JACK OWNS UP

Based upon the episode by Paul Larson

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

The Ffarquhar engines were very pleased to be running on their branch line once more.

"Mr. Volley's got some even better news," said Thomas that evening. "Maithwaite station's due to have its opening ceremony within the next two days."

"That's fantastic!" smiled Toby. "Pity it wasn't ready in time for the best dressed station competition."

"Well, at least we don't have to put up with the 'naughty gnomes', eh, Daisy?" laughed Percy. The diesel railcar simply rolled her eyes and said nothing. But all the same, she was as excited as the others about the opening ceremony.


Two days later, the engines brought down passengers to see the grand opening, and it wasn't just them.

"Bertie!" smiled Thomas. "Glad you could come."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," said Bertie. "It's great to have you all back. If I had to go up the road without seeing trains go by for too long, I'd have sworn Bulgy, Horace and Goerge would have teamed up."

"Thank goodness we won't have to deal with them," sighed Annie.

"Ugh, that brother of ours was never respectful," grunted David.

"Oh, David," cried Toby. "And the rest of the Pack! You're here for the ceremony too?"

"Th-that's right," said Alex. "We d-did help to b-build the station a-after all."

"You all deserve a lot of credit," said Henrietta. "It's thanks to road vehicles like you that won mine and Toby's trust."

Jack blinked in confusion at Henrietta's comment, but he didn't have time to question it as Sir Topham Hatt and Miss Jenny Packard walked up.

"Ladies, gentlemen, engines, coaches and vehicles," Sir Topham Hatt began, "though there were a few setbacks to the branch line, including an accident involving some… er, adorable interruptions, we were able to get the branch line repaired with the help of Miss Jenny and the Pack. I don't know what the island would do without any of them."

"Nor do we, Sir Topham," chuckled Miss Jenny. The Irish redhead then made a few comments of her own. "Each an' ev'ry one o' me crew has worked extra hard ta get this station built an' fix the branch line. But I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to me newest recruit, Jack the front loader. Without his brave actions, Thomas an' his coaches an' passengers would have gotten seriously hurt."

Jack gave a small gasp of happiness and beamed. I'm so glad Thomas is okay, he thought. I never thought Miss Jenny would be this proud of me. He was so lost in thought he didn't hear the rest of the announcement marking the station's opening, or Miss Jenny calling the Pack to leave.

"Come on, Jack!" called Alfie. "It's time to go back to the yards."

"O-oh, right!" cried Jack. "I'm right behind you, Alfie! Bye, Thomas! Bye, Ffarquhar crew!"

Alfie looked over at Jasmine, most confused. "It's not like Jack to have his mind in the clouds," the green excavator admitted.

"Well, we did go through a lot these past couple of weeks," the blue lorry agreed. "Plus, Jack had some repairs done to him after helping Thomas out."

"Yeah, probably just some effects of green water wearing off," said Alfie. "He'll be back to his old self soon enough."


A few days later, some members of the Pack were being given a new assignment near the Little Western.

"It's at a warehouse," Miss Jenny explained. "Unfortunately, the storm from last night tore a hole in the building."

"Oh no!" gasped Nigel. "That is one of the last things we need around here."

"That's what we're built for, Nigel," chuckled Oliver. "We'll get that fixed up in no time."

"Quite right, Oliver," said Miss Jenny. "Now, Duck, Oliver an' the twins will be taking ye there."

"How can Oliver do that?" asked Jack. "I mean, he's an excavator."

"Not me," laughed the excavator in question. "There's another Oliver on the island! He's a Great Western engine!"

"There's two Olivers?" asked Jack, surprised. "How is that even possible?"

"You'd be surprised how many individuals share a name, or have something similar," said Buster. "There's a coach named Henrietta and an engine named Henry for a start."

Jack continued to wonder in bemusement as the Pack got ready to go to the warehouse.


When the engines finally did come, Jack eagerly started to chat with Oliver the Western engine, who was chosen to take him and Alfie.

"Southall?" asked Jack. "That's a very long way from Sodor!"

"It sure is," said Oliver. "Where did you come from, Jack?"

"I was built here, actually," Jack smiled.

"Oh, wow," gasped Oliver. "As far as I'm aware, the only other vehicle that can make that claim is Flyer of the Skarloey Railway. That's pretty special, Jack."

"It is? I mean… yes, it is!" grinned Jack. "Not many vehicles are built on Sodor. I didn't know that."

"You should meet Flyer sometime," said Alfie. "They're quite full of energy."

"Maybe one of these days if we ever work near the Skarloey line," said Jack. "Ooh, speaking of energy, I can't wait to get going at the warehouse. When are we getting there, Oliver? Do hurry up!"

"I'm going as fast as my driver's allowing me," Oliver told Jack.

"Don't mind him," chuckled Alfie. "He's always in a hurry."


After what seemed like forever to Jack, Oliver finally arrived. The warehouse was a few miles down from Buff's Cove, and Jack and Alfie were soon unloaded.

"Thanks, Oliver," smiled Alfie.

"Always a pleasure, Alfie." Oliver replied. "See you all later."

"Tell Toad we said hello," called Alfie. Jack gave a puzzled look at the green excavator as Oliver puffed away.

"He's Oliver's brake van," Alfie explained. "Sometimes, he works with Douglas as well."

"A brake van shared between two engines?" Jack wondered.

"It's kind of a long story," Alfie admitted. "Come on; we better meet up with the others."


Jack and Alfie drove over to the warehouse where the other Pack members assigned to the job were.

"Just in time, you two," said Byron. "Miss Jenny's about to give us a briefing before we get to work."

"Quite right, Byron," she smiled. "Okay, Kelly; I need ye to help me wi' getting the frames to rebuild the walls."

"Of course, Miss Jenny," the blue crane replied.

"Byron, ye need to clear the rubble from inside the warehouse."

"You got it, Miss Jenny."

"Jack an' Alfie, you two are to dig some fresh areas fer the foundations o' the new floor."

"We can do that!" grinned Jack.

"Just try and stop us," chuckled Alfie.

"Ned an' Oliver, you two have to clear away the old wall."

"Oh boy!" grinned Ned. "I can't wait to tear down that!"

"We'll have to clear up the rubble afterwards, though," added Oliver. "You can't build new walls with a messy workspace."

"An' remember," finished Miss Jenny, "safety first! Which means–" Just then, a little four legged creature came up, barking excitedly. "Huh?! Jet, what are ye doin' here?"

Jet raced over to Miss Jenny, bouncing up to her to say hello. Unfortunately, Miss Jenny lost her balance and landed on the dirt nearby. Her clipboard also fell out of her hand.

"Oh no!" she cried, picking it up and dusting herself off. "Jet, bad dog!" Jack and Alfie were trying to keep a straight face at the sight.

"Is that your dog, Miss Jenny?" asked Jack.

"Aye," said Miss Jenny. "Go on, ye silly creature! Mum's busy right now." Jet started whimpering and his tail was tucked between his legs.

"Oh, I think he's sorry, Miss Jenny," said Kelly.

"It was an accident, Jet," said Jack. "You didn't mean to make Miss Jenny drop her clipboard or make her trip."

Jet gave a smile and raced over next to Jack.

"Well… I forgive ye, Jet," smiled Miss Jenny, petting him on the head. "Mum loves ye." She turned to the Pack. "Okay, everyone, let's get to work. And I'll make sure Jet stays out o' harm's way."


Soon, everyone was doing their assigned tasks. Oliver and Ned had to tear down the wall that was damaged in the storm.

"This will be fun!" grinned Ned. "Ready, Oliver?"

"Ready when you are, Ned," said Oliver. "Everyone stand back!"

Everyone quickly got out of the way, and the two friends readied their wrecking balls.

"Three… two… one… go!"

CRASH!

"Ha ha! Bye, old wall!" laughed Ned.

"Come on," said Oliver. "We'd better get our wrecking balls off. We don't want someone to get hurt."


Soon, it was Byron's turn to clear away the rubble that was left behind.

"Nothing I can't handle!" he boomed as he began to push. The rubble slipped outside as if it was a pile of leaves. "There we go, got to make sure it's out of everyone's way." Grinning, he went back inside for the next lot.

"And… there we go, that's the last of it," he smiled. "All in one neat pile too."

"Excellent work, Byron," smiled Jack. "Come on, Alfie; last one to start digging is a pile of dirt!"

"That means more fun!" chuckled Alfie. The two diggers started to fill up some trucks, when they heard a whistle.

"Hello, Alfie," smiled Duck. "Ah, you must be this Jack that Oliver was telling me about."

"That's right," said Jack. "Would you happen to be Duck?"

"Oh, yes," the pannier tank engine smiled. "Although my real name's Montague. Anyway, welcome to the island."

"Thanks, Duck," said Jack. "It's nice to meet you too. Where did you come from prior to working here?"

"I worked in Paddington on the Western Region along with many of my siblings," Duck explained. "What about you?"

"I was actually built here on Sodor."

"Really?" exclaimed Duck with surprise. "Not many vehicles can make that claim round here. Many of us lived all over the United Kingdom before coming to Sodor."

"I think you guys coming from places in the United Kingdom is also really special," said Jack. "It gives Sodor a sort of… magic that other places lack."

"You're sounding like our friend Lily," chuckled Duck. "She lives on a farm near our branch line with her husband Patch, and their new daughter Sally."

"Aww, how sweet," smiled Jack.

Eventually, the trucks were loaded and Duck's guard blew the whistle. "I'd better go," Duck said. "Take care, you two."

"Oh, we will," said Jack. "It was nice to meet you, Duck." The front loader then looked over at Alfie. "Let's see who can get more dirt the quickest."

"Okay," grinned Alfie. "I'll race you; carefully, that is."


Jack and Alfie were dashing to get more dirt, and saw Kelly helping getting the frames up for the new wall.

"Careful, Jack!" they cried as the red front loader nearly hit them.

"Sorry, Kelly!" Jack called back.


Duck hadn't gone too far with his trucks, when he saw Jack not paying attention to his surroundings.

"I hope he's not going to get into trouble."


But I'm afraid to say that Jack did. He went the wrong way to get the dirt, and before he realized it, skidded right into some roofing tiles.

"Roasting radiators!" cried Jack. He then looked around to see if anyone had heard the accident, or worse, witnessed it. No one had; not even his banksman.

"Phew," Jack sighed with relief. "I'd better take great care after this." He carefully made his way to find Alfie.


"I won!" laughed Alfie. "What took you so long, slow coach?"

"I, er… guess you passed me when I didn't realize," chuckled Jack, weakly.

"Are you alright?" asked Alfie. "You sound almost exhausted."

"I used up a lot of energy in the race," Jack lied. "Come on, I'm sure I'll get you next time."


Meanwhile, where the broken roofing tiles lay, Ned was making his way to help clear the rubble for Donald to pick up.

"I wonder how Donald is going today," Ned wondered to himself. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen the broken slate and ran right over it!

"Ned!" cried his banksman. "You've damaged the slate!"

"But I didn't do it!" protested the old steam shovel. "It wasn't me…" But there was little Ned could do about it; it was an accident.


It wasn't long before Miss Jenny had been informed about Ned's accident with the slate.

"I'm very disappointed with ye, Ned," she said. "You're to go back to the yards as soon as I can arrange it. Duck will take ye back."

"It's not fair," Ned pouted to himself; he almost wanted to cry. Nearby, Jack and Alfie were resting, waiting for Duck to come back.

"What's happened there?" asked Jack.

"It looks like Ned got into trouble for causing an accident," said Alfie. "This isn't the first time it's happened, although he never really means to cause any."

"Oh, I-I see," said Jack. Maybe this was an unrelated accident to my own, Jack thought. But he realized this was too big a coincidence and began to feel guilty.

"Jack?" asked Alfie. "Is everything alright?" The front loader quickly sped off without giving an answer.

"Miss Jenny!" called Jack. "Ned didn't damage the slate; I did." And then he went on to explain everything that led up to Ned getting the blame.

Miss Jenny sighed. "Why didn't ye speak up right away?"

"I… I was scared of being yelled at," Jack said, quietly.

"Jack," said Miss Jenny, "you're very young, an' I understand that. But ye've got to be honest wi' me. If not, someone could get the blame fer somethin' they didn't do."

"Yes, Miss Jenny," sighed Jack. "I'm so sorry, to you and Ned."

"It's okay, Jack," smiled Ned. "I'm just glad no one was hurt. It wasn't me, it wasn't me," he sang as he went back to work.


Soon, Duck returned to the yards with an empty flatbed in tow for Jack to be taken away in.

"Jack, lying is very hurtful," the pannier tank engine sighed. "I should know because I was a victim of lies myself."

"Y-you were?" asked Jack. "You got blamed for an accident that wasn't your fault?"

"Well… not that," said Duck. "Long story short, Diesel said I made up hurtful nicknames about Gordon, Henry and James, and they were very cross with me."

"Yikes…" shuddered Jack. "I… I promise I won't lie again. Er… was Diesel sent back to the yards too?"

"Maybe we should both explain the story…"

THE END


Author's Comments

We've now reached the quarterway point of Series 6-7 Redux, and to mark this milestone, our first adaptation of a Pack episode! It's a great spin-off series, but one issue with it is that it felt somewhat disconnected from the rest of the Sodor universe, mainly due to some characters and locations not appearing in the actual show (Jack Jumps In and A Friend in Need notwithstanding, which we've already adapted) until The Great Discovery, and then eventually, the CGI era starting with King of the Railway. As has been established, the Pack is already a part of Sodor, so we get to see them prior to Jack's first days on Sodor. It made sense to adapt Jack Owns Up first as the front loader himself is still learning, and he doesn't act this foolish in any other episode that's been officially completed.

So far, we've adapted eleven episodes out of Series 6, and one episode each from Series 7 and the Pack spinoff. The first half of the redux will mostly be drawn from Series 6 with bits of 7 and Pack sprinkled in, whereas the second half will be drawn mostly from Series 7.

Upcoming stories:

- When Life Gives You Lemons

- It's Only Snow

- Gordon's Breakaway

- Alfie Has Kittens

- Harvey to the Rescue