Gordon was very glad to be in his original size, but still he puffed on through the woods in search of Percy, the engine with bunny ears and a tail.
In the distance was the sound of metal clashing each other again and again. "What is that racket?" grumbled Gordon as he came closer and closer to the source.
The noise appeared to come from a building that Gordon described as a smaller version of the Steamworks.
Curious, he puffed through the doors. Inside, he found that the walls were lined with steel and a yellow blur that flung pipes, parts and other scraps of metal against said walls, creating the discordant noises. If Gordon had ears, he'd block out the sound from entering them if he also had hands and arms to go with the ears. Alas, Gordon could only wince at the cacophony.
What really spooked the engine - even Gordon couldn't deny that he felt such fright - was that a pipe was shot into the wall like a spear, missing the tip of Gordon's nose by a speck of dust.
"Sorry! Didn't see you there!" Gordon wasn't sure whether he was worried that the voice belonged to Kevin or that he didn't say his usual response when an accident occurred due to his clumsy hook.
"Good aim Kevin! Keep it up!" Victor had entered the scene. Both the Steamworks engine and the crane had not changed in appearance but that statement worried Gordon even more.
At the far end of the building, on top of a mountain of pipes that were neatly stacked was a green owl - whose feathers were tipped with red and yellow - napping through all the chaos.
Victor noticed Gordon, giving him his signature smile that welcomed any engine.
"Hello my friend, what brings you here?" "Well, it's nice that someone acts normal-" "Kevin! Get ready!"
The yellow crane grinned as he started to create a small tornado as he swung another pipe around and around.
"All you have to do is stay still." Gordon indeed stayed still, not because he heeded Victor's instruction but because he was paralysed with fear due to his last encounter with a pipe- no, a forsaken metal spear!
As mere seconds passed, Victor stared at the ceiling, confusing Gordon. "Incoming!" Victor's accuracy was spot on as something crashed through the roof and bounced along the walls while at the same time, Kevin fired pipes around the room.
"Wheeeeeeeeeee!" "Phillip?!" Gordon recognised that screech to be the very diesel that he unfortunately sneezed up into the sky.
Gordon the one-who-denies-he's-scared-if-asked-but-in-reality-he's-paralysed-with-fear engine gaped at the impossible - or at least in his definition of impossible - as Phillip comically sprang off the walls, followed by pipes thrown by Kevin, only missing him by a second all while avoiding Gordon, Victor and the owl.
"Good aim Kevin!" complemented Victor as Phillip exited the building - by bouncing of a wall at a certain angle - with a joyful laugh following him.
When Gordon regained his confidence since the same can't be said for his sanity, he could finally have a normal conversation of this world's Victor. Hopefully with no interruptions.
Gordon eyed the green owl that stayed still. "So… what is that owl over there? I've never seen anything like it."
"That is a Bicker-Owl. You must not have known much to not know about it."
With not a concern about his size, Gordon felt free to be to his display his rage.
"I'm actually rather intelligent for an engine!" Gordon huffed, "Very intelligent if I do say so myself!"
"Not intelligent enough to know what a Bicker-Owl is, so not very intelligent."
Before Gordon could argue further, Victor hurried out of the building. "Pardon me but there's an audience with the King I must attend. Kevin, keep practicing!"
Gordon also sped out of the 'Steam-works' before Kevin started to toss the pipes again.
The blue engine puffed along a path through the forest again. Gordon hoped that he'll catch Percy soon so he could go home as well, although going home was not his top priority at the moment. He looked at the scenery around him, the light becoming more absent as Gordon kept going. This environment made it easier for the steam engine to notice the green Bicker-Owl, resting on a branch above a junction in the pathways.
The Bicker-Owl stared back at him. Gordon the Big Engine had a neutral opinion on winged and feathered creatures. Perhaps fate would smile upon him if the owl would give him directions. He took into account that he'll have to be respectful since his arrogance has done him no good so far on this adventure.
"Bicker-Owl," Gordon spoke, glad to see that the creature was not offended, "Do you know which way I should go from here?"
"It depends. Where exactly do you want to go?" asked the Bicker-Owl, ruffling its feathers.
"Does it really matter where I end up?"
"Yes, otherwise it doesn't really matter which direction you go."
That sort of logic did make sense to Gordon.
"Who lives around here then?"
"If you follow along this trail," the Bicker-Owl lifted its left wing, "you'll meet a tank engine with two coaches. The other way, however," the creature raised its other wing, "Lives a tram with one coach. But you're free to go whichever path you like, both of them are mad either way."
"Mad? It seems to me that almost everyone here is mad." remarked Gordon. But when he looked back up, the Bicker-Owl had disappeared
"We're all mad," added the Bicker-Owl who suddenly flew out of Gordon's cab, "I might not be as mad as a cat but I'm still as mad as you are mad."
"How did you- nevermind that,"The blue engine was indeed taken by surprise but decided not to display it, "how could I be mad?" Gordon asked rather defensively.
"Everyone around me always goes mad, maybe not the same kind of mad as the two engines along these paths." answered the Bicker-Owl.
"But I'm not mad!" Gordon retaliated rather angrily.
"Maybe not the kind of mad you're thinking of."
This time, the Bicker-Owl reappeared in a tree hollow, its eyes piercing through the darkness as it turned its head to face Gordon, before disappearing again. It reminded him of a certain engine who hid in a similar way - 'similar' since it'd be impossible for a steam engine to fit in a tree hollow.
When Gordon was sure he was alone, he decided to go on the path on the left, where the mad tank engine with two coaches resided.
He could've sworn that the Bicker-Owl sounded too much like a nature-loving engine he knew too well.