Gordon stood at the racetrack with the other competitors, anxiously waiting for the race to begin. Flying Scotsman smirked at him playfully.
"Good luck, little brother." His smoke deflectors slid forward. Gordon looked away.
"I won't need luck…" He chuckled and shut his eyes. Upon opening them, he looked towards Ulli, who was serving as the referee of the event. The diesel looked around before grunting as a cue to begin the announcements, and the crowd began to cheer as Pug's voice echoed over the loudspeakers.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, The Great Race."
"You all love this one! Our five competitors here seem to have sparks of competition flying between all of them!"
"Indeed they do, Jinty. The ever popular rivalry between Belgium's Axel and France's golden boy, Etienne, seems to be in fuller swing than ever this year."
"But don't forget Pug, we have sibling rivalry this year as well! With Flying Scotsman of England and Sodor's G-um, Shooting Star, this is sure to be a race to remember!" Gordon smirked at his brother, who chuckled and rolled his eyes. Mysteriously, he seemed bigger than before.
"Have fun losing, little brother." Flying Scotsman replied nastily. Gordon grinned as the announcements came to a close.
"I think you'll be the loser here, Scott!" Ulli rolled forward on his siding.
"3…" Flying Scotsman smirked at Gordon.
"2…" Gordon grinned right back.
"1…" Axel, Caitlin, and Etienne seemed to disappear, as the world simply became Gordon, Scotsman, and the fans.
"GO!" Gordon and Flying Scotsman sped onto the racetrack, the world around them a blur. At first they were completely even, but Flying Scotsman was beginning to grow red-faced and exhausted.
"You're sure...phew...you can keep up with me-ugh-Gordon?" He panted. To his surprise, Gordon yawned.
"I'm just warming up!" He grinned, and suddenly increased his speed tenfold, rocketing along the line. Scotsman gasped.
"What?" The Shooting Star laughed triumphantly, and began to sing.
"Sorry, Scott, but your shadow'll no more smother,
I guess that I will now become the bigger brother!
Now have fun being second best,
To my streamlining!" The crowds cheered wildly as Gordon rocketed around the racetrack, leaving a trail of flames on the rails in his wake.
"I don't believe it, folks, but I believe the Shooting Star is on his way to setting a world rail speed record here today!" Jinty gasped in excitement, Pug chuckled.
"Well, Jinty, of course we should have expected it all along. He is, after all, fastest and best." Gordon rounded the final bend towards the finish line, only to see Scotsman coming up right behind him, considerably shrunken from his previous larger size.
"Oh, Shooting Star, I'm so sorry for teasing you! Can you ever forgive me?" He groveled.
"After I win!" Gordon rocketed ahead towards the finish line, leaving his brother coughing on his dust. The crowd went wild as the ribbon grew closer and closer.
"My clouds today will have a silver lining
I'll see my famous brother get some undermining
'Cause I'm the cream; the best in steam!
Streamlini-"
"STOP!" Gordon's eyes shot open, snapping him out of his fantasy, as Henry, Thomas, James, and Stephen drew up on the line alongside him. He shot them a sharp glare.
"I appreciate the support, but there are stands for a reason! Can't you see I'm busy? I'm about to race!" He snapped. Thomas glared.
"Well, you can't! Not without your safety valve!" He replied. Gordon snorted.
"What do you mean?" Gordon's driver stepped out of the cab and onto Gordon's running plate to inspect.
"Bless me, he's right! They must have not reapplied it!" Gordon gasped in horror.
"No! I have to race! I need to!" He spluttered. Axel and Etienne stopped their charming of Caitlin to look at Gordon.
"What eez going on?" Etienne asked.
"I zink 'e said zat ze Shooting Star does not have his safety valve!" Axel mused. Etienne snorted.
"Hah! 'Ow do you forget your safety valve?" He tried to stifle his laughter, before Axel shot him a glare.
"Now, now, Etienne! Eet could 'appen to any engine! Eet is not funny!" Gordon, already red with embarrassment and shame, shot the Belgian engine a grateful look, only to get a smirk in response.
"Eet is very funny!" Axel cackled loudly, and Etienne joined in laughing at Gordon.
"What's going on down there, Pug?"
"Well, Jinty, it appears that the Shooting Star has some sort of technical problem."
"This just in! We have received a report that the Shooting Star is...missing his safety valve! He can't possibly race now! How does an engine forget their safety valve?"
"Zero idea, Jinty. Seems pretty obvious to me." Gasps rippled through the crowd, leaving Gordon ashamed. Caitlin shot Axel and Etienne a nasty glare.
"Shame on you two! It's not funny!" She scolded. Flying Scotsman remained silent through the whole affair, looking at Gordon helplessly and trying to say something, but finding himself at a loss for words. Gordon heard the sounds of Axel and Etienne's laughter, along with the chattering of the crowd, and his eyes began to tear up.
"No...I have to race! I need to win!" Ulli, now with a black and white referee headlamp, rolled around the Sudrian engines towards the racetrack.
"Please, referee! I can still race! I promise I'll control my speed! You have to let me race!" Gordon begged, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. Axel and Etienne saw this and stopped laughing to glare.
"Oh, great. Now 'e is crying!" Axel declared.
"Some of us are trying to race, you know! If you need to cry, go to a, 'ow you say, siding, no?" Etienne added. Anger appeared to be building up in Flying Scotsman, but he couldn't say anything. He simply remained silent. Ulli gave Gordon a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry, but without your safety valve, I'm afraid that you have to be-" Suddenly, a loud whistle rang out and two engines raced across the junction onto the racetrack.
"GET BACK HERE, YA LITTLE PILE OF SCRAP!" Vinnie shrieked as he chased Philip onto Gordon's line.
"No! Please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you lose! I-"
"DON'T CARE! YOU'VE BEEN GETTIN' IN MY WAY FOR TOO LONG!" The duo began heading along the racetrack.
"What's this? There appears to be an obstruction!"
"Vinnie of Canada and a diesel boxcab of mysterious origin have hijacked the Great Race!" There was a collective gasp among the Sodor engines.
"Philip's in danger!" James cried.
"We need to do something! Henry, you're fastest, chase after them!" Stephen commanded. Henry rolled forwards, but suddenly something hissed loudly and he groaned in pain before grinding to a stop.
"Gah! I've got a cramp! I can't catch up now, I'm not fast enough!" Gordon looked back at the space on his boiler where his safety valve should've been, and then looked at the racetrack ahead. Flying Scotsman heard Gordon suck up his tears and looked towards his brother.
"But I am." Gordon said gravely, and whistled before racing forwards onto the track. Flying Scotsman gasped.
"Shooting Star, what are you doing!? You don't have your safety valve, your boiler could explode!"
"That's a risk I have to take!" He called back, and sped onwards. Team Sodor and Caitlin gasped.
"No!" Thomas cried.
"You can't!" Caitlin called, trying to roll forwards. Flying Scotsman rolled beyond the starting line, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Shooting Star, get back here right now! You're going to get yourself killed!" He cried, but his brother wouldn't stop. Tears begin to appear in Scotsman's eyes as his yelling got louder.
"Shooting Star!" He remained ignored.
"SHOOTING STAR, PLEASE!" He was now fully crying out of panic now.
"GORDON!" But his brother was long gone.
Gordon began to grow hotter and hotter as he caught up to Vinnie and Philip. The gap between the two had begun to significantly shorten, and the big bully was closing in. He smirked maniacally as Philip desperately tried to stay ahead.
"Oh dear, shortie, looks like da race is over for you." Vinnie reared back and rammed into Philip, sending the boxcab flying down the line, widening the gap again. Philip cried out in pain.
"Philip!" The boxcab looked to Gordon, who had managed to race alongside, his face growing bright red.
"Gordon? Is that you? I have your-"
"No time for that, Philip! Keep the gap between you and him as wide as possible! Phew…" He panted from the heat.
"Gordon! You're getting too-"
"That's not important! Just listen to me!"
"Right!" Philip desperately tried to stay ahead. Gordon looked to the outside of the line and saw that a signalbox was close. Vinnie growled at him.
"Dis ain't none of ya business!" He snapped. Gordon groaned from the heat emanating from his boiler, but called out to the signalbox as loud as he could.
"CHANGE THE POINTS!" He shouted, and the signalman obliged. Gordon was directed onto Philip and Vinnie's line, getting himself right between them. Vinnie growled as his skirt hit Gordon's rear bufferbeam.
"OUT OF DA WAY!" He snarled. Gordon glared back.
"Never!"
"Shooting Star has placed himself between Vinnie and the boxcab, and he's growing hotter than ever! I think he could be about to blow!" The Sudrian engines gasped.
"Stop!"
"Gordon, you have to stop! You could explode!"
"GORDON, PLEASE!" Scotsman cried out, loudest of all, but all their shouts fell on deaf ears.
The heat was rising, and Gordon's driver poked his head out of the cab.
"Gordon! You're getting too hot!" Gordon grimaced as he looked back.
"Jump clear! Apply the brakes!" He called. The driver and fireman jumped clear into the ballast, leaving Gordon to desperately try to brake against the force of Vinnie pushing against him, but he wasn't strong enough. Vinnie cackled, unhinged.
"YOU THINK YOUR BRAKES CAN STOP ME!? I'M DA STRONGEST ENGINE IN THE WORLD! I SHOULDA WON DAT STRENGTH COMPETITION, YA HEAR ME? I ONLY LOST BECAUSE DIS LITTLE FREAK GOT IN MY WAY! NOW, GET OUTTA IT!" He pushed even harder against Gordon, causing the big blue engine to push up again Philip's bufferbeam. Another signalbox approached.
"SPEED UP!" Gordon shouted at Philip, who tried his best to oblige. It was a short gap, but it was enough.
"Points!" Gordon shouted again, causing Philip to get directed onto another line while he and Vinnie raced onwards. Philip braked to a relieved stop, but Gordon and Vinnie shot on towards a sharp bend.
"STOP SO I CAN GO BACK AND STOMP DAT SHRIMP!" Vinnie frothed at the mouth with rage. Gordon wasn't focused on him however; the heat had become unbearable.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" He panted as his vision began to blur, his boiler beginning to warp. He saw the shape of another signalbox as they approached a sharp bend.
"POINTS!" He wheezed. The signalman heard however, and switched Gordon and Vinnie towards the outside line. Vinnie tried to stop, but his weak brakes and their fast speed meant that they simply jumped the points and flew off the line. A loud whistling noise came from a red-faced Gordon's boiler as he shut his eyes tight to prepare for impact.
The engines at the starting line heard a loud crash from the racetrack.
"They've jumped the rails! It's too dusty to see the extent of the damage, but-" Flying Scotsman didn't listen anymore to Jinty's voice, he simply raced onto the track.
"GORDON!" He cried out, and Caitlin and the rest of the Sudrian engines followed him. They all went as fast as they could to get there, but Scotsman got there first.
"Gordon! Are you alright? Please be alright, please!" He begged, and the dust from the accident finally cleared. On one side, Vinnie had rammed into one of the trees alongside the line, and it had fallen on top of him.
"Ow…" He groaned in pain. On the other side, laying on his side, dented and trying to catch his breath but otherwise unharmed, was…
"Gordon! You're okay!" Scotsman shouted, crying tears of pure joy. The other engines cheered and whistled when they saw that Gordon was alright. Philip arrived last, with a big grin on his face.
"Gordon! That was amazing! You're a hero!" He cheered. Gordon smiled as the other engines cheered.
"Well done, Gordon!"
"Good show, old boy!"
"Splendid work!" Gordon looked to Flying Scotsman, who was trying desperately to regain his composure.
"W-well done, G-Gordon." He sniffled. Gordon smiled at his brother, and was about to say something when he heard a familiar muffled voice from beneath the branches of the tree.
"Are you gonna get me outta here or what?" Vinnie snapped. The engines all looked at each other, before quickly rolling away to help with the rescue operation.
Ulli and his team brought cranes to rescue Gordon and Vinnie, and soon enough, the two had been placed back onto the rails. Gordon was shunted back to the starting line by one of the diesels, while Vinnie was moved to a siding out of the way. While his boiler hadn't exploded, Gordon was very damaged, and couldn't run under his own power. Ulli frowned as he rolled up and down his siding in thought.
"This won't do at all! The Great Race cannot possibly take place without five participants; it's always been that way!" The engines all watched him do so, before Stephen rolled forwards.
"I'm not nearly as fast as I used to be, but the show must go on!" He called, and began to roll towards the starting line. However, a voice cut him off.
"Hold on, Stephen." Stephen and the other engines looked towards Gordon, who appeared to be in thought.
"Eh? What's up, Gordon?" Gordon looked at Ulli.
"Referee, if I could make a recommendation for my replacement, I think Philip would be an excellent candidate." Everyone gasped, including the boxcab himself.
"Me? B-but-"
"Ee is far too slow!" Etienne laughed.
"You are pitting a tortoise against rockets!" Axel added. Gordon shot them a sharp glare.
"Philip is very fast. Why, he even beat me in a race once!" He gave Philip a wry wink, and this shut Axel and Etienne up. Ulli sighed.
"The show's been delayed long enough. I'll allow it. Proceed." He rolled aside, and Philip grinned as he rolled alongside Gordon.
"Thank you so much for giving me your spot, Gordon! I won't let you down! WOOHOO!" He honked his horn and eagerly rolled into the spot where Gordon had once stood, alongside Flying Scotsman. The famous engine gave him a friendly smile.
"Hello, Philip. Excited to race you!" He greeted. Philip squeaked.
"He knows my name!" He whispered giddily.
"After a short break to clean up the interruption from earlier, welcome back to the final event of the Great Railway Show, the Great Race!" Jinty greeted the audience again. The crowd cheered loudly, and all the participants of the other events (minus Vinnie) whistled from the sidelines. Gordon, who couldn't whistle, contented himself to cheering.
"Go, Philip!" He shouted, louder than everyone else. Flying Scotsman heard this and gave Philip a bemused smile. He then looked to Axel, Caitlin, and Etienne, and assumed an expression of thought.
"Hmm…"
"Now, to introduce the five contestants for this event: first of all, the electric icon, Etienne of France!" Etienne smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows and a spark flew from his pantograph.
"The streamlined bombshell, Caitlin of America!" Mr. Claremont's cheer from the stands was loudest of all as Caitlin blushed at the attention she received, Team Sodor politely giving her a few whistle blasts.
"The smooth-talking speedster, Belgium's very own Axel!" Axel grinned confidently at Etienne as the crowd cheered.
"They like me better, mon frere." He whispered, before giving the audience a wink.
"The famous engine in the UK, The Flying Scotsman!" The Sudrian engines whistled as they had for Caitlin, this time with Stepney in their ranks.
"In a bit of an unusual, but not unheard of considering last year's strength competition, circumstance for the Great Railway Show, we have a last minute contestant swap, Pug!" Carlos blushed in embarrassment at this remark, as the incident in question was his.
"That's right, Jinty. Replacing the Shooting Star is...Philip of Sodor!" Team Sodor cheered loudly, and Gordon whooped and hollered from the sidelines. The crowd went wild for Philip, but the boxcab tensed up from all the attention.
"What if I let everyone down? What if I-" Flying Scotsman shushed him.
"Just try to have fun. That's what racing's all about, eh?" He gave the little boxcab a wink, and Philip grinned. Ulli rolled into place at the end of his siding.
"3…" Axel and Etienne gave each other a smirk of confidence.
"2…" Caitlin and Flying Scotsman grinned.
"1…" Philip grinned widest of all.
"...GO!" The engines shot off from the starting line. Quickly, Axel and Etienne were neck and neck for the lead, with Caitlin following close behind. Philip tried to keep up, but they were just too fast.
"Come on! Come on!" He panted, but his wheels couldn't turn any faster. However, there was one engine who was barely in front of him.
"You've almost caught up! Just a little more!" Flying Scotsman encouraged, and he began to slow down to get to Philip's speed. The boxcab frowned.
"You're way faster than me! What are you doing back here?" Scotsman chuckled.
"I'm feeling tired today...fancy a race?" He gave the boxcab a grin. Philip smirked back.
"You're on, but I'll win!" As Philip and Flying Scotsman remained even behind the rest of the engines, Team Sodor cheered loudly.
"Go Philip!"
"You can do it!" Gordon, however, simply watched his brother and the boxcab race with an enormous grin on his face.
Up ahead, Axel and Etienne remained neck and neck.
"France eez going to win this year, Axel! Vive la France!" Etienne called, and honked his horn triumphantly as he attempted to draw ahead. Axel gritted his teeth.
"Oh no you don't!" His wheels pounded the rails as he sped up to draw level with Etienne. Behind them, Caitlin was trying to keep up, but found that the other two were simply faster when they were competing.
"Come on...stay focused, Caitlin, you've got this…" She muttered to herself, trying to speed up. The three engines rounded the bend towards the finish line, and the stands of cheering fans came back into view. Etienne smirked.
"Bonjour! Vive la France!" He called to the crowd, and tried to wiggle his eyebrows and spark his pantograph, but he couldn't when he was going so fast. Axel gave his rival a glance.
"What are you doing?" He hissed.
"I am trying to do my spark trick; the crowds love eet, no?" Etienne gave it another attempt, but Axel simply confidently chuckled.
"Oh, Etienne, you are foolish. Your silly sparking eez not a real trick! This eez a real trick, no?" As Axel and Etienne approached the stands, the former flashed a handsome grin and whistled, slowing down to wink at an unamused Frieda on the sidelines. Etienne rolled his eyes.
"I can do zat!" He began to slow down as well, and began winking at the sidelines. As Axel and Etienne rapidly winked at the sidelines, Caitlin rounded the bend towards the final stretch.
"What are they doing?" She muttered to herself as she spotted the two engines ahead practically at a crawl, but ignored them as she shot through on the line between them.
"Sacre bleu!" Etienne cried as Caitlin sped past, and he and Axel tried to speed up again, but they simply couldn't make up the ground. The crowd went wild as Caitlin broke through the ribbon at the finish line.
"And Caitlin of America has won the Great Race! Needless to say, Pug, it's those who focus who win the race!"
"Indeed, Jinty; let's hope our two runners up learn that lesson in the future, eh?" Etienne and Axel, one after the other, rolled to a sheepish stop beyond the finish line as the engines cheered for Caitlin.
"Hurrah!"
"Go Caitlin!"
"Nos sincѐres félicitations, mademoiselle Caitlin." Etienne forced out, bright red with embarrassment. Caitlin chuckled.
"Mercí, gentlemen." However, a noise from the loudspeaker rang out.
"Hold on a minute, Jinty, there seems to be two more engines still on the track."
"Yes there are, Pug, and they certainly are in a race of their own!" At that moment, Philip and Flying Scotsman rounded the final bend towards the last part of the racetrack. Philip was having the time of his life!
"I'm racing the Flying Scotsman!" He shouted excitedly. Flying Scotsman laughed loud and long.
"Well, we're almost at the finish line! Think I'll win?" He asked playfully. Philip chuckled.
"I'd like to see you try!" He honked his horn and raced ahead as fast as he could. The crowd cheered loudly, but no one was cheering louder than Gordon.
"Go Philip! You're almost there!" He called, and Philip beamed. Thomas whistled and began a chant.
"Let's go, Philip, let's go!" He whistled loudly, two sharp blasts. The other engines began to follow suit, and even Caitlin, Axel, and Etienne were in on it by the end. Finally, the two approached the finish line neck and neck, but Flying Scotsman simply smiled and slowed down to allow Philip to speed ahead just in time to cross the finish line first. The crowd cheered loudly.
"AND PHILIP OF SODOR COMES IN 4TH!"
"WHY ARE WE SO EXCITED, JINTY?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Philip beamed with pride as Flying Scotsman rolled alongside him and gave him a smile.
"Well done, Philip. I'll race you again someday, eh?" Philip beamed.
"Yes, sir! Mr. Flying Scotsman, sir!" Flying Scotsman chuckled.
"Please, no 'sirs'. We're both engines!" Gordon smiled proudly at Philip from the sidelines. As Flying Scotsman rolled past Gordon and gave him a smile, he found himself face-to-face with a playfully smirking Stepney.
"Content with last place, Scotty?" He teased. Flying Scotsman chuckled.
"Are you kidding me? Most fun race I've had in years!" He rolled onwards. Philip was completely starstruck by all the engines cheering for him and chanting his name. He simply ended up standing there and smiling from buffer to buffer, a tear of happiness rolling down his face.
Chase: The Great Race itself has finally occurred! We knew from the beginning we wanted the titular Race itself to be the climax as opposed to the canon special's Shunting Challenge, as well as wanting Vinnie and Philip to butt in just before Gordon was disqualified for his lack of safety valve. Whereas in the actual special, Gordon continued to race because of his pride, here he did it as an act of heroism, showing that his brother does, in fact, care for him. We also knew that when Gordon got knocked out of commission saving Philip from Vinnie, that we wanted Philip to compete in his place, therefore completing Philip's arc of wanting to compete at the show. A lot of puzzle pieces fell into place in this chapter! As for Vinnie, there is a resolution to his arc, but you'll have to wait until next chapter to see it.
Don: Alongside the actual-race was a mini-race between Flying Scotsman and Philip, an entirely new event. This serves to close two things - Philip did participate in the show after all, and Flying Scotsman got a moment of kindness that he didn't get in the actual special. Caitlin won the actual race in this version because having an already established character win means more after seeing her in her previous appearances. She's also much more positive than Axel and Etienne, who are far more antagonistic than in canon.
We're almost done with the special, but we still have a bit more to do before we can say goodbye! Find out what exactly that is in the twelfth and final chapter: "Tying Up Loose Ends"!