Chapter 4

Big D had not returned the following morning, and the engines were concerned. Morning Light, who went to Keikan Island every morning to collect his Express, promised to keep an eye out for him. "I'm sure he's fine," he said with confidence. "It's not like he's being held hostage there or anything."
After he had gone, work began again. Naomi and Sora hurried to the branch line to collect their trains, Katsu puffed to the Main Station to arrange the trains for Ryu and Hideaki, Misaki went off to the logging site to collect wood, and No. 12 made his way to the new section of the mountain line.
They had decided to build two parallel tracks rather than just one; one would be used for all trains coming down, and the other for those going up. In case of emergency, the "up" line also included a junction that lead toward the Ice Line.
When No. 12 arrived, he was surprised to see Takao waiting for him. "I helped build the railway," the old engine wheezed, "so I thought I'd lend a hand here too."
No. 12 was nervous for Takao's health, but smiled anyway, and set to work. Despite his age, Takao proved himself to be a valuable member of the team; he would warn them when the rails were too far apart or too close together, helped insure the two tracks weren't too close together, and even rolled onto new sections of track to make sure it was stable. No. 12 watched him in admiration, and would hurry off every so often to collect more supplies.
The morning started off chilly, but by the time the workmen went on their lunch break that afternoon, it had grown much warmer, and the men had to take off their scarves. No. 12 and Takao took their rest too, watching the men eat. But while they did, No. 12 heard an unusual long, loud howl echo from the side of the mountain. The men froze, looking up toward the tall red trees.
"Wolves?" No. 12's driver said. "I thought they were extinct in Japan."
"Not in this region, they're not," said the foreman as he sipped his coffee. "Blame the Americans for that."
No. 12 stared at Takao, completely baffled.
"Oh, you don't know the story, do you?" laughed the old engine. "You need to visit the museum much more often. You learn a lot about our island's history there. Would you like to hear the story? It'd be a nice way to pass the time."
No. 12 glanced nervously at the workmen before looking back at Takao.
"Oh, don't worry," the old engine laughed. "I'll keep it nice and short, I promise."
No. 12 smiled in agreement.
"Over 100 years ago," Takao began, "the first Americans began to come from across the ocean to explore Japan. One ship came to port right here on our own island. The ship was called Brazos and there was a man called Captain Joshua Wilkes. He had come because he wanted to show us what he called the 'wonders of the New World'. With him, he had brought people of red skin, and wolves of red fur. He wanted to show the people how he and his crew had tamed the wolves and made them their hunting pets, but when he introduced them, they broke free and ran away in the valleys and mountains of the island."
No. 12 couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"After that, the people of our island took the Captain and his crew to show him our culture and landscapes, but he seemed far more interested in talking about his own home than to learn about ours. But the red-skinned people were different. They would listen and learn as much as they could, and they honored our Island's tradition, especially the cherry-blossom viewing. Our Island's people soon realized that the red-skinned people were slaves of the Captain and his crew, and he planned on bringing people of our Island back home with him. Angered, they teamed up with the reds to chase the Captain away, sending them back to where they came. The wolves and the red-skinned people were free, and they lived together peacefully ever since."
No. 12 stared at Takao as if the old engine had cracked his dome.
"Don't you look at me like that!" Takao laughed. "Reality can sometimes be much more amazing than fiction, you know."
He looked back toward the mountain and sighed, with a content smile. "It's going to be wonderful," he said happily, "to see the other side again. I wonder if my old friends are over there, and what they've been up to for so long..."
No. 12 blinked in surprise. He had never heard of Takao's old friends before.
"They worked on our main line and on the Keikan line," Takao explained, "before you, Ryu, and Hiro were built. We imported them from far away, and when we had plenty of engines working here, they were sent away to work on the other side of the Island. I bet there's a whole different railway waiting for us on the other side of the mountain..."
Just as he had finished speaking, they saw the Stationmaster from the Ice Line platform run up to the men, looking panicked. "There's a runaway!" he cried. "An engine's going down the line without any Driver on board!"
No. 12's driver stood up. "Any ideas on how to stop it?"
"If we get somebody into the cab, we can stop it before it reaches the coast," the Stationmaster went on grimly. "If we don't, it's going to crash into the sea."
No. 12's driver thought for a short while. "Come with me," he said. "I've got a plan."
He, the Fireman and the Stationmaster all scrambled into No. 12's cab. "Come along, old boy," his Driver said. "We're going to be heroes today!"
No. 12 was terrified of pulling any stunts, but he couldn't exactly say anything in protest.
"Good luck, friend!" Takao called out as No. 12 puffed away backwards. "You'll do just fine!"
They reached the points leading to the Main Line. No. 12 backed over the points, now facing the line leading south to the coast. His Driver manually changed the points, and they went on their way again.
The Stationmaster told them when the train left, while the Driver kept looking behind them. "Any second now..." he muttered.
Just then, he saw the train coming around the corner, right behind them. It was Big D, with a long train of trucks rattling and screaming behind them, the new diesel looking pale with fear. No. 12 watching him while his Driver checked the speed. Gradually, Big D was right next to them, and No. 12 was puffing with every last ounce of steam to keep up.
There was a sudden screech from No. 12's wheels, and he stated to slow down, with Big D drawing ahead.."DON'T SLOW DOWN!" Big D cried out. "HELP ME!"
No. 12 tried his best to reach Big D's front again. He was puffing so hard that his face was growing red. His Driver was starting to worry. "You can do it!" he called out to reassure No. 12.
The Stationmaster stood on the footplate. He glanced ahead, noticing Big D's door was still open, pushed shut from the speed. He timed himself carefully. "Come on..." he hissed between his teeth.
He took a deep breath and pushed off No. 12's footplate with one foot, the other landing on Big D's steps. He reached across to grab the handrail, and finally let go of No. 12. Climbing up the steps, he forced himself through the doorway and into the cab. He checked Big D's speed and, much to his relief, the big diesel began to slow down.
They brought him to a stop at the Main Station, and the Stationmaster scrambled inside to call for help. Ryu arrived to take away the trucks. Big D glanced up at No. 12. "Thanks...kid..." he panted. "You really... saved me...back there..."
No. 12 could only smile back with tired whistle. He was too tired to move on his own anymore, so Katsu, who had seen everything, came along to shunt him over to the water tower.

"No Sir, I can assure you," Raiden was telling the Signalman, "I didn't see anything that happened. All I did was see Big D leaving here with his train. I saw nothing else."
The Signalman looked him over and shook his head. "We'll get to the bottom of this," he grumbled. "Whoever here that's been playing tricks is in for some serious trouble. They're could have been a major accident today, so count your blessings."
He turned to walk back toward the Signalbox. Raiden's nervous smile quickly turned into a furious grimace. He rumbled loudly away to the scrap yards.
Kenji and Toki were busy arranging Raiden's passenger train, and in the siding was Mari, looking as innocent as she could. Raiden didn't buy it for a second. "Tell me," he snarled. "What exactly were you thinking with that little prank of yours?"
Mari rolled her eyes. "Hey, we had to break the new guy in somehow," she snorted. "So I sent him on his way alone. So what?"
Raiden narrowed his eyes. "The plan's not going to work," he hissed, "if our mole's going to crash into the sea."
"We could easily take over that cruddy little railway any day we wanted though."
"But their Controller's not going to put up with us!" Raiden snarled. "You know as well as I do that he'll just send us back here. So now we have Big D in there. He stirs up some trouble, the blame goes to the steamers, and they bring in new diesels. Then the steam engines can find their way right to our scrap yards."
"It's too complicated and stupid," Mari said. "Something's bound to go wrong."
"It almost DID," Raiden emphasized, "and it was YOUR fault. Now stop playing around with your own insane ideas and listen to me for once. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I do," Mari said darkly.
"Yes WHAT?" Raiden barked.
Mari looked as if she was about to kill Raiden. "Yes, BOSS," she spat.
"Good," Raiden said. "Now get back to work." And he growled away to take on oil for his journey.
Kenji and Toki rolled up alongside Mari. "Hey," Toki quipped. "Are you okay?"
"Shut up and get the train ready," Mari hissed between her grinding teeth. She rolled away, leaving Kenji and Toki staring.
"Dunno what's gotten into her," Kenji muttered, "but whatever it is, I don't like it."
"Bad things?" Toki asked.
"Yeah," Kenji grunted. "Let's hurry before she explodes or something."
They finished arranging the train, and Raiden blasted his horn before rolling away, over the bridge to Tanishima. Toki hurried away to rest in a siding, while Kenji came to Mari's side. "You okay?" he asked cautiously.
"It's that stupid Raiden," she muttered under her breath. "You have no idea how angry he makes me. Him and his stupid ideas."
"Well maybe it'll work this time..." Kenji started.
"No, it's NOT going to work," Mari sighed. "Don't you get it? Every time he comes up with something, he leaves out an important detail, overlooks a key part of the plan, and it all falls apart. I'm starting to think he actually LIKES those other guys and uses his schemes to get close to them."
"So..." Kenji thought for a moment. "He's like a bratty little kid kicking and screaming for attention?"
"Exactly. And yet he thinks he's so high-and-mighty, and has the audacity to order me around. The only person I work for is me."
She looked over to Kenji. "If I were you," she said, "I'd think twice before letting him give you orders. He's nowhere near fit to be a leader."
Mari rolled away. Kenji watched her leave, thinking quietly to himself. He really respected her, but he wasn't sure that overthrowing Raiden would be the smart thing to do.
The trucks in front of Kenji, who had never been to Keikan before, started to tease. Kenji glared at them, the gold fang flashing in his mouth. The other trucks, dented and sore from their past experiences, frantically hissed for the other trucks to be quiet.
"Look at this loser!" the new trucks laughed. "What kind of guy takes advice from a girl?"
Kenji bashed them so hard that they kept quiet for the rest of the night.

"So what do you think, Shane?" Oni said proudly. "Aren't they great?"
Shane glanced over at the flatbeds inside the Works building. "Oh," he said, "Hiro's new parts 're finished?"
"Yup!" Oni cheered. "And I built them with my own two buffers!"
"But ye don' 'ave buffers," Shane pointed out.
"Oh yeah? Well then I built them with my own two wheels! Wait, I've got four of those... I built them with... Well, I built them, and you can't say I didn't, so there!" Oni stuck his tongue out.
"Strange lil guy," Shane chuckled to himself.
"The boat's gonna be here in... eh, I dunno, the end of the week? Not sure who's taking them though. Maybe that new guy. Why haven't I met him, anyway?"
He looked behind him. In a siding was another engine, with no paint, but with plenty of new parts. She had four wheels, a long saddle tank, and a tall, square cab. Behind her was a metal coal truck, coupled to her. "Didn't you hear?" she said to Oni. "He almost had an accident today. He ran away without his Driver and almost crashed into the sea."
"Oh?" Oni stared before frowning. "Jeez, ALMOST crashed? We need to finally have a major accident! No respectable railway has gone without some kinda big crash! And your earthquake doesn't count, Ji Yeon. I mean a real big, trucks flying off the rails going everywhere kinda crash! The ones you only see in those teleboxy thingies!"
Ji Yeon and Shane sighed as Oni burst out in laughter.