So! This episode is, as it turns out, a lot shorter than I remember it. You'll note that, once again, the actual parts that I've adapted are relatively short. Elizabeth is an interesting character, albeit one who I am struggling to get a grasp on. So, that's a work in progress. One of the things that always bothered me as a kid was that she gets away with a lot more than characters like Cranky and Gordon do, when they're grumpy.

Also, at the end, we've got another big hint of how the storyline is going to start. For some of the shorter episodes, I might include little scenes like this. And it also helps lead us into the next episode, so that's neat.

Kamen Rider Necrom: Thanks!

AaronCottrell97: Yep! Reece was surprisingly fun to write for! He's definitely popping up back again!

Reality Rejection Service: NO one is safe from karma!

Game-Watch: You're not wrong! It's incredibly complicated.

UGX7: Yeah, ominous, ain't it? That certainly sounds plausible, but it is bizarre nonetheless. I almost wonder if it was meant for a parting gift for the fans, but what do I know?

Radical sandwiches: Which is fair enough. It's not like A Surprise For Percy, where I genuinely consider it to be a weak episode, it's perfectly fine, there's just not much to it. Harold getting a proper punishment for his arrogance was also something that I loved when I was younger.

MattPrice01: Carlin's a lovely character to write for, mainly because I can usually write my own opinions and filter them through his unique worldview. Namely a blurry one because he's drunk as a skunk!

BronzeShield: Don't worry about it! I get it, I should have been a bit clearer. Glad you're enjoying it!

CUE THE THEME!

"So...what was that about?"

"Hmm?" Britt shrugged it off. "Oh, I'll tell you later." She turned away, looking more than a little troubled. David hesitated, wondered whether to push it, and then decided to leave her for the moment.

Thomas the Tank Engine enjoys taking specials. Especially if they're special specials that are specially for special engines who like pulling special specials as much as he does. Got tired of the word 'special' yet? Too bad, get used to it. Today, he was pulling cargo to Brendam Docks. Why he didn't just stick to the coastal route instead of having to weave and bob around the Island is anyone's guess. It was meant to go on a cargo ship at sundown, so for whatever reason he had waited until midday to realize "Crap, I have to do work!" and then hurry off to collect his load.

Britt and David ducked down as Duck rushed by with coaches. They were in a rather uncomfortable part of the brakevan, and they were aware of how likely it was that they were going to get abused should anything bad happen.

Which it always did.

The load was very heavy, unsurprisingly, and he struggled on. It hadn't helped that he'd had three drinks of strong stuff before setting off, so he was a little out of breath any way. In fact, he puffed so hard, that there was a loud pop and both his siderods snapped completely. No, we know that the script said that they were coupling rods, but they are not. They are siderods. PAY ATTENTION, ANGELIS. GET OFF THE BOOZE.

"Bugger!" He shouted. "Now I know how Edward feels!"

"You never will!" shouted Edward, halfway across the Island.

"I'll be late!" Thomas was hoping to get a BAFTA nomination. He'd be waiting a very long time. Then, his driver spotted an old shed that looked like one of Toby's old places, except even worse.

"Ha! I can take a leak in there! ...Oh, and also if there's a telephone, I'll call for help. Yeah, that too!"

"Hurry!" snapped Thomas. "I'd like not to have my face chewed off by Tall Fat and Grumpy in the top hat! Besides, it looks a little spooky!"

"Oh yeah, like that's going to-"

"DO YOU MIND, EH?! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" The voice boomed from inside the shed, sending the fireman running back. He wanted his teddy bear and his blanket. Britt and David, realizing that the whole 'taking cargo to the docks' subplot was going to be wasted, rushed up to get some footage of a possible poltergeist killing Thomas. It would make great headlines.

Thomas, of course, did not think that way. As his driver poked his head back round, he asked: "Is it a ghost? Who we gonna call?"

"Ghostbusters! ...Sorry, always wanted to say that. Also, it's a surprise. Oi, mate, get some coal and stop quivering under there!" The fireman reluctantly did as he was bid. He swore as he entered.

"She could get us to the fitters and back again!"

"If her boiler doesn't give out! And I mean, look at her. She doesn't look sturdy, does she? In fact...what's the opposite of sturdy?"

"Shit."

"There we are. She looks like shit."

"Eh?! You whippersnappers! Why if I had my cane you'd have faces redder than blood right now!"

"What kind of bloody surprise is this!?" roared Thomas, who was getting bored out of his skull with how long this was taking. Likewise, Britt and David were slightly disappointed that it clearly wasn't a poltergeist, and they wouldn't be getting shots of Thomas being mercilessly blown up.

"Thomas! Meet Elizabeth!"

"What's her majesty doing in there!?"

"You're an idiot!" cawed the voice. And out steamed a dirty, grimy, old steam lorry that looked as though she had never had a happy thought in her life.

"So...you're the little puffed up puffer that's broken down!" Elizabeth sniffed haughtily. Thomas turned purple with rage, and was about to climb off the rails and fight her when the driver held up a placating hand.

"And you're just an old sentinel lorry who's clearly lost her marbles!"

"VINTAGE! Vintage sentinel lorry! Tramp! And I haven't got much time to get your side-rods, so toodles!" And off she set. At a snail's pace, which allowed Britt and David to climb on board. They winced, as did the driver, at the horrible grinding noises that came from inside Elizabeth's engine.

"She's not built for hills!" the driver announced helpfully. He called to Elizabeth. "You're losing steam! Really, it would have been easier for me to get out and run! Hindsight's a bitch!

"Just...catching my breath!" she gasped.

It took three hours, but they finally made it over the hill, even if the driver did feel five years older now.

...

When she had returned with Thomas's side-rods, she was pleased with herself. She was the only one who was. "Next time, don't be so careless!" Thomas was now eggplant purple, he thought her the rudest lorry he had ever met. And considering that he had met three that had tried to kill the entire Island, that said a lot. He was very happy to get his new side-rods, and he started off.

"You took your time!" shouted James, as he passed on by.

"Piss off!" Thomas snarled, as he made it to the docks just in time.

"Where the hell have you been!?" snapped the Fat Controller. Thomas told him, sobbing all the way, about his side-rods, and was just about to tell him about Elizabeth when she rolled up. Somehow.

"Oh. It's you. Learned how to drive yet, Fatty?"

"She's for it now!" cackled Thomas, vengefully.

"ELIZABETH!" Hatt looked happier than anyone had seen him in years. "My very first lorry! I thought you had been lost, and Lowham had sold you for spare parts for his human sized jack-in-the-box years ago!"

It was too much for Thomas, who stormed off to have a sulk in the sheds

Elizabeth, meanwhile, told the Fat Controller about how she had been shut up in the sheds because of her attitude problem. And the Fat Controller, drunk on nostalgia, told Jem Cole to fix her up to her original beauty.

One fix-up later, and after Elizabeth had made Trevor wish he had been scrapped, she had a rich dark color and gleaming coachworks. She looked better than ever. Which wasn't saying much, really.

"You're the grandest lorry on the railway!" said Topham, proudly.

"I know!" said Elizabeth, even more proudly.

Thomas gritted his teeth, but even he had to admit, she did look grand. A pity about the attitude though. Sir Topham Hatt spent three minutes in her company and realized that he had made a terrible mistake. It was too late to undo it now. The Railway Board ordered merchandise up the wazoo to be constructed.

...

"You understand why you're both here, right?"

"Cake."

"Wine."

"Cake and wine!" said Edward and Duck together. They grinned at each other, and Toby shook his head in irritated amusement. It had taken a grand total of two weeks for the two engines to get over the awkwardness, and as a result, they had become cheerful comrades against insanity. Or CCAI, for short. Now, if only they had found a snappier title.

It was nice. And very annoying.

"That, yes. Also, because I want to bring to your attention something that I'm beginning to grow concerned about." Toby glanced about him, but the Sidings was mercifully empty right now. "The Railway Board."

"What about them?"

"...Well think about it. Now, I'm aware that I've only been on the central rail service now for eighteen years or so, and Edward's been here longer. But I can't recall a time prior to the start of the millenium when I heard of the Railway Board ever taking this much of an interest in things."

Edward frowned. "Now that you mention it, it does seem odd. There's always been a group of people who've helped fund the railway, between the nationalization and privatization flip-flops, but mostly they seemed to be...people in the background. Engines weren't voted on by them, they were just a by-product. Meant to keep the railway running on time."

"Exactly. And yet, right after that whole business with Diesel 10 and so on, they popped right up and started making decisions left and right. And not just little ones, like agreeing to Hatt's expansion of the Island."

Duck licked his lips. "That would explain why the stations damaged by the attack have been left mostly damaged for the time being. I mean, for what good Miss Jenny's been doing, there's still tons of places left abandoned...and there was what happened in the yard this morning." At the confused stares, he explained. "Some of the Board were looking at the engines as they were getting ready. They were shaking their heads at some, nodding at others. A bit like a cattle market, if you ask me. Considering their dedication to merch at this point, it wouldn't surprise me if they end up influencing the series some more"

"I'd think...we'd best keep an eye on them all, right?" Edward's declaration got nods from both of them. "And Duck, see if you can't get into contact with Scotsman."

"Will do."

And so the three of them departed, little knowing just how small this time of peace was going to last. But already, the Island's weather system was once again playing havoc, and the first few specks of snow were already beginning to fall...