Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Stories
The Forgotten of Sodor
With everyone terrified for their lives, the engines of old took centre stage once more and felt like they were the most important things in the world.
"Sodor had to learn…" called out Blanche. "You can't forget your past!"
"By doing so…" continued Bess. "We wouldn't be here. But you forgot, and that is what was wrong…"
"You've done all of this because we forgot about you?" said Henry indignantly from his shed. Everyone else at Tidmouth Sheds was equally as disgusted at the sheer audacity of the Diesels.
"Forgetting is wrong…" reiterated Blanche. "You don't forget your past."
"What happens next, though?" asked Emily bravely. "You canny take us away! There's too many of us!"
"This is true…" replied Bess with a vicious stare. "But we can force engines out…"
"Don't be so preposterous!" cut in Gordon. "You cannot do that!"
"This coming from the engine who only came to Sodor because his predecessor broke down a lot. You are lucky you are even here, Gordon…" sneered Blanche.
"How can you know this?" Gordon then asked.
"Because we know all…" replied Bess. "Everything and everyone that has ever been on Sodor. And that is what we're bringing back…"
"The engines of old and the engines that have died can come back to the place they called home." continued Blanche. The engines just looked on totally mesmerized by the whole plan. Engines that have died could not come back surely? But then again, engines can't simply disappear and that is what happened with Arthur and Honey. No-one else knew about Bertrum's disappearance as of yet, but if they did, a rebellion would most certainly be on the way. For the time being, the engines just remained quiet whilst Blanche and Bess carried on gaining more power by the minute…
Elsewhere, Crosby who up until now had been loyal to the grim pair of Diesel's was slowly wanting to be himself once again. He'd had enough of this altogether and he just wanted to work once more.
"No more engines…" he said defiantly to himself. "No more…" he added as he came to the Transfer Yards connecting his rails to the side of the Skarloey Railway. In the distance he could see Bertrum's shed all alone and quiet. No-one else knew he'd gone and Crosby just felt terrible. "The engines of old have had their time…" he then said quietly. "Only some deserve a second chance. Duke, Bertrum and Kennedy alike, but me, I don't think so. I was given this chance but I haven't used it for good, and that is wrong. What must my controller think of me? I've deserted them not long after rejoining the railway. I am an awful Diesel."
"I'd disagree with that…" then came a voice to the side of Crosby.
"Duke!" said Crosby in surprise. "What are you doing out here? I thought no-one dared to go out at night…"
"You thought right…" smiled Duke. "But times like this call for severe action. I've never known Sodor to be like this, and it should never be this way."
"I feel awful for what I've done though…" said Crosby.
"You are not at fault here. The Blue Diesels are. They are fiends. No engine can decide the future of a railway, no engine can. Not even me." continued Duke with a face that just demonstrated strength and determination. "We've got to make them forget themselves. Forget why they left in the first place. Make them move on and accept this. I accepted my fate all that time ago. 20 years confined to a shed where the land grew over me. I accepted that, and they must accept their fate too."
"But how do we do that?" asked Crosby. "They're not just Diesels. They're Diesels intent on changing the way of an Island."
"I don't know how…" said Duke. "But we will do this, everyone will do this." he added before slowly making his way.
"Duke!" called Crosby. "You can't just leave!"
"Oh, but I can…" laughed Duke before he vanished into the distance. Crosby was once more all on his own…
Back at Tidmouth Sheds, the atmosphere had got even worse between the engines and the two awful Diesels.
"Accept that your time on Sodor has come to an end Thomas, Percy, James, Henry, Gordon and Emily." began Blanche. "…because you won't be here much longer…" Bess just laughed at her Sister's brilliant remark.
"Why did you leave Sodor?" James eventually asked. "Both of you? Because none of us remember you…"
"We were here when you were…" replied Bess. "We worked at Smelters. We destroyed engines amongst other things for a living and then they replaced us…"
"Why?" asked Percy nervously.
"Because we were too old!" spouted Blanche. "And they replaced us with 'Arry and Bert! Our younger Brothers of all the Diesels to replace us with, they chose those two…"
"Where did you go?" asked Thomas.
"We went to an old Diesel refuge. It was led by a Diesel called Bonnie. We hated her and we hated that place." answered Bess. "Thankfully, we were taken to the Mainland soon after and worked on a Scraps line. It was fun until we were replaced once again."
"A recurring theme of our lives…" added Blanche. "Replaced at the moment when you think everything is going fine!"
"We were put up for scrap then!" revealed Bess. "Diesels that scrapped engines themselves were now up for scrap! But we fled…"
"To here…" finished Blanche. "Our old home. Yes, it's changed a lot but we don't care about the scenery. We care about whose on the rails and we can't have it this way. Sodor has to be the way it was."
"What happens to us then?" Gordon enquired. "What happens to the Express and Flying Kipper for example if we're not here?"
"We get your predecessors back…it's simple really…" smiled Bess.
"But they were scrapped!" said Henry. "You can't bring a scrapped engine back!" he added as Blanche and Bess just began to laugh to themselves. They knew their plan was working. Riling the engines in this manner was what was needed. But in all of this, they had forgotten about Crosby, their plaything. They didn't know what he was doing and without knowing for sure, this is where it could all go wrong…
"Think Crosby, think!" called Crosby to himself loudly as he thought through whatever he could to help stop Blanche and Bess. "Duke said we've got to make them accept their fate. How do I do that?"
"Speak to those who came back…" whispered a familiar voice to Crosby's side. Once again it was Duke.
"Are you following me?" smiled Crosby.
"No, I'm helping…" said Duke. "You've spoken to me, now speak to Neil and to June. Speak to Kennedy, to Enid and to Alistair and then finally to yourself. Ask why did they accept their fate? And why they were happy to move on. With that knowledge, you can stop this and bring everyone back…"
"But I'm no-one special…" pleaded Crosby.
"But you've spoken to someone who is…" smiled Duke. "Well, apparently I am according to everyone else. I just think I'm me. Duke, no-one special at all…" and with that, Duke once again set off and left. "Well done Crosby…" he said before he vanished from sight. "You're almost there…"
"Right then…" said Crosby to himself. "Let's do this!"
Sodor was on edge. The Culdee Fell Railway had closed until further notice due to the terror and fear. Arlesdale was at a standstill and no-one else dared to move. Gordon though, despite all of his earlier anxieties felt like now was the time to be brave.
"I had Brothers aswell…" he said calmly to Blanche and Bess as they still looked on menacingly. "Only one remains. The others are all long since gone. I've got a Cousin too, he lives on Sodor aswell. I don't like him at all…"
"Is this getting anywhere?" sneered Blanche.
"Yes." said Gordon firmly. "Until now, I had accepted everything about my Brother's and their untimely demises. But you've made me wonder why I can't change that…" Blanche and Bess looked more interested now as Gordon was speaking on their terms.
"You agree with all of this then?" asked Bess. "If so, we welcome any new recruits! You're old enough anyway…" Gordon didn't answer the question as he knew he was lying. The other engines though didn't and were deeply concerned.
"The thing is no-one sort of remembered about a special little trip I arranged a little while back, which is a shame because it was meant to be a grand welcome back for someone. They were meant to arrive at Midnight and oh, look at the clock over there, its Midnight! They should be here!" Gordon smiled proudly as in the distance there was a familiar clickety-clack on the rails and a whistle that everyone knew meant help was at hand. On the Skarloey Railway, Duke could hear the whistle and smiled widely.
"It's a bit late to be bringing visitors considering you're leaving Sodor, isn't it?" asked Blanche.
"But this isn't just any visitor…" replied Gordon.
"Then who is it?" asked Bess.
"It's my Brother!" said Gordon triumphantly. "It's the Flying Scotsman!" he added proudly as the famous train came into view. Steam hissed everywhere and the pristine green paint of Flying Scotsman lit up the night. Blanche and Bess just look on horrified.
"Y…yyyy…you know the Flying Scotsman?" they both stuttered in unison.
"We're Brothers…" answered Flying Scotsman. "Ofcourse we know each other…" he added with a smile just as wide as his Brother's.
"I thought you knew all about us…" laughed Gordon.
"Obviously not…" smiled Flying Scotsman as the evil Diesels still looked on shocked. Then, coming in from the distance was Crosby. He looked exhausted but determined.
"Blanche, Bess…" he began. "Your time is up…"
"Hardly…" they both sneered.
"Oh I think so…" then boomed a voice in the distance as in came the Fat Controller smiling widely from the cabin of Kennedy. He had a flatbed attached to him and on that flatbed was Duke, June and Neil. Following them were Enid and Alistair.
"I've been speaking to those who came back…" began Crosby once more. "…and all of them said the same. They accepted their fate long ago. They knew they couldn't just change the Island from their own actions. They just had to hope it would change."
"Nonsense!" dismissed Blanche. "We do as we want!"
"Well it's a shame then that we didn't scrap you all those years ago…" boomed the Fat Controller. "…because if we had, none of this would have happened"
"But you can't deny a prophecy…" cut in Bess crossly.
"But you can if it's made up by an old engine, a very, very old engine…" then came a voice. Blanche and Bess looked up and saw that Duke was smiling wider than everyone else. "I'm sorry, girls…" he then smiled. "But you've been fooled by Dukie…" Blanche and Bess just couldn't believe it. Their whole plan was formed upon this prophecy and with that now found out to be just a mere story of Duke's, they simply couldn't do a thing.
"These Diesels of old have had their time…" sang Duke. "…and this how we formed this rhyme…They were tricked by an engine ever so grand. It's not a shame though he spoiled their plan!"
"Engines come and engines go…" smiled the Fat Controller.
"Some say yes and some say no…" added Gordon.
"NO!" cried Blanche.
"You can't do this!" pleaded Bess. The Fat Controller just smiled in delight.
"Oh, but we can…" he said. "Duck, Oliver! You know where to take them!" he declared as the Great Western engines appeared into view before buffering the Diesels loudly. Blanche and Bess just gave up trying and were soon heading off in a familiar direction.
"But what about the missing engines?" asked Percy. "Are they coming back?"
"They never left Sodor…" answered Crosby to everyone. "As I went around the Island to find the answer of the once forgotten, I encountered an old line that wasn't hidden away too well. I was put onto that line and soon I found them. All safe and well, just a little scared but it's understandable."
"All of this though because they couldn't let go of the past?" said Thomas. "It seems unreal!"
"The past can be a very harmful thing…" spoke Kennedy.
"It can harm so many…" continued Neil.
"And wreak havoc on the present…" added June.
"You can look at it fondly…" continued Enid.
"But you have to leave it as it was…" added Alistair.
"As time moves on…" concluded Duke. "You have to accept change. It happens and Blanche and Bess simply couldn't accept it…"
"Well then…" smiled the Fat Controller. "I know its past Midnight but I think a return to a safe Sodor is more than enough cause for celebration!" and with that everyone cheered in delight.
As for Blanche and Bess, once Duck and Oliver had uncoupled from them and left, two familiar faces came and appeared.
"You took it too far…" grinned 'Arry.
"And now you pay the consequences." added Bert. Blanche and Bess just looked on horrified as the Smelters seemed to intensify in heat.
"We're your Sisters! Show some compassion!" pleaded Blanche.
"Help!" cried Bess but 'Arry and Bert did nothing. As a crane slowly beckoned down, one on Blanche, one on Bess, 'Arry and Bert left. A few moments later, the last cries of help were heard from the evil Diesels and then it all fell silent…
The following Morning, celebrations rang out across the whole Sodor and everyone cheered as they knew their lives were back to normal once more. Gordon persuaded his Brother to stay for a few more days and in that time, the pair of them provided the best Express Duty Sodor has ever seen. For Arthur, Honey and Bertrum, they knew their lives were shaken but being a resident of Sodor meant they could move on and feel safe once again. As for Crosby, he visits every now and then as he still loves Sodor but he knows that there can be too many trains in one go and he doesn't want to bankrupt the Fat Controller! And as for Duke, his stories live on and the rhyme he sang at the downfall of the Diesels is written down and forever logged by the ever-expanding tributes that adorn Sodor Museums in honour of the Hero of the Engines.
"Those Diesels of old had their time."
…and this how we formed this rhyme.
They were tricked by an engine ever so grand.
It's not a shame though that he spoiled their plan!
Forever gone and never to be seen…
Everyone on Sodor just treats this adventure as a very bad dream!"