CHAPTER 12: HOMEWARD BOUND.

(POV: Mysterious Narrator.)

As the stars twinkled in the night sky, Mr. C and Lily were resting next to their camp fire, as Thomas snoozed on top of his E2. Everyone was sleeping peacefully until...

(POV: Thomas.)

"PEEP! PEEEPP!" Went a whistle.

"WAH!" I screamed awake as Percy parked his engine next to mine.

"Thomas! Mr. Conductor!" Percy said with a panicked voice. "Splatter and Dodge have found the buffers! We need to bring Lily back home to her grandpa NOW!"

"But how could Lily travel there without Gold-Dust?" I asked worriedly.

"Only in the Lost Princess's Engine." Mr. C replied. "Unless..."

"Unless?" I gulped for I just somehow knew what he was going to say next.

"Thomas.." He began. "Will you please take Lily..."

"Through the buffers?!" I exclaimed. "But what if the wheels don't work?"

"What if they do?" Mr. C asked back.

"What if... if..." I stammered, feeling really unsure about this.

"Yes?" Mr. C then asked me.

"What if it's dark?!" I then exclaimed.

"Night vision spells and lamps can fight against that." Mr. C replied.

"And cold?" I continued.

"Just stoke the fire nicely and keep a thermal sigil handy." Mr. C replied for the second time.

"And how will I get back again?" I then finished.

"Because you're a really smart and clever guy, Thomas." Mr. C finished. "I'm sure that you'll find a way."

As I then still felt unsure, I suddenly felt a familiar hand that wasn't there, placed itself on my shoulder, before hearing a familiar voice.

"You can do this, Thomas." It said to me. "If you were able to put up a fight against that traitorous Hunter, then traveling on a cold, spooky railway would be a huge piece of cake."

As I then took in these words, my hand clenched for I knew this voice. As I then took a deep breath, I looked at Mr. C and Lily as I gave them my answer.

"Ok then." I exhaled. "I'll try!"

(POV: Mysterious Narrator.)

As the moon and stars shone across the night sky, Thomas's E2 was thundering down the line towards the grotto, with Lily inside the cab, looking worried.

"I promise to bring you back to your grandfather, Lily." He said to the pre-teen.

"That's not what I'm worried about." She replied. "What about Junior and Mr. C?"

"We'll find a way to help them." Thomas replied back. "We will."

As Lily then smiled, the wind began to pick up as the buffers came into view. As they then braced themselves Thomas's E2 shot through the rainbow colored portal and then rolled onto the dying railway.

"It's dark and cold and bumpy." Thomas observed. "But, I'm not afraid. Oh." He then remarked. "So that's where that last truck of coal went."

"Coal?" Lily said as she pondered. "Wait... Stoke up the magic in the mountain and the engine will sound. That's part of Mr. Conductor's clue to his Gold-Dust."

"And Lily." Thomas added. "That is exactly what you do with coal: stoke it up in a firebox to make an engine's steam."

As Thomas then smiled, and slowed his engine to a stop, he knew exactly what he now had to do.

"If we are going to help Mr. Conductor.." He began. "Then we're going to do it right! We're going back for that coal truck!"

As Thomas then brought his E2 into reverse, he backed it into the coal truck he'd lost, and this time coupled it up by hand. As Thomas then drove his E2 forward once more, Lily smiled at him.

"You have a really useful engine, Thomas." She said to him.

"Thanks, Lily." Thomas replied as he then closed his eyes tight through the portal exit.

As Thomas then opened his eyes, he found himself at a cliff that was not on sodor.

"Lily.." He asked. "Where are we?"

"Muffle-Mountain, Thomas." Lily replied.

"Oh dear." Thomas remarked. "I-I feel kind of dizzy. I don't think that my legs will let me walk."

"Don't worry, Thomas." Lily replied. "I'll be back. but I must find my grandpa."

As Thomas then sat alone in his engine's cab, and Lily dashed off to find Burnett, neither of them knew that Boomer too was at Muffle-Mountain, wiring some explosives together. As the detonator's light came on, Boomer placed his hands on it's handle and smiled deviously.

"Well Burnett.." He monologued loudly. "In case if you ever wondered what revenge sounds like. It sounds just like this!"

"BOOM!" Went the explosives as they shook the mountain.

"AH!" Thomas screamed in fright as the shock wave made the ground beneath his E2 crumble away.

"Whoa!" Lily remarked as she felt the shockwave. "What was that?!"

"Lily!" A familiar voice suddenly cried.

"Patch!" Lily exclaimed as she ran up to the horse rider and embraced him. "Oh, I'm so glad to run into you."

"I'm just glad that you're okay." Patch replied. "Anyway, I'll take you to your grandfather straight away."

"Thank you." Lily replied as she then hopped on Patch's horse and began riding away to Burnett's workshop.

Meanwhile, Thomas tried to apply the brakes, but they wouldn't work.

"Oh no! Stop wheels! Stop!" Thomas cried, as he suddenly heard the sounds of a motorbike coming towards his engine.

As Thomas's E2 just rolled down the hill Boomer rode his motorcycle after it, and leapt into the cab just as it went through another portal to the magic railway. As Boomer looked around, he found no-one on board.

"Typical." He chuckled. "When an engine stands still, there's usually no-one inside."

"Oh really?!" Said a certain voice as he then wacked Boomer with his shovel. "Did you ever stop to think that the person who drives THIS engine was using an invisibility spell?"

"PAH!" Boomer scoffed. "As if I would you stupid kid! Magic is false and fake."

"Tell that to my wind gust sigils." Thomas replied as he then sent Boomer flying out of his engine's cab. "Sheesh." He then remarked. "What a mongrel."

As Thomas then sighed, he began to look for a way back to Sodor. Meanwhile, inside of Muffle-mountain, Burnett was just about to throw in the towel when the sound of running footsteps were heard from the cave's walls.

"Grandpa!"

Burnett looked over towards where the voice originated from, and gave a sigh of relief as a certain girl embraced him.

"Oh, Lily. Thank goodness that you're alright."

"There is this island of many trains, and Mr. C says you might have been there."

"You mean Sodor?" Burnett quizzed. "Yes, I have been there a few times. But, Lily, why are you so panicked?"

"Because, Mr. C and Junior are very sick and are out of Gold-dust." Lily explained. "Oh, please help me help them, grandpa."

Burnett sighed as he gave his response.

"I would really love to, Lily." He replied. "But so far, none of my attempts have been successful."

"Attempts?" Lily quizzed. "Attempts at what?"

Burnett gave a saddened sigh and pointed towards Lady's engine before gesturing her towards a certain room.

"Awakening HER."

As Lily then looked at the 0-4-0 and then at the sleeping princess, she put two and two together and the answer came to her.

"Is she the lost princess of the Magic Railroad" She asked.

"Yes." Burnett replied. "I've been trying to wake her up by making her engine's steam, but so far none of the coals that I have used worked."

(POV: Lily.)

As I looked at the engine that belonged to Lady, I couldn't help but feel that the fact that we were all missing was staring straight at us in the face.

"It doesn't appear to be an American design." I thought. "More like a British type."

As I thought about this, I remembered some of the facts that Mr. C and Thomas told me about Lady, including the fact that she was a resident of Sodor. As this came into my mind, the missing piece finally came to me.

"Lady and her engine were residents of Sodor, right?"

"Yes." My grandfather replied back. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"I bet that Lady's engine will only work with Sodor coal." I replied. "And as a matter of fact, Thomas, the teen who brought me home, has picked up a coal truck with that kind of coal along the way here. I bet it's still there, on the mountain."

"I'll go and get some!" Patch then replied as he then darted out to board his horse.

(To be continued...)