Thomas and Percy both slept well that night. Thomas opened his eyes as workers began to file in, ready to start the day. Thomas knew that he'd better start his day, too.
"See you later, Percy," he whispered, pulling away from the other engine. "Love you."
"Love...you...too..." Percy whispered back, opening his eyes slightly and smiling.
Thomas grinned sand set off. He met the FC at the station, who greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning, Thomas," he said.
"Good morning, sir," the engine replied. "What do you have for me today?"
"I need you to fill in for Percy," the FC said. "It's a bit late, but I'd like you to take the mail for him."
"Of course."
Thomas blew his whistle and set off to collect the mail cars. The minute he left, Molly pulled up.
"Do me a favor," the FC said, "and take over for him today, too. There isn't much time left, and he needs to take advantage of it."
Molly nodded sadly.
"Absolutely, sir. How much longer?"
"About two more days," the manager sighed. "Not much longer."
Molly nodded and raced off.

Once Thomas delivered the last bit of the mail, he began to head back to the Fat Controller for another job. Then, he showed up.
"Well, well," Diesel oiled smugly, "Percy got into a bit of trouble, did he?"
Ignore him.
Thomas continued down the line, and Diesel followed him.
"An accident?" He pressed. "Bad, too. He's very weak, isn't he? And hurt? Oh, the nerve of the engine who did it to him!"
Don't talk back. Maybe he'll go away.
"The poor, poor engine," Diesel cooed. "And you. Poor, poor, Thomas. You're both so...broken up, aren't you?"
Don't say anything.
Thomas felt anger boiling up in him. If Diesel didn't shut up-
"He's so weak and tiny," Diesel smirked, "it's almost like he's begging for attention. How stupid he is, too. Always messing up and getting into accidents."
Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut.

"And," Diesel continued, making Thomas grit his teeth together in anger, "how sad it must be for you to see your best friend...die."
That was enough. Thomas shoved into Diesel so hard it actually pushed him off the track. Diesel yelled, but Thomas only continued on. He arrived at the station only minutes later, and when he saw his boss standing on the platform by the rails, his throat
tightened.
He was sure to be in trouble now.
The FC looked stern as he pulled up. Thomas sighed.
"I'm waiting, sir."
"For what?" His boss asked.
"I...uh...pushed Diesel off the rails, sir.
I'm waiting for you to yell at me."
"I know."
"He was...insulting Percy. And me.
I wouldn't allow that. It's just getting annoying."
"I would've done the same thing," the FC said. "If it was somebody I loved, too."
Thomas stared at him. He wanted to say, 'You?!' but he couldn't. Not to his boss. Instead, he said,
"I'll bet you would have."
The Fat Controller nodded and walked off. James suddenly pulled up, and Thomas had a question for him.
"James, if an engine insulted Molly, what would you do?"
"I'd push the engine off the rails, or bash into him several times," James replied. "Why do you ask?"
Thomas shrugged.
"No reason. Just a little question."
James wasn't convinced, but the guard blew his whistle and he had to go. Thomas remembered how he pushed Diesel off the track, and he smiled triumphantly.
He had it coming, that rotten Diesel engine.

Thomas stood in the station for fifteen minutes, waiting for any sign of the Fat Controller. But...he never showed up. Confused, Thomas departed to the Steamworks.

When Thomas arrived at the Steamworks, he stopped at the entrance when he heard a voice.
"Two more days, at least-" came Victor's voice, sounding remorse. "We've done all we can, sir. Nothing is working."
Thomas looked inside, and his jaw dropped when he saw Percy. There were more parts surrounding him, and half of a wet, white sheet was covering him. He was shaking like a leaf, he was extremely pale, and his green paint looked like it was fading.
Away.
The Fat Controller, who was there, shook his head.
"I...I appreciate the effort, Victor. We...We all do. Thank you for trying."
"It was my great honor, sir. I'm sorry I failed."
"You didn't fail. You tried to save him, Victor. And we're all very thankful for that."
Thomas, not believing what he was hearing, raced away. The FC's head whipped around, and he froze.
"Oh, no..."

The news spread around fast. The news of Percy's scrapping hit everyone like a ton of bricks. Thomas refused to come out of his shed, and he hadn't said a word. He'd only heard the conversation about two hours ago, yet it had the full affect.
His heart split in two, and it seemed impossible for it to be mended. He sat in the shed, contemplating.
Whoever did this to him...is going to pay. Hard.

Duck suddenly raced up to the shed, a furious look on his face.
"Come with me," was all he said, before backing away.
Thomas, confused, decided to listen.
He followed Duck down the line, not saying a word. What was going on?
"All this time..." Duck kept muttering, "all this time..."
"Duck," Thomas cut in, "what's going on?"
Duck grit his teeth.
"I finally figured it out, Thomas.
I should've known better. I should've known."
"Known what?"
"I've finally tracked him down," Duck growled, "all this time...and I didn't question him once."
"Who?"
"The one who's to blame for this. Him."
The Great Western engine's eyes directed toward the engine coming towards them.
Diesel.
Back on the track...Thomas thought. But not for long.

Thomas narrowed his eyes, and he suddenly understood.
Something happened in that little engine when he saw that diesel.
Something snapped.
Thomas moved into Diesel's line. Pure rage and fury soared through him. Picking up speed, he began to bash into the diesel uncontrollably. Diesel yelped in pain, and Duck didn't bother to stop Thomas. He wanted to see Diesel pay, and he knew Thomas would
want to be the one to make him do it.
"It was YOU!" Thomas yelled, tears in his eyes. "You're to blame for this! This is all because of YOU!"
"Thomas!" Diesel cried. "Stop it!"
"All this time!" The blue engine screeched. "This whole time! Percy's dying because of you! He's being scrapped because of YOU! And I hope they scrap you with him and then leave your remains with me so I can push them off a cliff!"
Thomas was breathing hard, the anger overtaking him. Duck was really surprised. He'd never seen Thomas this angry before, and he'd never spoken like that. For the second time that day, Thomas gave Diesel a huge shove and he crashed onto the ground, next
to the rails. The track they were on was on a hill, so he rolled a few times. Thomas watched him until he hit the bottom of the hill, and then moved back beside Duck, who's eyes were wide with shock.
"He deserved that," Thomas spat. "He's deserved it since he came to this island. I hate him...I really do. He's so...horrible! He deserves to be sent away...and to never come back."
Duck wanted to agree with him, but he couldn't say anything. But, why couldn't he? He hated Diesel, and Diesel hated him. They were sworn chuffed off, and Duck quickly followed. He knew he was going to have to keep his friend from
doing something stupid.
He knew that all engines could be dangerous when they were upset.
Especially after the scene he had just witnessed.