Narrator: Meanwhile, Thomas was starting to recognize his surroundings.

Thomas: The sun's getting brighter. That means less trees. Hey, there's a sign overhead. It looks like the one I went under before I saw… (Merlin's voice is heard from farther down the line.)

Merlin: Invisibility on! (Thomas hears this, as well as steam and puffing sounds)

Thomas: Merlin!

Merlin: Funny, that sounded like that Thomas chap I met yesterday. I would have thought he was long g…(sees Thomas in front, gasps) It is him! Invisibility off! (does his steam trick) Thomas. What an unexpected pleasure! Come back to my humble abode, you have. Excellent form of hiding, I must say. I had no clue you were there.

Thomas: Merlin, I wasn't hiding.

Merlin: Then may I ask, what were you doing?

Thomas: (sighs) Running away.

Merlin: From Bridlington? You seem like you delivered your trucks.

Thomas: I didn't. I…it's a bit complicated. I…(sees Merlin's missing smoke deflector, realizes the truth, gasps) Cinders and ashes! That piece of metal I saw back there was a smoke deflector.

Merlin: Medal? Has someone won a competition lately? A jousting match, probably. All the knights used to do it!

Thomas: Merlin! You're the engine who escaped the Steelworks!

Merlin: Steelworks? I've never heard of a place with that title. Sorry, Thomas, but I think you should go.

Thomas: Stop hiding, Merlin. I know it was you. The escape route I took lead back to this yard.

Merlin: (sighs) Yes, Thomas. Of course it did. I was the one. Hurricane and Frankie? Did they treat you roughly?

Thomas: Pfft. Roughly is an understatement. Frankie acted like she owned me. But, Hurricane let me go.

Merlin: He…what?

Thomas: He helped me escape.

Merlin: I don't believe it. He didn't help me escape. Or my friends. He and Frankie let them…melt away.

Thomas: Merlin, why didn't you tell me before?

Merlin: You never asked.

Thomas: I didn't ask because I didn't have a reason to ask. But that was your smoke deflector back there. Now, tell me what happened, please.

Merlin: (sighs) Alright, but I warn you, it's not pretty. Many years ago, this whole span of land was a small Branch Line...

I was put in charge of running it, alongside my two best friends, Theodore and Alexis. The three of us were inseparable. We were cut from the same cloth. Literally. Built at the same time, in the same factory. We worked as hard as the best power trios that ever were, always making sure that our Managers were happy with us. But, with time, came the harshness of reality. The people in charge didn't have enough money to keep us onboard. The line had to be closed down, and everyone expected that we would go down with it, especially us. However, as the expression goes, there was light at the end of the tunnel. The people at the Steelworks nearby had found out about us, and were so impressed by our work ethic that they wanted to buy us. Our Managers agreed, and the deal was done. We were all happy that we had a new home, a new place to be useful. When we arrived, we quickly got used to the extreme heat, and all the workmen treated us with kindness and generosity. There were two workers, though, that treated us something quite different: Hurricane and Frankie. They were at the Steelworks long before we were, and knew all the ins and outs. Perhaps that was what made them conceited, because all they would do was tease and taunt us. They would say how much better they were at the job, and point out everything we did wrong, despite our best efforts. Little did we know that there was more to those two than met the eye.

Thomas: I know what you mean.

Merlin: Oh, but you don't know the half of it. There was a spot in the Steelworks that we three were told was off limits to newcomers. Only Frankie and Hurricane were allowed back there. But our curiosity got the better of us. In the night, when we thought everyone else was asleep, we went in the spot. We thought we had worked hard enough to deserve it. Dear oh dear, we suddenly wished we had not been so prideful. We found out that we were not the first newcomers to that awful place. There had been lots of engines before us that worked there. But they had all worked for so long that they became worn out and useless. But did they fix those engines? No. They c-c-cut them up.

Thomas: Sounds awful, doesn't it?

Merlin: It's indescribable! And when we found this out, it didn't feel like home anymore. But they couldn't trust us to keep the secret.

Frankie: (flashback) Anyone who sees this part of our operation shall not live to tell the tale! Hurricane, let's melt them!

Merlin: By then, there was no time to think, only time for action. So, I fled.

Merlin: (flashback) Invisibility on!

Merlin: I followed the old track at the rear of the building, and it led me through the fence, out to the abandoned yard that was once part of my line. Lost my smoke deflector on the way, as you noticed. I intended to escape, and find help for my friends. But, when I tried consulting other engines on the Mainland, none of them were patient enough to believe my story. After a day of failure, I decided to try to break Theodore and Alexis out myself. I was determined; even the onset of rain did not daunt me. By then, however…it was too late. I looked all over the buildings, but they were gone. I was nearly caught again, but I managed to escape a second time.

Frankie: (flashback) Hurricane, look! It's the fugitive!

Hurricane: (flashback) You mean that wizard fellow?

Frankie: (flashback) Get him! He's trying to break the gates down! (to Merlin) Stop! Hold it right there!

Hurricane: (flashback) Stay right where you are! (Merlin frantically breaks the gates open, disappears in a cloud of steam, much to the chagrin of the two Steelworks engines. Steam used to transition back to present day.)

Merlin: (sighing) Now, I realize it would have been better if my friends and I had been left to fade away with our Branch Line. Then, at least, we would have been together, free of harm. Well, I couldn't go back to the Steelworks, so I decided to just stay here in this yard. My Driver and Fireman found work to make money from, and they come to visit me often. I figure all that's left for me to do is rot away with these old tracks. It's the ending my friends and I deserved.

Thomas: Oh, Merlin. No one deserves to live like this.

Merlin: It's what Theo and Lexi would want. It's a lesser of two evils, Thomas. Even you have to admit that.

Thomas: Why couldn't you just find another railway to live on?

Merlin: No one on the Mainland would take me. They thought I wasn't right in the boiler, you know. Nobody believed my story, or that I was a stealth engine.

Thomas: Well, that's just not right. You need a home. You could come with me.

Merlin: To the Island of Sonar?

Thomas: So-door, Merlin. Like 'so you're going to open a door.'

Merlin: Well, I…(suddenly becoming filled with excitement.) I don't know what to say, Thomas. A new life of adventure and company. This is the greatest offer I've had in…forever! (blows his whistle excitedly.)

Thomas: Oh. Well, uh…great. Great. I think I know the way back to the Island. So, just follow me. (He goes to puff forward, but is surprised by Merlin not following along.)

Merlin: Wait. If I am to leave this place, there is one last thing I have to do: (zoom in on face) confront my enemy.

Thomas: (stops suddenly) I'm sorry, WHAT? Merlin, why would you go back there so…suddenly?

Merlin: Because you've given me new hope, Thomas. No one has ever given me such a joyful feeling before. I mean it. If I couldn't save my friends before, I can at least avenge them now.

Thomas: Going back won't bring them…(stops, hears music and a train whistle echoing in the distance, gasps.) No, it can't be.

Merlin: What, Thomas?

Thomas: It's James!

Merlin: Who's James?

Thomas: One of my engine friends from Sodor.

Merlin: Oh, excellent! We can get his help in taking down that blasted Steelworks.

Thomas: Not likely, Merlin.

Merlin: Oh, come now, Thomas. You're not giving him a fair chance.

Thomas: That's not what I mean. I…oh bother, I've got a bad feeling about this!

Author's Note: Merlin reveals himself, and the sad fates of him and his friends. This was the chapter of exposition, and I hope I did not hound you the reader with it. I tried to give enough history to tie all the characters and settings together, something that the canon special did not really dive much into. So many opportunities went unused there, so I did my best to remedy that. BTW, I changed the models of Theo (Theodore) and Lexi (Alexis) so that they were not experimental like Merlin, just good friends of his. Since Merlin is based on the real life SR King Arthur-class experimental three-funnel engine from World War II, I gave his friends SR designs as well. Theo is based on Richard Maunsell's Z Class 0-8-0 tank engine, while Lexi was updated to the Maunsell U-Boat class 2-6-0. If you're curious, you can search for the designs on Google.

This chapter is shorter than the others, but I consider it perhaps the most important, or at least one of them. In the meantime, Merlin has gained new hope to avenge his friends, and Thomas has a pang in his boiler when he hears James' whistle. What does it all mean? Find out in the next chapter, No Party for James.