Drewdy59: I see. Well, thanks for your support! Also, I'm going to work more with Henry in later chapters. ;)

Guest 4: I can agree with everything you said there. :)

Well, here we go. The Great Race chapter, and WE GET TO SEE WHO THE BOSS IS! :D

JUNE 3RD IS THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR Thomas and Friends: High School Adventure! LETS CELEBRATE I'MA DO SOMETHING FOR Y'ALL NEXT CHAPTER!

I just want to thank every single one of you all. Especially Drewdy59, CyberSearcher, and Guest 4. I've made truly amazing friends on this site, and I can't be grateful enough. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

Without further ado, let us begin the chapter that will cement the ground for Phase 2 and Phase 3!

Also, just a heads up, Oliver became the Julius Caesar of this story for a VERY important reason... *wink wink*

Gordon walked over to his designated waiting area as a prepared man. He wasn't going to let a thing stop him from winning for his home. If Dart was somehow hiding out somewhere in the stadium, the punk would need a choir's worth of chiropractors to get his body in proper working order again. If he got hurt, he would hurt his attacker. If he got killed, he would walk it off. No trouble. Then, he would claim victory for Sodor. If he was going to win, he had to have confidence. Plus, he had something no one else had. Inhuman speed. But he wouldn't use it unless it was 100% necessary.

"Gordon!" Axel exclaimed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Good to see you man!"

"Good to see you too!" Gordon said, fist bumping the Belgium teen.

"Hey, what's up dude!" Connor said, running over with Bear and Murdoch in tow.

"We're glad you could make it Mon Amie!" Etienne said, rushing over.

"Ready for the race?" Murdoch asked.

"Have been for a while," said Gordon. "And good luck to the rest of you all as well."

"Thanks man! Means a lot!" Bear exclaimed. "We'll need it against you.

"I am not gonna use them unless it becomes 100% necessary," Gordon declared. "I think you all deserve a chance."

Suddenly, he saw a familiar face walking over to him. Scott Matthews III.

"Hello Gordon," said Scott slyly. "Ready for me to destroy you?"

"Not gonna happen," said Gordon matter-of-factly. "You'll be in dead last, I guarantee it."

"Is that so?" said Scott snootily. "We'll see about that."

Scott walked away with a cocky grin on his face, and everyone was lost in curiousness.

"What was that all about?" Axel asked.

"He's my old racing rival," said Gordon. "And Emily's ex-boyfriend. Now that should explain why I don't like him."

"Dang," muttered Connor. "We'll make sure he's the last one to cross the finish line."

"At all costs," Bear added.

"Thanks guys," said Gordon. Suddenly, the horn sounded for the race to begin in five minutes.

"Well, good luck my friends," said Etienne. They then proceeded to head over to their designated waiting areas, and waited for Nigel's call to action.

"WELCOME ONE AND ALL, TO THE FINAL EVENT, THE GREAT RACE ITSELF!" Nigel seemed a bit more excited than he normally did, but no one was paying attention to him. Everyone's eyes were glued to the race track. The seven racers had yet to show their faces, but everyone was holding their breath still.

"LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR OUR SEVEN RACERS! FIRST IS ETIENNE SCHNEIDER OF FRANCE!"

A flurry of cheers could be heard as Etienne stepped up to the start/finish line, as well as for the rest of the contestants.

"NEXT UP IS CONNOR BALDWIN OF IRELAND!"

"NEXT WE HAVE BEAR GRIZZLER OF ENGLAND!"

"COMING UP IS MURDOCH ARGENT OF AUSTRALIA!"

"WATCH OUT, HERE COMES AXEL NORSCHKOPF OF BELGIUM!"

"OH BOY, LOOK WHO IT IS! SCOTT MATTHEWS III!"

However, before the final runner was introduced, there was a minor pause. Then, a door opened, and smoke poured out of it.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Please, give it up for..."

Then, he stepped into the light. And everyone began to go wild as his name was called.

"GORDON AWDRY OF SODOR!"

Gordon waved to the cheering crowd, and to his friends, family, and brothers. He saw his mom and Timothy waving to him, Emily was jumping, James was shouting along with Oliver, Mr. C looked proud of the speedster, and his brothers were applauding him strongly.

"Hey," whispered Scott once Gordon took his place. "Don't take the loss too hard. You never belonged here anyway."

Gordon only snarled at the comment made by the second worst person in his life. First was Dart. But then, the countdown began.

"3! 2! 1! GO GO GO GO!"

A gunshot sounded throughout the stadium as the seven took off. Gordon, obviously, started off in first. Etienne and Connor weren't far behind, but Murdoch was running close behind with Axel and Bear coming up close. Scott had a rough start, as he almost tripped over his own foot.

But Dart was smiling wickedly at the top of the stadium roof, where he was somehow unnoticed by anyone. Splatter and Dodge were just enjoying ham and cheese sandwiches and soda.

"C'mon, c'mon, get to where you're supposed to be," he whispered, clutching the rifle. (Keep in mind, this man only brought ONE bullet.)

"Dude, he is gonna die," Splatter muttered to his twin. "By he, I mean Dart."

"Yepperdoodle," said Dodge. "Pass me the ketchup."

The race was going quite well. Gordon was remaining in first for the whole race, and Scott still remained in dead last throughout the whole thing. Everyone actually maintained their starting positions through the entirety of the race. And now, they were on the final lap.

"That's it," Scott whispered. He saw a rock, and kicked it as hard as he could. Somehow, it looked like an accident as it hit Gordon's hind leg and caused him to trip. But, somehow, he didn't fall.

"What just happened?!" Gordon exclaimed, raising his arms.

And it all took place at once. Axel screamed, a gunshot echoed, and Gordon's shock held him still as he realized what had just happened.

A bullet just barely sliced his jersey. Not just that, but right beside the area under his arm and right next to his heart. And then, he looked up at his wannabe-assassin.

Dart.

Gordon growled when he saw his undeniably worst enemy. He then charged up the stadium at his inhuman speeds, and confronted Dart just in time to see Splodge climbing down a ladder that led to the parking lot.

"They were wise to leave," Gordon growled. "You're gonna regret that."

"Yeah, I regret bringing only one bullet," Dart mumbled.

Then, the two charged at each other, and Gordon tackled Dart within mere seconds of their fight.

"STOP TERRORIZING MY HOME! MY BROTHERS! MY FRIENDS! MY GIRLFRIEND! MY SCHOOL!" Gordon's unmatched fury resulted in Dart's face almost getting knocked off of his neck.

"The boss ain't gonna like this..." Dart whispered.

"Who?!" Gordon shouted. Suddenly, Dart kicked Gordon in the leg and made a break for the ladder.

"WE'LL MEET AGAIN GORDON!" Dart screamed. He then ran towards, and jumped on his bike and fled the roof where he almost triumphed.

"He ain't worth it," Gordon muttered. He then ran at his inhuman speeds back to the race track, where everyone but Scott waited for him.

"GORDON!" Murdoch yelled.

"Are you okay?!" Connor exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Gordon. "Wait. Where's Scott?"

They all then looked over to the stadium to see Scott charging for the finish line. That cheater had almost made it.

"Oh, this'll be fun," Gordon muttered. He then ran faster than he had ever ran before, and crossed the finish line with Scott mere inches away from it.

"THE WINNER OF THE GREAT RACE IS GORDON AWDRY OF SODOR!" Nigel and Stan both yelled ecstatically. Scott's mouth dropped as Gordon was surrounded by his friends and family.

"YOU DID IT MAN!" Edward yelled, hugging his brother.

"Great job bro!" Thomas exclaimed.

"WE WON SOMETHING!" Oliver yelled.

"I knew you could make it!" Emily yelled, planting a kiss on his cheek.

And then, they all broke free of the hug, and were surrounded by all of the other competitors for the day.

"OKAY, BIG SMILE!" a reporter shouted. Everyone quickly flashed a smile, and were captured in their finest moment. But Scott wasn't pictured, as he had left for an unknown reason.

"Gordon, Andrew, Yong Bao, Hank, and Ivan, would you come with us for a quick interview?" another reporter asked.

"Sure!" the five said.

And the rest of the day was a full blown celebration for the Steam Team and their friends. And they all savored the moment greatly.

It was a good thing that they did that. They had no idea what they were in for after that day.

Dart raced to the warehouse on his bike in humiliation. His plans had been foiled. Again. All because of those dang Awdry boys. He would get them someday, he knew it.

But when he returned, he saw that the boss was on a bed, and Splatter and Dodge were working to get him back in working order with the parts from Bryan.

"How did it go?" the boss asked weakly. Dart just hung his head in shame.

"Good... Very good..." the boss muttered.

"What?" Dart asked, shocked at his words.

"The other two Awdrys fit into our plan," the boss muttered. "We got everything on the list for a reason."

"Sir, you're ready for the procedure," said Vinnie, running in with his parts in a box.

"Great," said the boss. "Let's do this."

Then, Spamcan and Bowler rushed in to help. The six began to work, and slowly began to re-assemble the boss. They started by giving him the robotic eyes, which had a red orb for pupils instead of a regular eye. Then, the face covering was placed over the burnt right part of his face. Then, they gave him his new limbs that looked, not almost, but exactly like Pinchy. They then equipped a tube with that green stuff inside his new right "hand".

"How do you feel?" asked Spamcan, once the boss stood up.

"I feel... GREAT!" he yelled, extending his arms.

"They won't even see it coming," Bowler muttered.

But then, the boss stomped his new left "foot" on the ground, and roared a chain of words that would strike fear into the heart of any regular citizen of Sodor.

"I'M BACK BABY! DIESEL 10 IS BACK!"

OH SNAP DIESEL 10 IS BACK ASDFGHJKL

TOLD YOU THE ACTION WOULD RAMP UP! :D