(Inside the Steamworks, Thomas is anxious after hearing James' whistling with joy.)
Thomas: James! Stop it! We have to keep quiet…
James: Thank goodness you're not scrapped, Thomas. Now that I found you, we can both go back home and…
Thomas: James! Don't you see? Frankie won't let us leave! She's keeping us as prisoners!
James: Prisoners? (suddenly a clang is heard. The melting pot's magnet is shown to have locked onto Thomas. It slowly lifts him up!)
Thomas: What the…? Whoa! Hey, what's going on? (from his viewpoint, he can see a workman handling a control panel. This indicates he's the one who lifted Thomas. Hurricane appears on one of the cross lines.)
Hurricane: (sneakily) Going somewhere?
Thomas: Hurricane?
James: You ruthless monster! Let go of my friend, or you won't be able to take my next train…if you get my meaning. (he suddenly feels a shunt from behind. It's Frankie.)
Frankie: I do, and if you don't get back, you won't be able to take the heat.
Hurricane: I got Thomas on the hoist, Frankie.
Frankie: Excellent. Now, keep an eye on Big Red here while I have a word with this puffball. (she shunts James in Hurricane's direction violently. James bumps into Hurricane. They eye each other briefly.)
Frankie: Now, listen here, little tank engine. You've crossed the line more times than I'm willing to admit. But…since I am the only respectable engine in this place, I'll give you one final choice. You and your friend commit yourselves to staying here and doing your share of the work, OR I burn you both at the stake!
James: What?
Thomas: I would rather rot in a scrapyard than spend one more second with you as my mistress! (Frankie starts backing the way she came.)
Frankie: Have it your way. I'll deal with you in a moment. (she's suddenly stopped. Merlin has come at her from behind. Her rear coupling gear has latched onto Merlin's front.)
Merlin: Not today, Frankie! Hurricane, get James out of here! I'll get Thomas!
Frankie: (crossly) No! Hurricane! Run him off the rails! (Hurricane struggles briefly to make a decision.)
James: Hurricane!
Thomas: Hurricane! (Hurricane is visibly nervous for his life. Then…)
Hurricane: Sorry- partner. Come on, Big Red. Do exactly as I say! (he reverses quickly. James soon follows.)
James: Yes! (As he chuckles loudly, Thomas sighs with relief.)
Frankie: GRR! Hurricane, you fool! You traitor! I'll make you pay for this! ALL OF YOU!
Merlin: (shrugs) After all this time, your vision is still blurred by your own ego. Knights! CHARGE!
Frankie: Knights? (The rest of the Sodor engines ambush Frankie from behind and on her sides. Percy, with Sir Topham Hatt, joins Merlin on the tracks behind her. Toby and Emily block one pair of side tracks, Edward and Gordon take the other.)
Percy: Thomas, are you all right?
Thomas: Percy! Oh, I am now, I think.
Frankie: AARGH!
Merlin: Give up now! You're surrounded!
Frankie: I. Will. NEVER LET THIS GO! (she tries to pull away from Merlin. She's not strong enough to uncouple from him. Meanwhile, Merlin sees Hurricane and James approaching them, each pushing three ladle trucks.)
Merlin: Then I say it is high-time you learned who you're dealing with, you wicked witch. Invisibility on!
Percy: Invisibility? (Merlin creates humongous steam cloud, encompasses himself and Frankie. She cannot see in front of her, and starts coughing frantically. Hurricane sees his chance.)
Hurricane: All right, James. Let's go!
James: Right-o!
(They both speed up frantically, then suddenly stop short. The trucks are left to take their own path. They wobble about, their vats swinging furiously. Eventually, gravity takes over, the trucks fall off the tracks towards each other. They smash together, breaking apart. The slag inside them splashes across the floor. The Sodor engines back up, careful not to let it touch them, as the slag drifts towards Frankie. Frankie, still surrounded by steam, finally manages to break away from Merlin (actually he lets her go.) She reaches the slag in seconds. Her wheels start melting away. The steam clears to reveal her screaming in terror.)
Frankie: AAH! My wheels! My beautiful wheels! NO!
Hurricane: That's for making me scrap all those innocent engines.
James: And for trying to hold my friend against his will! (Frankie groans in disbelief.)
Hurricane: Guess you're the favorite around here anymore.
Frankie: Not the favorite? Of course I am! The workmen adore me, don't they? (All the workmen back away slowly, their hands held up.) What? Get back here, you! Help me out of this! (STH climbs down from Percy's cab.)
Merlin: Ah, now that's what I like to see. Devotion to one another!
Frankie: GRRRRRAAAAGH! (STH clears his throat as he approaches Frankie.)
STH: Now, see here, diesel. I don't know the whole story behind what you're doing, but I know for a fact that being the favorite is not nearly as important as treating your fellow engines with cooperation and respect. Perhaps it would do you good to consider that a little.
Frankie: And just who on earth are you?
Thomas: That, Frankie, is the controller of our railway. And he cares for us all, as much as I care for my friends. (he eyes James and smiles, James smiles back.)
Frankie: Oh, come now. You're joking. He's only a man in a top hat! That doesn't give him the right to tell me what to do.
STH: Maybe it doesn't, but I'm sure these workers will make sure you get exactly what you deserve. Won't you, gentlemen? (The workers all mutter in agreement. One goes to the control panel that operates the magnet, pulls a level and starts to swing Thomas closer to the group. He is lowered onto the track in front of James, facing Frankie to his upper right.)
Thomas: Whoa. Whoa…ah, that's better. (he eyes Frankie, she eyes him.)
Frankie: This will never be over. I'll find you, and make sure you're turned into a metal plate, little tank engine!
Thomas: That's not my name! It's…oh, forget it. You're hopeless.
(The magnet attaches itself to Frankie. Quietly screaming, she is lifted from the slag into the air.)
Thomas: And, uh, by the way, thanks. (When the magnet reaches the apex of its mechanism, it rests there, and so does Frankie.)
Frankie: Huh! For what?
Thomas: For the adventure, I suppose. Then again, I'd say it's more adventure than either James or I can stand. Eh, James?
James: (chuckles) I couldn't agree more, friend. (they exchange smiles at each other.)
Author's Note: Frankie has finally received her comeuppance. Her wheels have melted, and she has no way to become unstuck from the magnet. This scene is perhaps the heaviest in my version of the special, and like the previous chapter it was so much fun planning it out. Merlin's plan of having the Steam Team surround her was perhaps my favorite writing moment of this chapter. As inspired by KekofSodor, I wanted to have it play out that Frankie would end up melting in the same manner as the Wicked Witch of the West. She really is a witch herself with her snobbish and cruel attitude.
The other characters also show how much they have developed over the special. Hurricane finally proves himself a good guy when he comes up with an idea for Frankie's demise. (Merlin was fortunate enough to grasp it immediately!) Thomas has learned about not losing his temper so easily, and that there are some things he simply cannot prevail over, like getting Frankie to say his name. And just to show how good-natured Thomas really is, he thanks Frankie for the adventure, despite it being a negative one. James' character arc also comes full circle. He's gone from a snobbish jerk to a determined, open-minded savior. He has made up for his mistreatment of Thomas by saving him from the prison that is the Steelworks. I also tried to give the Fat Controller some development, by having Thomas speak out about his willingness to come to the aid of his engines whatever the cost, which was basically absent from the canon JBS. I mean, all he did was reassure Percy that Thomas would be coming back soon, and that he should just keep calm and carry on. Pretty lame if you ask me.
So, with good winning out over evil, what happens to our heroes now? I mean, they can't simply go back to the way things were before this adventure, can they? Stick around for the 2-chapter denouement of my version of JBS, starting with There's No Place Like Home!