The railways on the Island of Sodor were extremely busy. With the recent collapse of yet another bridge, and many construction projects, the Fat Controller had to borrow an engine from another railway to help with the workload. Unfortunately for him, there weren't many engines available for lease, and he had to settle for a diesel that was known to be extremely unreliable. He only hoped that this diesel wouldn't cause too many problems.
Of course, the steam engines were none too happy to have a visiting diesel. They were even less happy when they saw that it was a warship. The new engine was a class 43, which made him slightly bigger than Diesel 10. Though this engine lacked a roof-mounted claw, his size alone was quite intimidating. However, something seemed rather off about this diesel.
Though no one had actually tried to speak to this engine, everyone who had seen him couldn't help but notice that he looked and acted strangely. The diesel's face appeared to be stretched, and his right eye often pointed outward, and frequently twitched. He often appeared to stare into space, which was rather unsettling.
The engine in question, whose name was Dante, wondered why the other engines seemed to be avoiding him. After all, since his arrival, he had been nothing but friendly. He was so busy pondering over this that he wasn't looking where he was going, and nearly bumped into James, who was waiting at a signal.
"Whoops! Um excuse me, but you is in the way," said Dante.
"Can't you see the signal is red?! 'is'? Learn to speak properly!" James scoffed.
"I…I sorry," Dante said, his face twisting into a frown.
Before anything else could be said, the signal changed, and James steamed off in a huff, muttering a few epithets referring to diesels.
Dante blinked a couple times and continued on his way. He was delivering a train of empty wagons to Knapford yards. When he arrived, Gordon was taking a nap, relaxing before he was due to pull the express. Unfortunately, Dante had put the wagons in the wrong siding, and right in front of Gordon. Needless to say, Gordon was not happy when he woke up, but Dante had already left, and was on his way to Brendam Docks.
When Dante arrived at Brendam, he saw Diesel shunting trucks. Diesel was not in a good mood that day, for Thomas had once again been given a special job, and Diesel had to do extra work. Diesel was angrily muttering about how Thomas always got favorably treated when he bumped into Dante, who was staring at the clouds, taking in the beauty of the sky.
"Oof! What the-?! What are you doing?! Get out of the way!" Diesel snapped crossly.
Snapping out of his reverie, Dante looked at the black shunter that was in front of him. "I sorry, I was looking at the clouds," he said innocently.
"Looking at the clouds?!" Diesel snapped.
"Well they are pretty and they make funny shapes," said Dante.
"What are you, retarded?!" Diesel snapped.
James, who had pulled up with a dreaded goods train, piped up and said, "I think he is retarded. Sir Topham Hatt said that great big idiot diesel is defective,"
Cranky rolled his eyes. "Why would the Fat Controller have a defective engine on his railway?! Everyone knows this railway has enough trouble as it is!" he said.
At that, Dante felt tears sting his eyes. He had been afraid of this, He knew if he didn't prove himself here on Sodor, he would be sent back to his old railway in disgrace, and most likely sold for scrap. He clearly remembered his railway's controller telling him that defective engines aren't worth keeping around. He remembered the taunts and name-calling from other engines, jeering at him, telling him how useless he is.
Unable to take any more, Dante sped off, all the way to Vicarstown, where he looked for a shed to hide in. Entering the main shed of the Dieselworks, he spotted a shed in the back that looked private and secluded. Ignoring Den and Dart's exclamations that he couldn't go in that shed, Dante backed into it and let the doors slam in front of him.
Inside, Dante let his tears flow freely. The names he had been called, the vicious taunts from other engines, the harsh words from his owner, played in his mind like a vicious storm. Defective, retarded, idiot. Dante sobbed bitterly, feeling it was all true. Useless, dumb, stupid. No one wanted a defective engine that broke down a lot. No one wanted an engine as dumb, as stupid, as him.
Then, the doors to the shed that he was hiding in opened. Dante looked up and saw another warship, one with a nasty-looking roof mounted claw, and boy did he look angry!
"What are you doing in my shed?! This is MY SHED!" Diesel 10 snapped.
"I…I sorry! I do nothing right! I—I nothing but a defect!" Dante said tearfully. Choking back a sob, he continued. "I screw up again, I nothing but a—a retard! I'll leave, just let me out, I go away and—and never come back—I'll go to scrapyard like I should been years ago,"
"Stop that!" Diesel 10 said, "Don't talk about yourself like that," he said in a softer voice.
"B—but I am a defect," Dante said, his voice quivering.
"Perhaps you are, but that's no reason to scrap you! Now, who called you the R-word?! Was it those blasted steam engines? If it was, they'll have Pinchy to answer to!" Diesel 10 said, clanking his claw.
"Everyone call me a retard," Dante said sadly, "The steam engines, the diesels back home, my owner, everyone."
"That's just not right," Diesel 10 grumbled. "I'll tell you what; you can stay in my shed tonight. I normally don't do this, but I'll sleep out here," he said.
"Thank you," Dante said with a sniffle, "You is nice engine,"
Diesel 10 was taken aback. No one had ever said that about him before. Smiling slightly, he backed onto the turntable and switched onto another track.
The next day, Dante was woken up by one of the workmen. "Dante," he said urgently, "There's been an accident on the mainline. I need you to go and make sure no engines come down the line until the mess is cleared,"
"But…I am not useful for anything," Dante said sadly.
"There's no time to waste, and you're the only engine available. Just do your best," the man said.
Reluctantly, Dante left the Dieselworks. When he got to the site of the accident, he saw Henry lying on his side, mangled. An entire train of destroyed trucks were strewn on and off the tracks behind him. Henry's face was contorted in an expression of pain. Despite having been relentlessly insulted by nearly everyone he met, Dante couldn't help but feel sorry for the stricken engine. "Hello," he said quietly.
Henry opened his eyes and looked at the big diesel.
"I came to make sure no one crash into you," said Dante.
Henry winced in pain. "Thanks," he said in a pained voice.
"Um…you know if you think of something else it not hurt so much," said Dante.
"Ohh…how am I supposed to do that?" Henry moaned.
"Well, um, look! There is a froggy!" Dante said as he spotted a frog in the grass not far from Henry's face. "It is a big froggy! I think frogs are cute, they slimy but they are nice and I hear they don't bite," said Dante.
Henry looked where Dante was looking, and spotted the frog. He chuckled a little, this big diesel seemed quite nice now. Soon, Henry and Dante were engaged in an animated conversation, and before they knew it, Percy showed up with Rocky. Soon, Henry was lifted onto a flatbed and taken to the Steamworks to be mended.
Later that day, the Fat Controller had all his engines gather at the Steamworks. "I've called you all here because I have a very important announcement," he said.
The engines all looked at each other.
"I've decided to keep Dante, as he has proven himself to be a very useful and kind engine," the Fat Controller said.
"What?!" James exclaimed, and many of the others murmured and made sounds of disappointment and rolled their eyes.
"But Sir! Surely you can find a better engine than that defective diesel!" Gordon protested.
Several of the others murmured in agreement with Gordon.
"SILENCE!" the Fat Controller boomed. "I've been informed of how some of you have been treating Dante, and I will not tolerate bullying and name-calling on my railway! I am well aware of Dante's disability, and I expect you to treat him exactly as you would treat the rest of your peers!"
"But Sir—he—He's retarded!" James protested.
At that, the Fat Controller rounded on him. "James, for that, you will be pulling goods trains for a week, and working with Arry and Bert at the smelters!"
James was horrified! He hated trucks, and he knew he wa going to get his shiny red paint all dirty.
"Now," the Fat Controller said sternly, "If I hear that word out of any of your mouths in reference to Dante, there will be consequences, do I make myself clear?!"
The other engines gulped.
"I am very disappointed with the way you've all treated Dante," the Fat Controller said severely, "I expect better out of you."
Several engines looked down in shame. The Fat Controller was right, they shouldn't have treated him so badly. After all, Dante was very friendly. Finally, Percy spoke up: "I'm sorry for avoiding you, Dante. It's just…you're a very big diesel, and…well, I shouldn't have judged you. I saw what you did for Henry, and that was very kind of you. Maybe we can be friends,"
At that, Dante beamed happily. "Friends?" he said, grinning.
Percy chuckled. "Yeah, friends," he said.
"I…never had friends, I always wanted friends," said Dante.
Percy smiled, and so did Thomas, and Emily, and even Diesel 10.
"We'll give him a chance, sir," said Emily.
"I suppose I shouldn't have been so harsh," said Gordon.
Dante was grinning broadly. He had been given a second chance, which was something he hadn't expected. He hoped that this would last. All his life, he had longed to be accepted. At the very least, he wasn't going to be sent back to where he came from, where he would surely be scrapped. He was given a fresh new start, and finally, things were looking up for him.