Three days had passed since Thomas and Emily nearly kissed and they found themselves unable to think about anything else and for the last two nights they had nothing but the same dream again. They found it awkward when they talked to and they couldn't even look at each other without blushing. If it weren't for Bill and Ben startling them then they probably wouldn't be so embarrassed.
Emily puffed into Knapford Yards to take on water. As she filled up her mind wandered back to the dream again. "Why couldn't it have happened in real life?" she thought to herself, "I've kissed him on the cheek, so why couldn't I have kissed him on the lips? Oh what am I thinking, it was an accident, he didn't mean to bump into me, it wasn't meant to happen...or was it?"
As she finished her drink, Emily heard Thomas' whistle and blushed. "Oh my, here he comes," she said to herself. To her surprise though Thomas puffed into the yard looking rather cross.
"Oh hey, Emily."
"Hey, Thomas, is there something the matter?"
Thomas let out a deep sigh. "Rosie, that's the matter."
"Oh..." said Emily as she caught the message. "I see."
Rosie was a cheerful, feisty and energetic little pink tank engine, with three domes, a gold headlamp on her smokebox and six small wheels like Thomas. Despite her feminine colour, Rosie was quite a tomboy. When she arrived on Sodor she began idolising Thomas for his incredible bravery and selflessness to the point of hero-worship and imitation. Though this was said to be the most sincere form of flattery, it only served to irritate Thomas immensely, to the point where he actively tried to avoid her whenever he could. However, innocent little Rosie never seemed to realize this, particularly when he was trying to deliver birthday post to his friend Alice at High Farm, she followed him even though he told her not to, but after Thomas had an accident in the course of delivering this train, Rosie helped him and he came to respect her...unfortunately that respect was gone a few days after that.
"She's so annoying, I keep telling her to leave me alone but she won't!" grumbled Thomas.
"I'm sure Rosie doesn't mean any harm, Thomas."
"Well I'm sick of it! I wish she'd take the hint and pack it in. I'll see you later," sighed Thomas, and he puffed away to fetch his coaches. Emily thought about what Thomas had said. She liked Rosie and all but she did seem to be almost stalking him. However she was able to pick up on something that Thomas hadn't noticed, and it was something that made Emily feel unsettled.
Rosie had a crush on Thomas. Emily noticed it straight away when she first saw her imitating him, she could see the attraction for Thomas in her eyes and it worried her. If Thomas ever grew to like Rosie, then Rosie could probably swipe him before Emily could reveal her own feelings for Thomas, and she would never be able to live with that.
She was about to leave, when she heard a whistle that sounded like Thomas', or at least trying to sound like Thomas', which meant it had to be Rosie. She puffed into the yard with her usual big, cheerful smile. "Hi, Emily," she said sweetly.
"Hello, Rosie. What are you doing?" asked Emily.
"Oh nothing, by the way have you seen Thomas? I wonder if he needs my help." Emily knew what Rosie meant by "help."
"Rosie...you do know that Thomas doesn't like it when you try to imitate him, don't you?"
Rosie chuckled. "Don't be silly. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Why wouldn't he like it?"
"A-aha, I don't really think that's actually the case, Rosie," laughed Emily, uneasily.
"Of course it is," retorted Rosie, "He's so brave and fearless and handsome, he deserves so much flattery!" Emily gave an awkward smile, clearly trying to convince Rosie that Thomas didn't like her imitation wasn't going to be easy. She was right about the brave part, Thomas was always very brave when he needed to be, but he wasn't always fearless. Emily did however feel jealous when Rosie called him handsome. Emily thought Thomas was the most handsome engine on the whole island, but she didn't like others thinking the same as her. After everything Thomas had done for Emily since she arrived, she wanted to be the one to win Thomas' heart more than anything in the world, and despite how selfish she sounded, there was no way she would ever let Rosie or anyone else take him without a fight.
"Well, I'll see you later then, Rosie." said Emily and she puffed away. Rosie decided to keep looking for Thomas, and so she raced away, imitating his whistle once again.
Meanwhile, Thomas had collected Annie and Clarabel and puffed into Knapford Station to pick up some passengers. By now the weather had changed for the worst as dark clouds loomed overhead. Thomas was still feeling annoyed about Rosie, Annie and Clarabel were quick to notice this. "Let me guess," said Annie, "Rosie?"
Thomas just grunted. "I wish she would leave me alone, that's all. And why is she pink if she's a tomboy, that's a girly colour."
"Well, actually she's lavender, Thomas," corrected Clarabel.
"What difference does it make, it's still pink!"
"Well, it suits her at the very least," said Annie.
Just then the Fat Controller walked up to Thomas. "Good afternoon, sir," greeted Thomas. But the Fat Controller didn't look cheerful, he looked unsettled. "Thomas...there's something you need to know."
Thomas was confused. "What do you mean, sir?"
The Fat Controller paused for moment. "You remember your siblings, don't you, Thomas?"
"Of course I do, sir, my brothers from Brighton, where we were built. What about them sir?"
The Fat Controller paused again. "A few years ago, your brothers were unfortunately withdrawn from service and the last one has only recently been withdrawn."
"What?!" exclaimed Thomas, Annie and Clarabel gasped too. "What do you mean they were withdrawn, sir?"
"They were replaced by a new class of shunting engines. The same class as Rosie." said the Fat Controller.
Thomas could not believe what he heard. His brothers, who were built at the same time as him were all replaced by Rosie's class, of all engines, it had to be Rosie's class. "B-but what about my brothers, sir, where are they now?"
The Fat Controller sighed and looked away. "...I didn't want to tell you this, Thomas...I'm sorry, but after they were withdrawn, they were all scrapped." Thomas, Annie and Clarabel all gasped in horror. "S-s-scrapped?!" exclaimed Thomas, he had never felt so shocked in all his life. His class mates, his brothers, the best tank engines in the world, were all scrapped except for him. He was the only one of his kind left in the world. His mind went to Rosie, the one who had replaced his brothers. With her on the island, she was bound to replace him and he would end up like his brothers.
"Oh, Thomas," synthesized Annie and Clarabel, trying their best to comfort him, but they were just as shocked as he was. The Fat Controller turned away. "I'm so sorry, Thomas." and he walked away.
Thomas was still speechless. "Scrapped?" he mumbled again. Then he heard a whistle and when he saw who it was his face went from shock to anger, as Rosie puffed cheerfully into the station. "Hello, Thomas!" she called happily. But Thomas didn't answer her back, he glared at her and was trembling with rage.
"You!" he shouted, startling Rosie, as well as Annie and Clarabel. "You don't belong here! Get off this island now and go back to wherever you came from and never come back!" and Thomas jerked forward, bumping Annie and Clarabel, and hissed steam rudely at Rosie as he puffed out of the station, just as it started to rain.
Rosie was left feeling very shaken and extremely hurt by Thomas' angry statement. "W-what did I do?" she quivered. She started to tear up and raced out of the station, letting her tears fall.
Sometime later Emily was making her way back to Tidmouth Sheds. She was still thinking about Thomas and Rosie. "I hope Rosie didn't annoy him again," she said to herself. The rain had gotten heavier and it made Emily shiver as she went through Henry's Tunnel. She remembered when Thomas told her that Henry had stayed in the tunnel and wouldn't come out because he was afraid of rain, and he was bricked up inside it. Of course he was let out of the tunnel eventually, but he still kept his fear of the rain when Thomas came to Sodor, but thanks to the little blue engine, Henry realized that rain was nothing to be afraid of. Emily thought it was a lovely story, but she had to admit, although Henry was a kind engine, he worried a bit too much sometimes.
Emily came up to a signal, when suddenly she heard what sounded like someone crying. Emily looked over to a siding behind the signal box and saw Rosie crying. "Rosie?!" she exclaimed, "What's wrong?"
Rosie looked up and saw Emily. "Oh, Emily!" she cried. "It's Thomas."
"What about Thomas? What did he do?!" asked Emily, worriedly, hoping he was alright.
"H-he said I didn't belong here, and he told me to get off the island and never come back," weeped Rosie.
Emily was speechless. "No way, that can't be true, Thomas would never say such things!" she protested.
"But he did, he was shaking and yelling and he hissed steam at me!" replied Rosie. Emily didn't want to believe Rosie, but she sounded serious. Did Thomas finally lose his patience with her and just lash out at her? Whatever it was she was going to find out.
Emily puffed into Tidmouth Sheds. She couldn't see Thomas anywhere. "Thomas? Are you here?" Then she heard a quiet sobbing sound. It seemed to be coming from inside the shed. Emily rolled over to berth where the sound was coming from. "Thomas? Is that you?" The doors opened and inside was Thomas, who was crying softly.
Emily wasn't used to seeing Thomas cry, she had only seen him crying three times and all three of those occasions were when he was trying to discover the truth about her change, and that was only nearly two weeks ago.
"Thomas, what's wrong, why are you crying?" she asked, as she puffed forward into the berth and stopped in front of him. Thomas looked up at her. "Emily...they're all gone."
"Who's all gone, what are you talking about?"
"...My brothers."
"Your brothers?" Thomas had never told her he had brothers. "What do you mean they're gone?"
Thomas sniffed. "After I left you earlier, the Fat Controller came up to me...he told me that a few years ago my brothers had been taken out of service, and only recently the last one was withdrawn." More tears ran down Thomas' face. "And after they were withdrawn...they were all scrapped," he sobbed. "Now I'm the only one left in the world."
Emily gasped. "Oh, Thomas! I'm so sorry." Rosie's accusations had slipped right out of her mind, right now all she could focus on was her beloved Thomas in pain. Learning that their classmates had been withdrawn would upset any engine. But to learn that they had all been scrapped was heart shattering, and for it to have happened to someone like Thomas, Emily couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain he was in.
"Why were they withdrawn?" she asked. The look on Thomas' face turned from sad and upset turned to one of anger and hatred. "They were all replaced by a different class of engine..." he said darkly. "They were all replaced by Rosie!" As soon as Thomas mentioned her name, Emily remembered what Rosie had said to her, and then she realized that Rosie was right, Thomas must have just learned the news when Rosie came up to him and in his sadness and rage he must have said all those things to her about getting off the island.
"Now that she's here, she's going to replace me, just like her siblings did to mine, and then I'll be scrapped just like them!" growled Thomas.
"No!" shrieked Emily, "Don't say that, you know the Fat Controller would never scrap you, Thomas." But Thomas was not convinced. "Once I'm gone, then Rosie will end up taking my branch line too." he wheeshed. "That's probably why she came here in the first place, so that I would be scrapped and she'll take my job!"
"Thomas stop, you don't know what you're saying," Emily pleaded.
"Yes I do," remarked Thomas, "she never should have come here in the first place!"
Emily was shocked that Thomas would say such a thing. This was just like when he caused the accident at the quarry, he was sad because he didn't know why Emily had changed, and he was angry when 'Arry and Bert teased him about Emily being evil. His emotions had taken control of him, just they were now, he was sad that his siblings had all been scrapped, and he was angry at Rosie because it was her siblings that caused his to be scrapped. Thomas' face went from angry to sad once again and he started crying just like before.
Emily was conflicted. She knew that she should have stuck up for Rosie and scold Thomas for saying such things, but she loved Thomas too much and she couldn't bring herself to do so when he was in so much pain. Throughout the rest of the night, Emily held Thomas closely to her as he cried and cried, just like when he held her close to him at Black Loch when she told him the truth about Gordon and James bullying her.
The next morning Emily puffed wearily into Knapford Station. She spent the night comforting Thomas and didn't get a lot of sleep and neither did Thomas, he was still in the same state he was in when he left the shed. Emily was worried about what Thomas would do if he saw Rosie again.
Emily saw the Fat Controller coming out from his office. She had to find out more on this whole ordeal. "Sir, I need to talk to you."
"Whatever is the matter, Emily?" asked the Fat Controller.
Emily took a deep breath. "Is it true sir? Is it true that Thomas' siblings have been scrapped?"
The Fat Controller sighed. "Yes, Emily, it's true." said the Fat Controller. "All eight of Thomas' brothers were taken out of service and were replaced by Rosie's siblings...Rosie doesn't know anything about this."
"Oh dear, how am I going to explain this to Rosie?" Emily thought to herself. "Sir, Thomas is very upset about this, and...he thinks Rosie's going to replace him and he'll be scrapped."
"Ah, I knew he would do this. Believe you me, I didn't want to have to tell him about it, especially not even two weeks after the accident up at the quarry. But regardless none of this is Rosie's fault," said the Fat Controller. "And I would-"
"Excuse me, sir, you are wanted on the telephone," called one of the Fat Controller's assistants.
"Bother that telephone!" he groaned. "Off you go, Emily." and he walked away.
Emily sighed as she puffed out of the station, once she was out she saw Rosie in the yards, when Thomas puffed past her and hissed steam rudely at her again. Rosie's eyes were red, indicating that she had been crying throughout the night. Emily puffed up to her.
"Oh, Emily, did you find out why Thomas was so angry with me?" asked Rosie, desperately. Emily remained quiet for a while. She needed to choose her words carefully if she was going to break it gently to Rosie. "Yes I did..."
"Well go on then, tell me," said Rosie impatiently.
"Well...it's because of your siblings."
"My siblings? What do they have to do with it?"
"...Before you ran into Thomas, the Fat Controller came up to him...and he told him that...he told him that his siblings had all been withdrawn from service...and they were all replaced by new engines. The ones who took over Thomas' siblings, were yours."
"W-what?!" cried Rosie. "That's awful! I didn't know anything about this."
"It gets worse I'm afraid. After Thomas' brothers were were withdrawn, they were all...they were all...scrapped," said Emily sadly.
Rosie gasped in horror. "S-so they're all d-dead because of me?!"
"No! None of this is your fault, Rosie, you have nothing to feel guilty about...although, with you on the island, Thomas thinks that you're going to replace him, and he'll be scrapped."
"B-b-but I don't want to replace him!" quivered Rosie. "You won't," reassured Emily, "The Fat Controller would never replace him for anyone." But Rosie wasn't convinced at all. She didn't want to stay if Thomas was convinced that he was on a death threat because of her.
The news of Thomas' deceased classmates spread across the island like wildfire. Every engine on the island was talking about it, the steam engines all felt sorry for Thomas, while some of the diesels did too, but some also felt sorry for Rosie too.
Whenever Thomas saw Rosie, he would rudely blow steam at her, he would overtake her at the water tower and coal hopper and he would shout insults at her. Things got so bad that Edward had to step in and defend Rosie. Emily wanted to defend Rosie too, as she knew first hand what it was like to suffer from bullying. But to see that the one she loved who had done so much to save her from all those years of bullying was now the one who was making Rosie suffer the same pain that Emily felt, was braking Emily's heart.
She knew she should have chosen to help Rosie instead, but she knew that Thomas was also in incredible pain as well, having to deal with the fact that all of his family were now dead. He was angry and just like Emily did, he was taking his anger out on Rosie. Every night Emily would hear Thomas crying in the sheds quietly, which made Emily feel even more conflicted, having to choose between someone who she could relate to in terms of bullying, or the engine she loved more than anything in the world who was now the last of his kind.
The Fat Controller was about to leave his office to go to M.C. BUNN, when suddenly the telephone rang. "Uh..." he groaned, as he picked up the phone. "Hello...what did you say?!"
Meanwhile Thomas was puffing down the line with Annie and Clarabel, he was still fuming about Rosie. "She shouldn't be here," he huffed, "if she thinks she's going to replace me, then she has another thing coming!"
"She's not going to replace you, Thomas," said Clarabel. "You know the Fat Controller would never get rid of you, Thomas," added Annie. Thomas paid no attention. He pulled into Tidmouth and spotted Rosie in a siding looking miserable. She glanced over at Thomas and quickly puffed away. Thomas was about give Rosie another harsh insult, when he could have sworn he saw a tear running down her face.
"She looks so sad. Have I really been that harsh to her?" thought Thomas. Somewhere in his boiler, Thomas started to feel a tiny twinge of guilt.
At Knapford Emily had just delivered some tar wagons to the yard, when Rosie crept into the yard and buffered up to some flatbeds of pipes that were to be taken to the Docks. She looked just as sad as ever. Emily puffed up to her. "Hey Rosie, you alright?"
Rosie didn't look up. "I've had enough, Emily..." she said. "I can't take anymore of this. I don't belong here and I never did, but that's going to change."
Emily was surprised and confused. "What are you talking about?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm leaving Sodor forever!" declared Rosie. Emily gasped. "What?! Rosie are you insane? That won't fix anything!"
"Yes it will," retorted Rosie, "I'm the reason why Thomas is so depressed and angry right now, I'm the reason why he thinks he's going to be scrapped, and if he wants me off this island then he will get what he wants, and these pipes are just the ticket I need!" and with a stern toot of her whistle, Rosie puffed out of the yards towards the Docks.
"Rosie, stop! You're making a mistake, come back!" cried Emily. But Rosie didn't stop, she raced away as fast as her wheels could carry her, right past Thomas who just pulled into the yards. Emily knew that if she wanted any chance to stop Rosie then she had to convince Thomas to forgive her.
"Thomas, you have to stop Rosie now!"
"What? Why should I?"
"Rosie is leaving the island!" exclaimed Emily.
"So? Good riddance! She never belonged here anyway!" snorted Thomas and he tried to move away, but Emily backed over the points and blocked his way. "How can you say that? She didn't do anything to you."
"Didn't do anything to me?! She got all my brothers scrapped, it's her fault they're all gone!"
With that Emily had had enough, she surged forward and bumped Thomas fiercely backwards into a set of buffers. Thomas hit the buffers painfully, but he was more shocked than hurt by Emily's sudden physical action, which was quickly followed by another bump, which nearly smashed the buffers to pieces. When he looked into her eyes, Thomas saw that they were stern and serious.
"Listen to me, Rosie had absolutely nothing to do with any of this. She didn't know anything about her siblings replacing yours, none of this is her fault. Throughout these last few days you've been putting Rosie through the exact same pain I felt when Gordon and James tortured me. She's been feeling nothing but guilt because she thinks she's responsible for your brothers being scrapped and now she's going to leave Sodor forever because you made her feel so scared and guilty, just like I did when I made that terrible decision."
The look in Emily's eyes turned from stern and serious to one of hurt and sadness, as tears began to form in them. "Can't you see what you've done? You're making the same mistake I made by taking all your anger out on someone else and you've been making Rosie suffer the same pain that Gordon and James put me through." The floodgates were then opened. "You're a good engine, don't do this. Don't make the same mistake I did, don't repeat the damage you caused at the quarry by letting Rosie get away, don't let your emotions take over you like I did. This isn't who you are, Thomas...please, stop."
Thomas was completely silent. He looked back on everything he had done to Rosie these last few days. Emily was right, he lost himself in his emotions and vented them all out on Rosie and bullied her just Gordon and James did to Emily. He had become what he had so desperately tried to find out for years. Instead of hate and anger, Thomas started to feel an overpowering sense of guilt for treating Rosie like a monster. When he saw her at Tidmouth, those tears he saw on her face were because of how cruel he was to her.
He was almost about to cry from all the guilt he felt. "Oh no. What have I done?!" Emily could tell by the look in his eyes that Thomas regretted everything he had done and how sorry he was. "You have to stop Rosie from getting on that ship, Thomas. Please don't let this happen," she pleaded and backed up so he could get out. As Thomas puffed out of the siding, he stopped just in front of her and looked at her with teary eyes. "You really are an angel, Emily," and he raced away, leaving Emily behind, while she blushed at his comment.
By now Rosie was minutes away from entering the Docks. She was crying to herself softly. She thought she would love living on Sodor, but now that she knew the terrible truth about what her siblings had done to Thomas', she couldn't stay where she was causing nothing but pain to the engine who she thought she had feelings for. If getting off the island would make Thomas better, then so be it.
Thomas was rocketing down the track as fast as his wheels could carry him. His pistons pounded and pumped, his firebox flared and his boiler bubbled. Bertie was waiting at the level crossing. As the gates opened, Thomas came rushing towards him. "Get out of the way, Bertie!" Bertie saw Thomas heading towards him and braked hard, Thomas shot past him. "Watch out!" shouted Bertie, and chased after Thomas.
Thomas heard Bertie's horn, behind him, as Bertie raced alongside him. "I don't have time for races, Bertie!" shouted Thomas.
"Thomas, slow down! Look in front of you!" cried Bertie. Thomas looked up, workmen were working the track, but luckily the points were set onto the other track. Thomas ran onto the down line, where there was even more trouble. Thomas had ran past a red signal and he saw Donald coming down on the same track as him. Thomas whistled urgently to the signalman. "Express coming through!" The signalman switched the points onto the loop siding. Donald applied his brakes, but Thomas ran onto the loop just in time. "Thomas!" shouted Donald, but Thomas kept on going and soon he was back on the up line again.
Rosie had reached the Docks and rolled over to Cranky. "You took your time!" he cranked as he started to unload the pipes. Rosie spoke up. "Cranky, I'm going on this ship as well." Cranky was surprised. "What?!"
Thomas was still racing recklessly towards the Docks, he raced past another junction just as Douglas was coming down branch line, he screeched to stop as Thomas shot past. "Watch out, ya daft twit!" Thomas was getting closer and closer to the Docks. As he ran through the coastal cliffs, he heard a big, loud horn in the distance, echoing around the cliffs. Thomas knew what it was; the ship's horn. "NO!" He pumped his pistons faster than he had ever done before, he wasn't going to let the ship beat him.
Cranky had just loaded the last of the pipes onto the ship, now the only thing left was Rosie herself. "Are you sure you're suppose to be on this ship, Rosie?" he asked.
"Yes, Cranky," said Rosie firmly. "I have to leave Sodor, it's the only way I can make Thomas happy, by leaving Sodor for good." Cranky was still unsure of this. "OK... if you say so." and he lowered his hook so he could lift Rosie onto the ship.
At last Thomas could see the Docks in front of him, whistling loudly he pumped his pistons faster and faster and finally made it into the port, just as Cranky started to lift Rosie up into the air. Thomas raced past Salty. "Woah! Slow down, matey!" but Thomas ignored Salty and puffed on. Cranky had lifted Rosie as high as he could and was just about to lower her onto the ship,
"STOP!" Thomas finally rounded the bend just in time. Cranky and Rosie were surprised. "Stop Cranky! Put her down!" shouted Thomas.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it, Thomas?" said Rosie, "You said you wanted me off the island, so I'm granting your wish for you."
"No, Rosie, please listen. I'm sorry I said and did to you, I was angry and upset and I put all the blame on you and made you think it was your fault my brothers were scrapped. But I realized you had nothing to do with it and I've been nothing but cruel to you. I'm sorry," apologized Thomas, he was close to crying. "I'm really sorry. Please, come down."
Even though Rosie was high in the sky, she could see the truth and honesty in Thomas' eyes and the sincerity in his voice. She gave a little smile. "...Cranky, put me down."
"Oh for God's sake! Completely wasted my time! Honestly, why do I even bother with you engines?!" cranked Cranky, as he lowered Rosie back onto the rails. Emily puffed into the Docks just as Rosie touched the rails again. "Oh thank Godred, you stopped her, Thomas."
"Just barely," sighed Thomas.
Then, climbing down from Emily's cab was the Fat Controller. Thomas gasped. "S-sir, I can explain-," The Fat Controller raised his hand. "There's nothing to explain, Thomas. Emily told me everything and I know that despite everything you've done these past few days, you truly do regret all of it. While I cannot approve of everything you've done to Rosie, I can say that I knew you would have that reaction once I told you. But, I have no intention of scrapping you and I am proud of you for going to such lengths to apologize to Rosie and stop her from leaving."
He then turned his attention to Rosie. "And speaking of which, Rosie, you'd better not try and pull another stunt like that again." Rosie looked ashamed. "No, sir, I won't, sir."
"There's nothing you should feel guilty about, Rosie, what happened happened and it's not your fault."
"But still, sir, because of all my siblings, all of..."
"All of my mine are dead..." finished Thomas sadly.
"...not all of them..." said the Fat Controller suddenly. Thomas, Emily and Rosie stared at him.
"I don't understand, sir, you said all of my siblings were scrapped," said Thomas.
"...I said all your brothers had been scrapped, Thomas."
"But, all my siblings were brothers, sir." replied Thomas, who was still confused. Emily however seemed to realize what the Fat Controller was trying to say.
"That's what I thought as well," said the Fat Controller, "but, only this afternoon I received a call from the Mainland, and it turns out that after I purchased you, Thomas, they built one more engine at Brighton, and that engine has been working at Southampton Docks for years, and it's going to scrapped in a few days time..." he paused. "...the engine is in fact...your sister, Thomas."
There was silence in the Docks, as everyone was speechless, even Cranky, but Thomas most of all. "A sister?" he kept repeating in his mind, all these years he had a sister, he thought all of his siblings were brothers, when all this time he had a sister he never knew about.
"I have a sister?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Yes, Thomas. But, before she is scrapped, her former owner has allowed her to see you for a short while before she is scrapped. She'll be waiting for you at Vicarstown-" Before the Fat Controller even finished his sentence, Thomas was already racing away. "Thomas, wait for us!" cried Emily, while she, Rosie and the Fat Controller followed after him.
Thomas raced like the wind, up the main line, determined to get to Vicarstown on time to see his long lost sister for the first time. At last he arrived at the bridge. It was rolling bridge, which lifted up to allow ships to travel through. It was the very edge of the Fat Controller's railway, on the other side of the bridge was the Mainland.
The bridge was up, as a ship was passing through, so Thomas couldn't see what was on the other side. Thomas tried to whistle to see if anyone was on the other side, but as he did the ship blasted it's horn and drowned out Thomas' whistle.
Emily, Rosie and the Fat Controller arrived at the bridge. "Is she there yet?" asked Emily.
"I don't know, I've been waiting for this ship to pass." replied Thomas. "Come on, move quicker!"
Finally, the bridge started to come down. "This is it," thought Thomas. The bridge lowered completely and everyone gasped. On the other side of the bridge, was a little tank engine who looked just like Thomas. It had six small wheels, a short stumpy funnel, a short stumpy funnel, a short boiler and a short stumpy dome, just like Thomas. It had teal-green paintwork and white linings, with the letters LBSC on it's tanks - exactly the same as how Thomas looked when he arrived on Sodor. It's face, while similar to Thomas', was more feminine and had small distinctive eyelashes.
"She's the spitting image of you, Thomas." whispered Emily.
"Is that you use to look like, Thomas?" asked Rosie, quietly.
"...yes..." said Thomas, he was staggered, in front of him was his sister, the only one of his siblings he had seen since he left Brighton all those years ago. The engine puffed slowly towards them. When she stopped, they could see that she was nervous. At last, she spoke. "H-hello, Thomas, I-I'm your little sister, Emma. It's so great to finally meet you"
Thomas still didn't know what to say. He had a name for her. "...H-hello, Emma...it's great to finally meet you too."
"Aren't you going to introduce me to everyone?"
"Er, well, the one behind me is Rosie," said Thomas, not mentioning anything about her siblings.
"H-hello," said Rosie quietly.
"And this man here is my controller, Sir Topham Hatt."
"A good evening to you."
"And who's your very pretty friend?" Emma asked, referring to Emily. That made Emily feel flattered and made Thomas blush slightly.
"...this is Emily," Thomas finally said.
"H-hello," said Emily. "Hey, we have similar names," giggled Emma. "I suppose we do," laughed Emily, a little uneasily.
Emma told them that when she was built, she use to hear stories about her brothers, the ones that intrigued her the most were the about Thomas and how he went to Sodor. Since then, she worked at Southampton Docks as a shunter. Throughout her years of service, she continued to hear stories about Thomas and some of his famous escapades. She told them it had been her dream to meet Thomas someday. But unfortunately, one by one, the rest of her brothers were all replaced by other engines, she didn't know that Rosie was a member of the class who replaced them and then they were scrapped and now she was going to be scrapped as well. Emily and Rosie were almost in tears as they listened to her sad story, Rosie felt overwhelmingly guilty again, even though she knew it wasn't her fault. Emily was crying because of how sad it was that such a innocent engine like Emma was going to be scrapped, but mostly because she knew this was agonizing for Thomas.
"I know that's there's nothing that can be done to save me from the smelters, I can say that I've lived a good life and I hold no regrets," said Emma, as she started to cry. Thomas had been holding back his tears from the moment he saw her. It wasn't fair, even though he had only learned about her well over an hour ago, she was still his sister and this was the only chance he would ever have to see her.
"It's not fair. All these years, I never even knew you existed, and now, I finally get to meet you and it's the only time I will ever see you," he said, struggling to hold back his tears.
"I wish we could have had more time to together too, Thomas, but I've cherished what little time we've had together. While I don't want this happen and I know this will be difficult for you to accept that you will be the last of us, just remember, Thomas, to enjoy the rest of your life and keep mine and our brothers spirits alive, and prove that you are the best of us. You have a famous branch line and a wonderful home, please cherish them forever," said Emma, as tears began to form in her eyes. Now Thomas could hardly contain his emotions, as his lips began to quiver. Emily and Rosie started crying fresh tears as well.
"...I will..." Thomas finally replied, "...I promise..."
Emma smiled through her tears and she buffered up to her big brother."Do you know what the best part about this is?" she asked. "Even though I'm going to die, my life long wish has finally come true...now I can rest in peace, knowing that I finally got to meet my big brother, Thomas...I love you Thomas."
Thomas couldn't hold the tears back anymore, the floodgates opened and ran down his face, the mere sight broke Emily's heart, as she felt every bit of pain chipping away at her beloveds heart.
"...I...I love you too, Emma..." weeped Thomas. The entire moment was heart wrenching. A brother and sister, separated from each their entire lives and were complete strangers to each other. And now they finally met face to face, for the first and final time. Fate couldn't have been crueler. They were now going to be separated from each other once again, forever. Their embrace was the heartbreaking scene anyone had ever witnessed, the sadness was amplified by the two siblings, the last two of their kind, soon to be only one, holding each other closely, wanting this moment where they were finally together to never end. But fate was too cruel and Thomas would lose his only sister by death.
"...Goodbye, Thomas, my brother..." Emma weeped, giving Thomas one last smile, before she blew her whistle and puffed slowly back onto the Mainland, away from her brothers hold. Thomas was about to go after her, but the Fat Controller put his hand on one of Thomas' buffers and shook his head. Even he had been crying throughout the event. Thomas just watched Emma puff away. "G-goodbye, Emma...my sister..." Those were the painful and heart wrenching words Thomas had ever said. As soon as Emma was out of sight, Thomas lost himself completely and made no attempt to stop crying or sobbing at all. He was now going to be the only one of his class in the world.
Emily came up beside Thomas. "Oh, Thomas," she said sadly, she was going to give him all the comfort he needed to get through this heartbreaking moment of his life. "...Emily..." he sobbed. Rosie felt her heart breaking as well. It wasn't her fault, but once again, she felt she was responsible for this whole thing and causing Thomas so much pain and causing Emma and the rest of Thomas' siblings to be scrapped.
Throughout the night, Thomas kept on crying and crying and crying, while Emily stood by him and comforted him all night. It would take a very long time for Thomas to recover from it, but Emily was determined to help him through it, just like he promised to help her...
In another part of the island, two engines were plotting a dark and devious plan. "We have the perfect ammunition, this is the perfect opportunity to strike."
"In just a few more days, we will finally get make that blue tin kettle pay for what he did. At last we will have..."
"...revenge..."
OK, please don't hate me for doing this, but I wanted to do something different with the 'Rosie's class replaced Thomas' plot and so I made my own OC Emma, tell me what you think of her don't hate because i killed her, all of Thomas' class the E2's were all scrapped, bar Thomas, and I wanted to stay true to that.
In other news, you may have noticed the new icon for my stories, well I want to give a big shout to Rosie Angelina who was so kind to make it for me, Rosie you are amazing and I hope you liked this chapter.
So once again, leave a review and I will see you whenever.