"Welcome back, folks, to the Great Railway Show!" Jinty grinned as the crowd cheered. "Just in time for the Best in Show parade! Isn't that lucky, Pug?"
"It's… designed that way, Jinty-"
"Look, there it is now! Let's watch and see who will be our first winner of this year's Great Railway Show!" Pug rolled his eyes.
"You don't have to say it like that every time, you know." He muttered.
"I know, but I like to."
"Do those two have to be there?" James grumpily asked from nearby. "They're distracting me!" Jinty and Pug shared a glance. Stepney chuckled from behind James.
"It's a part of the show, James. You'll get used to it." Rajiv smirked.
"What's the matter, James? Are you camera-shy?" James' face grew as red as his paint, but before James could retort, a loud whistle blew. Stephen, first in line, grinned back at the others.
"Alright, everyone!" He called. "Let's give these people a parade they'll never forget!" He started slowly rolling forward, followed by Carlos, then Rajiv, then James, then Stepney, and finally Yong Bao.
"What a selection of engines this year, Pug. They look very stylish, don't they?"
"Indeed, Jinty. Except the one without decorations." Carlos grimaced. Rajiv snickered at James.
"He's talking about you." James scowled. Rajiv looked up at the crowd.
"Hello, everyone!" He smirked. "Look at my crown!" Rajiv glanced up at the crown atop his long funnel. The crowd oohed and ahhed at it, making Rajiv smirk. James glared.
"Look at this, everyone!" He cut in. "Look at my shiny red paint!" Right after he said this, his recent coat glistened in the sun. The crowd turned their attention to it, as did the judges. The judges looked at each other, then disapprovingly at James, though he didn't notice. Rajiv gritted his teeth briefly before putting on a forced grin.
"Look at my crown!" He demanded.
"Look at my paint!" James cried with a forced grin of his own. Jinty chuckled.
"Looks like something's going on over there, Pug! What do you make of it?"
"Showboating; an event standard, Jinty." The two watched as James and Rajiv kept trying to overshadow the other. The judges took more notes. At last, the parade looped back where they had first started. Stephen braked to a gentle halt and the crowd started cheering again.
"What fun that was!" He remarked. "I'll have to come back next year!"
"Please do!" Jinty gushed. Pug rolled his eyes. The other engines also came to an elegant stop - all except for James, who braked too hard and bumped into the back of Rajiv. Rajiv glared back.
"Don't scuff my buffers!" He hissed. James rolled his eyes just as the announcement came in.
"And now that the parade has concluded, the judges will now tell us the winner, which is..." James gasped in anticipation.
"It's going to be me!" Rajiv gritted his teeth.
"No, me!"
"ME!"
"It's going to be-"
"RAJIV OF INDIA!"
"What a surprise, Jinty."
"-me! Wait, what?" James gaped in shock as Rajiv rolled forward so his driver could be handed the trophy. Rajiv grinned as the crowd went wild.
"Listen to that, Pug! Rajiv sure is a fan favorite!"
"I'm a… favorite too." James whimpered weakly. Stepney raised an eyebrow.
"...on Sodor."
"Even if you are, I'm afraid you can't win the event by taking it as 'casual Friday.'" Stepney remarked. "The judges prefer it when you're wearing... decorations."
"It's why Rajiv wins every time he competes." Yong Bao agreed. "I've heard he has a collection of trophies in his shed."
"A… c-c-collection?!" Stepney and Yong Bao shared a glance.
"Erm… never mind, James. There's always next year!" Yong Bao added hastily. James seethed furiously.
James was still grumbling when he rolled over to a part of the yard where he could watch the Shunting Competition. As he braked alongside Stephen, the Railway Show diesels rushed around the yard, placing trucks on various sidings. Behind the canvas, the contestants had gotten in a single-file line. Raul was at the front of the pack, smirking. From the other side of the canvas, they heard a voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time for the Shunting Competition!" Jinty announced excitedly from the other side of the wall. The crowd started cheering. Ivan, second in the order, looked back at the others and grinned.
"Good luck, everybody!" He called. He heard Raul stifle laughter and his eyes snapped forwards.
"Yes, Raul?" Raul chuckled.
"You'll need it, perdedores."
"First up is Raul, of Brazil!" The crowd started cheering loudly, although there were a few very loud "BOO"s mixed in. The Brazilian engine snorted indignantly, and rolled forwards. Ivan, Gina, Thomas, and Ashima listened intently as the referee diesel counted down.
"3...2...1...BEGIN!" A loud siren sounded, and they heard the sound of Raul racing around the yard, ramming into trucks.
"Unbelievable! Raul has gathered four trucks in the amount of time it would take a lesser athlete to shunt two; he's really bringing his A-game this year, Pug!"
"What a ruddy tosser, Jinty." Thomas raised an eyebrow.
"I've shunted trains faster than that…" He muttered under his breath, before smirking.
"Maybe I've got a shot after all!" Soon enough, a loud siren sounded.
"Raul has finished his time trial! What a brilliant display of shunting to be shown to start this year's competition! It'll be a tough time to beat, that's for sure!" Raul rolled through the canvas again, grinning confidently.
"Bam! Try and beat that!" He laughed, and then went over to the resting area.
"Next up, Russia's very own Ivan!" Ivan rolled through the barrier and began his trial. Thomas tried to listen, but heard a voice from behind him.
"Psst! Thomas!" Thomas looked back to see Ashima.
"Still feeling unconfident?" She asked. Thomas chuckled.
"No, Ashima, thank you! If Raul's what's considered fast, I think I have a decent shot!" Ashima smiled and rolled her eyes, before the siren rang again and Ivan rolled through the barrier, cringing as the sound of Jinty's voice echoed behind him.
"Ivan is out of the running for the gold, leaving Raul with the time to beat!"
"Not my best. Oh, well. Good luck, Gina!" He honked his horn and Gina rolled forwards towards the barrier, shooting Raul a glare before heading through. Thomas looked at Raul, smirking at the prospect of his own victory, and chuckled.
"He's in for a surprise!" He muttered under his breath.
"So are you!" Thomas jumped as he heard a quiet voice from behind him. He looked back, but all he could see was Ashima whistling innocently. He raised an eyebrow.
"Huh." The siren sounded again, and Gina rolled through the barrier, clearly upset.
"Without that blunder at the end, Jinty, Gina certainly would have been in the lead."
"Shame she miscounted and went for the brakevan before the last truck, Pug! She was a popular pick!"
"What a shame indeed, Jinty, but Raul remains the time to beat." Gina grumbled under her breath as she rolled past.
"Stupido, stupido, stupido, stupido…" Thomas rolled towards the barrier, before taking a deep breath.
"Good luck, Thomas!" Ashima called. Thomas smiled back.
"Thanks, Ashima!" Thomas rolled through the barrier, and found himself looking at a vast yard, with trucks placed all over. He quickly scanned, trying to plan his route, as the countdown began.
"3...2...1...GO!" Thomas shot off like a rocket, whistling every time he needed the points changed.
"Look at Thomas go, Pug! It seems he hasn't got the number one for nothing!"
"Indeed, Jinty, a sleeper pick for sure. Seems like Thomas might be a real contender!" Thomas grinned as he was coupled up to his fifth truck and shunted it towards the rest. He looked at the timer, and his time remained ahead of Raul's. He whistled happily as he buffered it up and went to fetch the last few trucks. Thomas dashed around the yard, fetching the end of the train, before finally coupling the brakevan up and whistling in triumph. The siren blared and the crowd cheered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Thomas is in the lead! What an exciting game this is!"
"Indeed it is, Jinty, but there's still one more competitor that needs to be slower than Thomas in order for him to win!" Thomas wasn't listening as he rolled through the barrier, tired but triumphant. Ashima smiled at him as she rolled by to begin her trial.
"Great job, Thomas!"
"Good luck!" The tank engine replied, and Ashima rolled through the barrier. In the rest area, Ivan and Gina greeted Thomas with cheers and whistles.
"Bravissimo, Thomas! Bravissimo!" Gina cheered. Ivan smiled.
"Excellent work, Thomas. I'm sure those on Sodor are very proud of you." Thomas blushed, but his eyes fell on Raul, whose teeth were gritted.
"Finally, Ashima of India!" Raul rigidly smiled at Thomas as Ashima's starting siren blared, clearly holding back rage.
"Good job." He forced, before his eye twitched. Thomas smirked.
"You alright with second then, Raul?" Raul's eye twitched again.
"Second is perfectly respectable." He hissed. Suddenly, Thomas heard a loud cheer from Gina.
"Way to go, Ashima!" She and Ivan were watching Ashima go, but before Thomas could even look at the television set up in the rest area, Ashima's ending siren blared. His jaw dropped.
"Already?" Raul groaned loudly.
"THIRD PLACE!?" The crowd clapped and cheered as Jinty's excited voice echoed.
"AMAZING! ASHIMA HAS NOT ONLY WON THE SHUNTING COMPETITION, BUT SHE HAS ALSO SET A WORLD RECORD FOR THE EVENT! ASTONISHING! AHHHHHHHH!"
"Jinty, please save your voice, we have two more of these." Ashima rolled through the barrier, huffing with exhaustion. She smiled at Thomas confidently. The Sudrian tank engine sputtered.
"You...but...I-"
"Just because I'm well-painted doesn't mean I can't do anything else, Thomas!" She gave him a wink before rolling by.
"Good game!" Thomas' jaw dropped again.
"G-good game…"
James, Thomas, and Stephen sat near a water tower, talking about the losses sustained thus far.
"...She was so fast: I'd never seen anything like it! She certainly didn't act it!" Thomas finished explaining. Stephen chuckled.
"No harm done, Thomas, you did your best! At least you were a good sport about it…" He gave James a knowing glance. The red engine snorted.
"I'm pretty sure I was close…" He muttered. However, at the gates of the show, the security diesel had fallen asleep. He got a nasty shock when he heard a loud horn and a diesel boxcab rushed through.
"You can't be in here!" He called. Philip winced.
"Sorry, important delivery!" He was giddy at the sights of the Railway Show. Suddenly, he saw an engine on the line ahead, coming from the other direction, and gasped.
"Look out!" He cried. Carlos slammed his brakes on, and Philip managed to change tracks just in time. As Philip dashed past, Carlos groaned.
"Watch out! I'm not as young as I used to be, ay dios mio…" He muttered, and continued on his way. James and Thomas, who had been watching the whole interaction, gave each other a horrified glance.
"Was that-" Thomas asked, but was cut off by the sound of Stephen's whistle.
"Look sharp, you two! The Strength Competition is about to start, and we have to go and support Henry!"
"But, Stephen, we saw-"
"Come on!" James and Thomas simply glanced at each other before apprehensively following behind Stephen.
Philip scanned the showgrounds, looking for Gordon.
"Gordon? Gordon?" He looked to one of the Railway Show diesels, rolling by with trucks from the Shunting Competition.
"Excuse me, have you seen a big blue engine named Gordon?" The diesel ignored him. Philip pouted, before an idea flew into his radiator.
"Oh, of course! Silly me, Gordon's streamlined now! He won't look the same! Now, where could he be…" Philip looked around, before suddenly seeing the shape of a large blue tender engine waiting at a starting line, with a flatbed of girders sitting behind.
"There he is! Gordon! Gordon! I have-"
"GO!" All five engines started pulling forwards, leaving Philip to brake to a halt as a diesel blocked his way.
"Authorized personnel only!" The diesel snapped. Philip tried to look around the diesel, but he couldn't see "Gordon" as clearly.
"Bother! I'll have to go around!" He quickly scampered away. Back in the Strength Competition, Henry was pulling hard.
"Go on, Henry!"
"Go, Henry!" The green engine heard the cheers of Thomas and James and grinned determinedly. He had had a slow start, and, as a result, Vinnie was leading the pack. Henry managed to puff past Hiro, and then Shane.
"Unbelievable, Pug! After a slow start, Henry from Sodor is starting to pick up the slack!"
"Sodor's engines certainly are surprising in these events." Henry approached the rear of Frieda's tender, and began to feel short of breath.
"Oh, I can't go on! I can't go on!" He coughed. Vinnie heard him and grinned wickedly. However, Henry heard a loud voice from the sidelines.
"Keep on going, Henry! Keep puffing on!" His eyes snapped to Stephen, who was cheering loudest of all for him. Henry grinned determinedly, and began puffing harder. He managed to pass Frieda, who looked shocked.
"Wie?" She shouted. Red in the face, Henry managed to come neck and neck with Vinnie. The Canadian engine smirked.
"Well, well, well! Didn't think you had second in you, Herring!" He taunted. Henry grinned right back.
"Funny, I could say the same thing for you!" Vinnie's grin turned to a snarl, and his eyes snapped back to the track ahead. No matter how hard he tried, Henry and him remained neck and neck, and the finish line drew closer.
"It's going to be close!"
"Very close indeed." Vinnie strained hard as he barely managed to pull ahead of Henry, but then…
"GORDON! GORDON! Oh, that's not Gordon. Oh, well. Gordon? Gordon?" Philip raced right across the track the Strength Competition was taking place on. Of course, all the competitors were too far away to be at any risk of hitting him. Well, all except one.
"GAH!" Vinnie yelped as Philip raced right across his path, slamming his brakes on. The boxcab was gone as quick as he appeared, but Vinnie found that he couldn't stop braking.
"NO! OPEN DA REGULATOR!" He shouted to his driver as he began to slow down. The driver stuck his head out of the cab window.
"It's no use! You know how fickle your brakes are!" Vinnie groaned as he began to come to a complete stop.
"Why is Vinnie stopping?"
"I don't know, Pug! I guess the cameras didn't catch it!" Henry gasped as the distance between he and Vinnie began to disappear. His eyes narrowed as the finish line approached.
"Good, better, best! Good, better, best!" He chanted to himself. Vinnie gasped as Henry burst through the finish line ribbon.
"No!" The crowd went wild as Henry braked to a stop beyond the finish line.
"Henry of Sodor has won this year's Strength Competition!" The green engine grinned triumphantly as he heard a chorus of cheers and whistles.
"THAT'S MY BOY!" Stephen shouted through prideful tears. James and Thomas whistled happily. Frieda crossed the finish line next, followed by Shane, and then Hiro.
"Congratulations, Henry!" Hiro called.
"Cracking job, mate!" Shane whooped. Even Frieda cracked a smile.
"Good game, Henry. You vin fairly. I respect that." Henry smiled back, but he heard loud cheering from the stands.
"Way to go, Henry!" The Fat Controller shouted, before throwing his top hat up in the air. It landed on the head of another man sitting next to him, dressed in a sharp grey suit with a matching bowler hat. The Fat Controller scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Apologies, my good man!" The man, however, seemed to be far too focused on Vinnie, who had just managed to limp across the finish line. He gave the bully engine a sharp glare, before shoving the Fat Controller's hat at his chest and walking away. The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow as he placed his hat back on his head. Vinnie had seen the man's glare and winced. He quickly was uncoupled from his flatbed and rolled past Henry.
"Good game, Vinnie!" Henry called as the other Sudrian engines surrounded him, but the Canadian engine simply ignored him. He gave a look of concern.
Philip was still looking around the Railway Show, but had yet to find Gordon.
"Gordon? Gordon?" He called, but suddenly found himself hitting another engine.
"Ouch!" He shut his eyes from the impact.
"Sorry about that! Have you seen a big blue engine from Sodor called Gordon? He's competing in the...the...the…" Philip stammered in fear as his eyes opened. Looking straight down at him was Vinnie, who looked red in the face.
"Ohnoohnoohno-" To Philip's surprise, an unhinged smile cracked its way onto Vinnie's face.
"Heya, shrimp. How's it hangin'?" Vinnie hissed through his teeth.
"P-p-pretty o-o-okay. I'm t-t-trying to find G-G-Gordon. H-h-"
"Ya know how ya got in my way earlier?"
"D-d-did I? S-s-sorry, I-"
"Funny thing about dat is, I got last place because of you."
"Oh." An awkward silence ensued.
"Should I go, or-"
"I'M GONNA KILL YA, YA LITTLE TWERP!" Vinnie erupted, and began to advance towards Philip, frothing at the mouth with rage. Philip began to back up, horrified.
"Wait! Y-you can't! I have to give Gordon his s-s-safety valve!"
"AND I HAVE TO GIVE YA DA BEATIN' OF A LIFETIME! SHRIMP'S ON DA MENU TONIGHT! AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The bully shrieked and began to speed up, and Philip yelped as he continued to flee.
"WAIT! GORDON DOESN'T HAVE HIS SAFETY VALVE!" The boxcab and bully raced past where the Sudrian engines were resting. They were significantly startled.
"Philip?" Stephen cried. Henry gasped.
"What did he say?"
"Gordon doesn't have his safety valve!" Thomas shouted.
"He's about to race! We have to stop him or he could explode!" Henry cried. Team Sodor quickly raced towards the racetrack, while Philip fled from Vinnie as fast as his wheels could carry him.
Chase: And we've seen the first three events! We knew we wanted Henry to win the Strength Competition the moment we came up with his rivalry with Vinnie, and using Vinnie's weak and fickle brakes as a means of getting him in last place to drive his rage towards Philip was a lot of fun. In terms of the Shunting Challenge, we knew we still wanted Ashima to contribute in some way of value despite her decreased prominence in the special over all, and I think her winning the Shunting Challenge by a landslide was the proper move to make for our Ashima; deliberately unassuming but incredibly skilled.
Don: As said in last chapter, James and Rajiv are rivals and playing that up during the Best in Show Competition was really fun to do. Having James lose to Rajiv because he didn't prepare enough was also a little arc tossed in that we had planned, and I think it came out pretty well.
Will the Sodor engines stop Gordon in time? What will happen with Vinnie and Philip? And who will win the Great Race? Find out in the eleventh, and penultimate, chapter: "The Great Race"!