward was in stunned silence. He knew Thomas was young. But not this young…

Victor sighed. "Alright everyone, let's get to work."

Immediately, the workers set to work.

Edward sighed, and started to back out of the Steamworks.

Thomas whimpered. "Edward, where are you going…?" He asked.

Edward looked back at Thomas and smiled. "Don't worry, Thomas. I'll be back, I promise."

Thomas smiled back a bit. "I'm tired Edward…" He mumbled.

Edward smiled softly. "Go to sleep, Thomas. I promise, I'll be back." He said. "Judy and Jerome will look after you."

Judy smiled at the young tank engine. "Yes we will."

Edward watched quiet as Thomas fell asleep, and then he quietly steamed out of the Steamworks. When he did, his face changed.

The kind smile was gone- in its place was a harsh scowl, and his eyes were no longer kind and soft. They looked as though they were flaming with rage and fire.

I am going to have a talk with that… overgrown lazybones! Edward said to himself as he steamed to the yard, where he knew Gordon, and everyone else, would be.

…

"Gordon, are you sure you should have done that?" Henry asked as he looked at friend who was on the track in front of him.

Gordon laughed. "Yes! Now he knows what hard work is like, and won't wake me up anymore!"

James chuckled quietly. "I hope so…"

"YOU!"

James, Gordon, and Henry instantly felt their boilers shake in terror when they heard that fuming voice.

James and Henry quickly backed away from Gordon, and gasped as they saw Edward steaming down the track towards them.

Edward seemed to being going as fast as his wheels would carry him- and it didn't look like he was going to stop.

What scared them even more was the fact that Edward's eyes seemed to be red with rage and fire.

James and Henry gasped as Edward then rammed himself into Gordon as hard as he could, causing Gordon to, uncharacteristically, cry out in pain.

"Edward!" Henry yelled out in alarm. "What are you doing?!"

Edward didn't respond as he kept ramming himself into Gordon repeatedly, letting battle cries leave his mouth. Each time he rammed himself against the bigger engine, damage was dealt out to both of them, but that still didn't stop Edward.

"Edward, stop!" Gordon yelled, but, the K2 didn't listen.

Finally, James reversed, and then got onto the same track as Edward. His driver quickly coupled him up to him, and James tried pulling back, to get Edward away from Gordon.

But each time he tried pulling back, Edward would still go forward.

James was straining, and already out of breath. "I'm not strong enough!" He gasped out.

Henry then quickly backed up behind James, and coupled up to him, then started pulling back as well.

It took a few tries, but eventually, James and Henry were able to pull Edward back. They then quickly uncoupled from the K2 engine, and went to either side of him.

When they did, they gasped.

Edward's buffers were all bent and broken, there was noticeable pieces missing, his paint was scratched horribly, and yet- through it all, Edward was still fuming.

Gordon, didn't receive as much damage- only a few scrapes and bumps, but the amount of pressure from the hits he received was enough to make him wince in pain.

Despite that, he glared at the smaller K2 engine. "What was that for?!" He demanded angrily.

He was quite surprised when Edward, a normally calm and kind engine, weeshed angrily right back at him- his eyes still flaming.

Edward growled before he spoke. "What you did to Thomas today, Gordon- that was the last straw! I could deal with whatever misery you inflicted on me, but Thomas did NOT deserve to be treated like that! Whatever did he do to you!? You know what, don't answer that- I'm disgusted with your actions enough as it is. I'm tired of you bullying innocent engines when they've done nothing to offend you!"

Gordon sighed, realizing that Edward meant when he pulled Thomas along with the Express. "Edward, look, I didn't-"

But Edward cut him off. "Even if you didn't mean it, you still hurt Thomas badly! And I will not stand for it! You are a cruel and shameless bully, Gordon- and I hope that what you did to poor Thomas makes you think twice in future before doing something so dangerous! If not, then I will withdraw my services as your banker on your hill! That will only be the start of your misery, is that clear?!"

Gordon, James and Henry were all shocked into silence. But Gordon was still stuck on one thing that Edward said.

Gordon took a deep, shuttering breath. "What do you mean- hurt Thomas badly..?"

Edward glared even more. "You dragged Thomas across the Mainline so fast that- that… THAT HIS WHEELS BROKE!" He screamed.

Gordon, James, and Henry's eyes widened in horror.

Edward weeshed. "That's right- broke! When Thomas was finally uncoupled from the Express, his wheels cracked, and broke, making him fall off the track! It doesn't help that they were cracking when you forcefully pulled him across the line!"

Edward breathed deeply, trying his best to calm down. "They didn't… they didn't have replacement wheels for him.., so the only option is to glue Thomas' wheels back together. And that'll take two months…"

"Two months?!" Henry gasped.

Edward hummed in confirmation, and looked back to Gordon, his eyes still flaming. "How could you do this… to a child?!" He yelled.

James cautiously steamed forward. "Child?"

Edward sighed. "Yes. Child. Thomas- is only eight years old."

The three big tender engines gasped. No one on the line was that young.

The age of a child…

Gordon started hyperventilating. "E-Edward, I-I didn't mean to damage him like that, honest! I-"

"No." Edward said. "You don't apologise to me. If you want to apologise, you know who to apologise to."

Gordon sighed.

"What's going on over here?!"

The engines looked over to the voice to see their boss, Sir Topham Hatt.

Edward huffed as he backed away a bit, to see the man better.

When he did, Sir Topham Hatt gasped. "Edward! Whatever happened to you?"

Edward sighed as he looked disgracefully to the ground below him. "I'm sorry, Sir. I lost my temper, and lashed out on Gordon…"

"Why?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, shocked that his kindest engine would ever lose his temper.

This time, Gordon spoke up. "He had every right to, Sir. Edward is mad at me because… I hurt Thomas- no. I broke him."

What?" Sir Topham Hatt asked again, utterly confused.

Edward sighed, and set to the grim task of explaining what happened to the newest and youngest engine on Sodor…

…

Sir Topham Hatt was, the least to say, outraged. So much, in fact, he punished Gordon by grounding him from pulling the Express for two months.

Gordon quietly took his punishment- he knew he had no choice and he knew he deserved it.

Henry was giving the task of pulling the Express in Gordon's absence. He quietly took the responsibility as well.

When all was said and done, Edward went back to the Steamworks to stay with Thomas, still very upset.

TWO MONTHS LATER…

Thomas yawned as he woke up, as usual, still up in the air. Immediately, he winced. The place where his wheels had once been still hurt him. Not as bad as the day of accident, but the pain was still noticeable.

Judy and Jerome weren't the ones holding him up anymore. Now it was just a normal crane.

It was a bit weird, being up so high in the air, even though he's been like that for two months. But there was always an upside for him.

"Good morning, Thomas."

Thomas smiled. "Good morning, Edward." He said as he looked at his mentor.

Edward smiled back, his buffers finally repaired and repainted. "I have a surprise for you." He said.

Thomas gasped. "Really?" He asked.

"Yes." Edward said. "Do you want to know what it is?"

Thomas beamed. "Yes, yes Edward I do!"

Edward chuckled. "You're wheels are fixed! They looked almost brand new!"

The way Thomas' eyes lit up made Edward's boiler bubble in happiness.

Thomas truly was like a child- pure, innocent, happy, and always trying to find the light in even the darkest of situations.

In less than an hour, Thomas was lowered until he was about three feet above the ground, and his wheels were gently placed back on.

Thomas groaned in pain. He wasn't used to having much pressure on him anymore, but he knew he had to.

Slowly, he was lowered fully onto the ground, and despite himself, Thomas cried out in pain.

Edward immediately moved up to him. "It's alright Thomas, I'm here."

Thomas whimpered, but smiled. "A-Alright, Edward…"

Then a worker walked up to Thomas, and walked around him, examining him.

"Hm…" He mumbled. "It looks as though you'll have to go through some therapy."

Thomas and Edward were puzzled. "Therapy?" Thomas asked.

The worker nodded. "Yes, therapy. You see, when a person breaks a bone, it needs to be in a cast to heal."

Thomas smiled. "I know that. I saw some people wearing casts on their arms or legs a few times when I was still at the Mainland."

The worker smiled. "Well, you see, when their arms or legs are out of the casts, people have to go through physical therapy, to help them get strong once again."

"So… you're saying… because my wheels were broken, it was like when a person breaks a bone." Thomas said. "And now that I have them back, I need to go through therapy to make them strong again?"

"Something like that." The workman said. "Because of you not having your wheels for quite some time, you haven't been able to properly move. Now, normally that wouldn't be a problem for most engines. But you seem to be more sensitive."

Thomas hummed in understanding. "I see…"

"Come now." The worker said. "We'll crane lift you to the yard, and we'll start there."

…

Gordon, James, and Henry, were all at the yard, in a rather uncomfortable silence. Ever since they learned of Thomas' accident, they all became very nervous. None of them were allowed to visit Thomas, per Edward's orders, and they all quietly accepted that.

"I hope Thomas will be ok…" James mumbled. "That sounded extremely painful, what he went through…"

Henry and Gordon quietly agreed.

"Excuse me boys, but you need to move." Gordon's driver said.

The three big tender engines were confused. "Why?" Henry asked.

James' driver then pointed past them.

They quickly looked, and saw Edward, pulling Judy and Jerome, who were holding- Thomas.

They smiled in joy, happy at finally seeing Thomas and Edward after two months, and that Thomas had wheels. Quickly, they moved back a couple feet.

Edward slowly steamed into the yard, about ten feet away from the three bigger engines before he stopped, and was uncoupled from the crane.

"Steady! Easy does it! Be careful!" A worker called as he gently guided Judy and Jerome as they slowly lowered Thomas to the track besides them.

When the small E2 was placed on the track, Thomas, like before, let out a cry of pain.

Edward immediately steamed up to the small engine, and whispered comforting words to him.

"Alright, Thomas." His driver spoke soothingly. "We're only going to go a couple feet, ok?"

Thomas sniffed. "Mhm…" He mumbled.

"When you're ready." His fireman said.

After a few moments, Thomas sighed, and let some steam weesh out from under his wheels, before he slowly, ever so slowly, moved down the track a bit. But he immediately stopped, and cried.

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" He whimpered. "It hurts!"

His driver gently patted his side. "I know." He whispered. "Just go a little further."

"I'm right next to you, Thomas." Edward spoke, hoping that would comfort the child engine a little.

"Ok." Thomas whispered as he steamed forwards a little more.

Thomas then went forward about three feet, whimpering softly, before he stopped. He was gasping, panting and whimpering as he tried to rid himself of the pain.

"I can't- go any further." He gasped. "It hurts too much."

His driver smiled. "That's alright." He said. "You did well. Now hold a moment, while we got go the crane." The he and Thomas' fireman left.

Thomas panted as he opened his eyes. Only then, did he realise he was in front of Gordon.

He quickly looked away, before looking back at the big engine.

"Yes, Gordon." He said. "I do know what hard work is like…"