(Frankie and James bear in on the Steelworks, singing.)

This is the Hottest Place in Town

We'll warm you up when you're feeling down

We'll make a smile out of every frown

There's no looking back now, you're on the right track now

This is a place you can have some fun

Where you can feel like a number 1

We've got more sunshine than the sun

There's a light in our eyes, we simply can't disguise

This is the Hottest Place in Town (end of song: both of them chuckling)

James: (chuckling) Well, this place sounds like a big party house.

Frankie: You can think of it like that, yes. Thomas enjoys it here very much, and so do Hurricane and I. You'll like it just as much.

James: Oh, I don't plan to stay long.

Frankie: (chuckles) Once you get inside, I think you'll change your mind.

Narrator: They passed through the main gates slowly and confidently.

James: All right, Thomas! This ends here and now!

Frankie: If you don't mind, I'll call him out. Less work for you.

James: Hmm, good point. Very clever.

Frankie: (smirking) I know. If you'll just puff right this way. (they enter the main building) Hurricane. We've got another visitor. (Hurricane comes in on adjacent crossing line)

Hurricane: Ah, good day new engine. What brings you here?

James: Well, a few little trucks told me that I'd find a cheeky blue tank engine named Thomas somewhere in this facility. (Hurricane pauses, looks a little nervous.)

Frankie: Hurricane, is something wrong?

Hurricane: (blurting out) Thomas isn't here. I disposed of him. (Frankie and James stare in shock for a moment.)

James: I'm sorry, what does that mean?

Hurricane: He tried to leave when he wasn't supposed to, so he paid the price.

Frankie: Excellent work, Hurricane. I knew I could rely on you.

Hurricane: Glad to be of service. (backs away quickly)

James: What? You mean he's…all right, something's going on here.

Frankie: Not really. But, since you're here, you can make yourself useful and help us with all these ladle trucks.

James: Huh! I don't think so. I have better work to do back on… (Hurricane bumps a train of ladle trucks behind James, surprising him. Hurricane chuckles)

Frankie: It's not like you have a choice in the matter. Now, it's off to work you go! (chuckles, rolls away)

James: But…but I…oh bother! (rolls away slowly, with trucks behind him. Cut to him shunting ladle trucks onto the slag heap, newly repaired from Thomas' accident. That was quick!)

James: (panting) All this soot, ash and heat will positively ruin my paintwork! If Thomas was here, I hope he had it worse than I do!

Narrator: From a safe distance away, Thomas could see and hear James. He and Merlin watched from the fence.

Thomas: I knew it! It all happened! Oh, James. If I'm right, you could have it worse than me.

Merlin: So that's James, eh?

Thomas: Yes. He must have come from Sodor to look for me.

Merlin: It seems Frankie got to him first.

Thomas: Well, I can't just sit around and let him work in that prison house for the rest of his days. I have to rescue him.

Merlin: Thomas, we have to rescue him. I'm with you every step of the way. Plus, it may be advantageous to our plan.

Thomas: How, Merlin?

Merlin: Follow me. We'll circle around and head for the main gate. I'll explain on the way.

Thomas: Oh! I hope it's a foolproof plan. (they reverse back the way they came.)

Merlin: Oh, I believe so. And they'll be the fools!

Narrator: James felt more down every time he had to shunt or pull another train. But it wasn't just the hard work that was making him feel this way.

James: (sighs) If I hadn't teased Thomas, he would never have taken my train. And he wouldn't have come here and gotten…scrapped! (speaking to himself angrily) Oh, get a grip on yourself, James. You've gone soft. Well! I know! I'll fix this place up with some music. (clears throat, much slower tempo from his first song, gets sadder and sadder)

Somebody has to be the favorite

The one whose grandiosity never ends

Somebody has to be grander than the rest

Somebody has to be so grand that they're the best

Somebody has to be the favorite

And most importantly, he needs his friends

The most important thing is being friends (song ends, he wails loudly to no one in particular)

James: (sadly) What have I done? What have I done? (off-screen, Frankie is heard yelling.)

Frankie: Hey, keep the noise down, big red engine. You're distracting the workmen.

James: (through his sobs) It's James. And don't tell me how to behave!

Frankie: You'll get the hang of it with time, I'm sure. You have all the time in the world now.

James: (to himself, sadly) Oh, Thomas! I'm so…so…sorry! (pan back to reveal the entirety of the building with James working in it.)

Author's Note: A much shorter chapter than the others. This was meant to give focus on James, and is the point in the story where his character ultimately changes for the better. He gets tricked by Frankie, thinks his frenemy Thomas has been scrapped, and now he doesn't know what to do. I am rather proud of the musical passage where "Somebody Has to Be the Favorite" is transformed into "The Most Important Thing is Being Friends," something I felt was needed to help convey the development of James' arc. Incidentally, the title of this chapter was meant to reference the Season 3 episode, No Joke for James. As he sees, the Steelworks is no joke, nor is it the funhouse he pictured it to be.

Meanwhile, Hurricane has kept his promise to Thomas, and lied about his fate in order to cover for him. I hope I didn't make Frankie come across as too easily persuaded. I believe that thanks to the length time she and Hurricane have spent together, she would basically trust him whatever the circumstances.

So, what is Merlin's plan for him and Thomas to rescue James and conquer the Steelworks? Find out in the next chapter, Breaking Out and Breaking In!