Thomas And Friends: My Written Episodes Chapter 77: The Trouble With Twins, a thomas the tank engine fanfic

The Trouble With Twins

Written by Michael White

with credit to NeverLander852

(Just a side note, I figured out in my head which writers I can see writing each of these stories in my own mind where Andrew Brenner has stepped down as head writer, and been replaced by Michael White, alongside my other three favorite writers: Davey Moore, Helen Farrall and Lee Pressman on the team, all of my four favorite writers. If this show continues and Becky Overton continues to make a good impression on me, I MIGHT consider a spot for her in later sets. Feel free to look back and see who I've imagined would have written my first three stories in Set 3.)

It was a bright, sunny morning at the Sodor Construction Company Yard. Jack and Alfie were loading Max and Monty with rubble to take away and drop off at the Clay Pits, though the twins were becoming very impatient…

"More!" Max demanded to Jack.

"More!" Monty snapped at Alfie. "And be quick about it too!"

But Alfie was standing for none of their nonsense.

"I think that's quite enough," he firmly told them, as he emptied the last load of rubble into Monty's bucket.

"Good to go, Max and Monty!" Jack called out, as he emptied the last load into Max's bucket and tapped it with his loader.

"I'll get there before you, Monty!" Max boasted.

"Not if I get there first!" Monty called back.

He raced quickly away with his brother in pursuit, leaving Jack and Alfie in astonishment, as Nelson rolled into sight.

HONK-HONK!

"Max! Monty! Come back!" he shouted. "You forgot your fuel!"

But the twins were too far away to hear Nelson.

Nelson sighed and went back about his work, as Jack and Alfie looked across at each other with concern.

Meanwhile, Bill and Ben were waiting at the top station for Kelly to load their trucks with old parts that needed to be taken to Crock's Scrap Yard.

"Good to go, you two!" the crane told them, as he finished loading their truck. "Take care now!"

"Thank you, Kelly!" the twins whistled.

As the twins slowly started making it on their way, they were overtaken by surprise by a familiar pair of red flashes.

"I'll get to the Clay Pits first!" Max assured his twin.

"No! I will!" Monty argued back.

"I will!"

Bill and Ben observed the argument as the dump truck twins raced out of sight, and Ben was left to his own thoughts.

"Who do those two think they are?!" he moaned. "Racing about the site like that! They must be very full of themselves!"

"I know," Bill grinned, a confident expression on his face, then joked, "I'd be surprised if we made it back to the Clay Pits before they did, Ben."

"What?!" Ben wondered with confusion. "But how can that be? We have to take these parts to the scrapyard first, and Max and Monty are a lot faster than we are!"

Bill rolled his eyes and sighed with annoyance.

"I know! That's the whole point of my joke, Ben!"

"How was I supposed to know you were joking, Bill!" Ben hastily asked.

"It's pretty obvious," Bill pointed. "We'd never be able beat those two whilst hauling a heavy train! You should know that, Ben!"

Ben huffed and looked the other way, as they pulled the scrap train further on.

On the way to the Clay Pits, Max and Monty started to become rather reckless as they raced about from road to track.

"Hey, Monty!" Max called out, swerving onto the track. "I betcha it'll be faster to get there by rails!"

"Not if I travel faster!" Monty called back.

He sped up and overtook Max by surprise, as he switched over onto the line and crossed over onto the next track.

"Hey!" Max shouted. "No fair!"

"Catch me if you can!" Monty chuckled, speeding up with Max racing after him.

The twin dump trucks thought that they were being very clever racing about the tracks instead of traveling by road. Up ahead, Gordon was steadily pulling the express and had no idea that the twins were approaching.

Gordon sighed and shut his eyes to observe the peace and quiet of the countryside, as the twins approached from behind.

"Better give up, Max!" Monty taunted. "You know I'm going to win!"

"I don't think so!" Max sang out doubtfully

He rammed right into Monty as they caught up with Gordon's express coaches, causing the dump truck twin to shut his eyes and ram into the last coach. As a result, it's wheels began to slide off and tip slightly over off the rails, bringing half the train with it as a coupling came loose.

"Oof!" Gordon winced, and he shut his eyes, not taking notice of Max and Monty racing past.

Gordon felt a jerk and immediately began to take notice.

"That's strange," he wondered. "All of the sudden, the train feels lighter."

"That's because we left our tail behind," his driver explained, before stopping and backing him down.

"What?!" Gordon gasped.

He backed down beside the derailed coaches to see what had happened.

Luckily, no one was hurt from the accident, but the passengers were all very cross!

"How on earth did this happen?!" Gordon spluttered.

He heard a pair of familiar whistles and looked over to see who it was.

"Ooh, Gordon," Bill teased. "That's not a pretty picture, is it?"

Ben laughed along with him as they passed, making Gordon even crosser.

"O, the indignity!" the express engine groaned, as he watched the passenger climb up from the field.

Further up the line, Max and Monty spotted Charlie, and had a trick of their own ready.

"Say, Max," Max wondered, as he saw the purple engine on the track in front of his twin. "There's Mister Jokester himself. Let's have some fun with him!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's!" Monty giggled in agreement. "I'll lead!"

"My idea! I call dibs!" Max decided.

"No, you don't!" Monty argued back.

He raced in front of his twin, Max coughing with surprise and racing after him. Charlie was humming happily, having no idea of the twins approaching from behind when…

"Surprise!" they both shouted out.

"Gah!" Charlie shouted. "Wha-! What?!"

He looked the other way and shut his eyes tight. Max giggled and switched tracks, before shoved into Monty, causing the latter dump truck to shove into Charlie.

"Woooooah!" Charlie wailed, suddenly opening his eyes as he was knocked off the rails.

Charlie shut his eyes as he rolled downhill, and next thing he knew…

SPLASH!

Charlie opened his eyes and spit out out mud, as his crew, having jumped clear, came to check on him. He looked with dismay as a toad croaked right back at him.

The twins' carelessness has caused Charlie to derail and land in a muddy pond.

"What do suppose did that?" Charlie wondered with surprise.

He heard the whistles of Bill and Ben as they passed by the pond.

"Ooh, look, Ben," Bill gasped with amusement. "Poor Charlie's landed in a dirty, muddy pond."

Ben tried not to laugh himself, then had a thought.

"Em, do you suppose we get help?" he wondered.

"Maybe…after we're done delivering these trucks," Bill suggested, grinning.

As the dump truck twins pressed further along the rails, Max had a thought as his twin was in the lead.

"Later, Monty!" he called.

Monty watched with shock as Max switched back over to the road, and raced after him.

"Wait! No fair!" he shouted. "We never agreed to that, Max!"

"Too late now!" Max giggled.

He sped up towards the level crossing with Monty catching up and racing alongside, the two smirking triumphantly

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Further up the road, Bertie the Bus was humming happily as he approached the level crossing near Wellsworth when…

"Coming through, Bertie!" Max shouted as he flew past, Monty giggling as he raced quickly past after him.

"Woah!" Bertie wailed with surprise.

He skidded across the road and swerved off the curb, before struggling to rev back up.

"Oh, botheration," he groaned.

PEEP-PEEP!

"Oh, no," Bertie gasped.

He watched James leave the station, then listened to his passengers get out and quietly grumble amongst themselves.

Since Bertie had come off the road, his passengers were late to catch their train and weren't very happy about it.

Bertie sighed with dismay, then listened to Bill and Ben's whistles as they passed through the station.

"Dear, oh dear," Bill wondered with surprise as they passed Bertie. "Something seems very strange today. Doesn't it, Ben?"

"Oh, yes, Bill," Ben agreed. "Everywhere we go, there seems to be an accident. Carelessness, I'd think."

Bill laughed along with him as they passed through the station.

At last, Max and Monty were nearing the finish line as they closed in towards the Clay Pits up ahead.

"Last one there has to take out the trash when we get back!" Monty called at his twin.

"Good luck with that, Monty!" Max called back. "I'm sure I'll beat you now!"

He overtook his twin by surprise right before the downhill slope, causing them to race down alongside one another.

"You give up yet, Monty?" Max taunted.

"Never!" Monty called back at him

He attempted to pick up the pace, Max striving to keep up at his speed as they approached the site to drop off the rubble.

Marion the Steam Shovel was singing happily as she moved a load of rocks from one area of the quarry to another.

"Oh, dig, dig, digging. I love dig, digging. I like to dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, AHHHHHHH!"

The twins honked loudly as they passed, causing Marion to stop, shut her eyes and swing her shovel around, which then opened. Rocks fell out and were thrown about the quarry.

"Oh dear!" Timothy gasped, as he approached.

He shut his eyes and stopped in his tracks just in time as a rock flew past him and landed on the ground with a thud.

Max and Monty dropped off their loads of rubble into a pile further down the path, and Monty looked over at his twin.

"I beat you that time, Max!" he boasted.

"Heh! No big deal!" Max shrugged off. "You and I both know I'll beat you back to the Yard!"

"Not if I get there first!" Monty denied, and raced off.

"Ey!" Max shouted. "Wait for me!"

And he drove off in pursuit of his twin, both of them racing side-by-side out of the Clay Pits. As soon as they were gone, Timothy and Marion both slowly opened an eye to look.

"Huh?" the oil-burning engine wondered. "What happened?"

"I don't know, Timothy," Marion admitted. "One moment I was picking up a load of rocks to take to the other side of the track when all of a sudden, something whooshed past!"

She sighed and looked regretfully at the mess she made.

"And now I've made a mess of the quarry all because I've lost my grip."

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Marion," Timothy assured her.

Before any of them could say anything else, they heard a pair of familiar whistles and watched as Bill and Ben rolled into sight, looking around in astonishment.

"Ooh," Bill marveled with amusement. "What's happened here, guys?"

Ben couldn't keep himself from laughing either, but both of them immediately stopped when…

SLAM!

The four of them looked over in surprise as the Fat Controller slammed his car door and walked up to them.

"Ahem!"

He glared at the twins from having heard them laugh, raising an eyebrow at them and crossing his arms. The twins gulped with anxiety, as the Fat Controller walked further forward.

"I don't understand what you two think is amusing about all this," he told them. "But it seems as though all morning, somebody has been causing trouble all over my railway, from Gordon on the Main Line, to Charlie on the Branch Line! In fact, passengers at Wellsworth are complaining and saying that this is a bad railway!"

He looked further at the mess, thinking hard.

"Bill and Ben," he wondered. "Was it not you two that traveled down that way from Cronk?"

"Erm…"

Bill and Ben were lost for words, as Timothy and Marion eyed them with curiosity.

"Well, sir," Bill replied. "I don't think we recall causing any of those accidents."

"Mmm…" the Fat Controller thought, eyeing the twins hard.

"But," Ben put in, as Bill looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "We did witness those predicaments, sir…if that helps."

"Shush, Ben!" Bill snapped.

"'Ey! Don't tell me to shush, Bill!" Ben snapped back.

"I see," the Fat Controller observed, then made a decision.

"Well," he deduced, "I've asked the stationmaster at Wellsworth, in addition to the engines' crews. If there are no other witnesses, then I'm guessing you two have been responsible for all this."

"What?!" both the twins spluttered.

"Enough!" the Fat Controller boomed. "I need you both to fetch Rocky and clean up the mess you've made with Charlie and the express coaches! Until I can get to the bottom of all this, I'm putting you both on maintenance duty for a whole week!"

"B-but…" Ben stuttered.

"We didn't do it, sir!" Bill tried to convince him.

"Now, you two!" the Fat Controller sternly.

"Fine."

The twins rolled away, looking glum, as the Fat Controller walked back to his car. After he drove away, Timothy looked over at Marion.

"Marion," he wondered. "Do you remember seeing the twins before throwing the rocks about?"

"No, Timothy. I don't," Marion innocently replied.

"Me neither. I could only recall seeing them after the incident happened. So it's nearly impossible that they'd be accountable for causing such a mess."

"I know the twins are prone to playing tricks," Marion admitted. "But I'm sure they couldn't show up in two places at one time, especially since we saw them both together. Do you really think they would do something like that?"

Timothy sighed.

"Knowing the twins, it's generally in their nature. But since neither of us save them during the incident, perhaps it's best we get to the bottom of the situation and see if they really are the culprits behind all this."

"Good idea, Timothy!" Marion agreed, then thought. "But how?"

"By searching for clues. Charlie will probably be taken to the SteamWorks for repairs. I'll just start there and see what I can find out in regards to what he witnessed.

"Excellent!" Marion chirped in. "I'll remain in the Clay Pits on standby in case I find a clue!"

Timothy whistled at her as he left, and the two friends assumed their positions.

"I wonder what clues I could possibly find," the oil-burning engine wondered to himself. "And if so, will it prove those two to be innocent?"

He was left deep in his thoughts, as he turned out of the Clay Pits towards the SteamWorks.

Meanwhile, Bill and Ben had already fetched Rocky and loaded Charlie onto his flatbed in between, and were now loading Gordon's express coaches back onto the rails. Some of Gordon's passengers now had to travel by bus to get to their destinations.

Gordon and the twins watched with dismay as the passengers boarded Bulgy, who looked smugly back at them.

"Oh, this is blows!" Bill complained. "How we could we have gotten punished for a series of accidents we didn't commit?"

"It's all your fault, Bill!" Ben blamed.

"My fault?!" Bill spluttered

"Yeah! If you'd had only listened to me when I suggested that shortcut back from Cronk, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Nonsense!" Bill argued. "It was you that told the Fat Controller what we did see, not me! Maybe if you'd had kept it in your funnel for a change, he wouldn't have suspected us, Ben!"

"Oh, those silly engines!" Gordon groaned, as he listened to them banter back and forth, and left in a huff.

POOP-POOP!

HONK-HONK!

Bulgy fled the scene as well, mumbling quietly to himself. Charlie sighed, as Rocky took a deep breath and decided to try and diffuse the situation.

"If I may you two," he suggested. "Perhaps you can prevent yourselves from remaining in trouble by showing the Fat Controller how useful you are and get Charlie to the SteamWorks on the double."

"Couldn't have put it any better myself," Charlie added, looking the other way as he remained perched on the flatbed.

"Oh, erm…," Bill thought.

"Right," Ben giggled nervously.

They blew their whistles loudly, as the cavalcade set off for the SteamWorks.

"Mind what I say, Ben," Bill went on. "This was still your fault!"

"No, it wasn't. It was yours, Bill!" Ben argued back.

"Your fault!"

Charlie rolled his eyes and looked the other way and Rocky sighed with dismay, the twins bickered back and forth the whole way.

Back in the yard at Cronk, Max and Monty were waiting for Nelson to return with more fuel since they had left that morning right before the other machines took the time to be refueled.

Max yawned loudly.

"This is so boring!" he moaned.

"When will we be able to return to work?!" Monty bellowed.

But the other machines took no notice as they went back about their work.

"Ah! Max! Monty!"

The twins looked over in surprise to see Miss Jenny walking towards them, hands on her hips as she beamed up at them.

"The Clay Pits is in a bit of awry!" she informed them. "A huge mess was made there this morning, apparently, and I need you two to help Marion clear the mess and take the fallen rocks away on the double!"

"Oh, well, erm, no problem, Miss Jenny!" Max assured.

"We'll get right to it!" Monty added.

"That is," Miss Jenny went on, looking at them sternly, "after Nelson returns from the Depot with your fuel."

Max groaned with dismay.

"Please, miss," Monty begged. "Can't we just get refueled after we come back?"

"Certainly not," Miss Jenny firmly assured them. "You will both wait for the fuel to come and your operators to return as well. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, Miss Jenny," they both dully noted at once.

"Good. I'm standing with no confusion or delay from my machines today, given the crisis that Sir Topham already has on his hands, so there."

She turned to leave and walked away, the twins watching after her.

"Say, Monty," Max decided. "Maybe we should get going as long as our operators are on break. That way, we'll get there and back in double time."

"You're right, Max," Monty agreed, looking the other way and thinking hard, Max doing the same.

"Hmm…" he thought, then looked over Max, grinning.

"Made ya look!" he remarked, and raced off, taking Max by surprise.

"Ey!" Max shouted back. "No fair! I didn't say we were starting."

"I'll beat you now, Max!"

"Oh, no, you won't!"

They raced off, laughing, as their operators returned in time to see them take off.

"Max!"

"Monty!"

"Come back!" they both shouted.

Nelson arrived back in time with the next batch of fuel in time to witness the commotion.

"Oh, no," he groaned. "Not again."

Timothy arrived at the SteamWorks in time to see Charlie being hoisted down onto the turntable.

"Thank you, Rocky!" said the purple engine gratefully.

"Glad to be of service," Rocky replied, as he was unchained from Charlie.

The Fat Controller was also at the SteamWorks, making sure that Charlie wasn't hurt. Bill and Ben looked up at him, and wanted to see if they could get a shot at being able to go back to the Clay Pits.

"Quiet this time, Ben," Bill whispered, looking back at his twin.

"What?!" Ben spluttered. "No way! I'll handle…"

"Shhhh!" Bill hissed, then whispered, "let me handle this!"

He cleared his throat so as to get the Fat Controller's attention.

"Erm, pardon me, sir," he began. "But…can Ben and I return to the Clay Pits now?"

The Fat Controller was taken aback by Bill's request, and looked sternly at the twins.

"No," he told them sternly. "I told you both that you would be put on maintenance duty until I get to the bottom of all this. Now, I need you both to return Rocky to the Search and Rescue Center before collecting rubbish from Knapford Station to take to Whiff's Waste Dump."

"But…"

The Fat Controller coughed loudly.

"Now, Bill and Ben," he demanded.

The twins whistled and backed away out of the SteamWorks in a huff, Timothy looking at them, before watching the Fat Controller leave.

"Well, that was nicely handled, Bill!" Ben cheekily remarked.

"Heh! Well, it wouldn't have worked any better if you'd done it, Ben!"

"Yes, it would!"

"No, it wouldn't!"

"Yes, it would!

"It wouldn't!"

"It would!"

Timothy listened to the twins' banter fading out before venturing further into the SteamWorks.

"Not to worry, my friend!" Victor promised, as the men got to work on in inspecting Charlie's front. "The men will have you back in good working order in no time!"

He then shouted out, "Kevin!"

"Coming, boss!" the crane shouted, and rolled into sight, suddenly swerving out of control and wailing before coming to a hard stop.

"Oh, uh, sorry, boss," he giggled nervously, as Victor looked at him sternly. "Erm, what do you need?"

"Please, Kevin," Victor instructed. "Bring over some soap suds and brushes so the men can clean top to bottom. Afterwards, I need you to get some purple and yellow paint."

"Right away, boss!" Kevin promised, and rolled quickly out of sight, before suddenly bumping into a metal pole and causing it fall down.

"Sorry, boss," he meekly apologized.

Victor groaned, and made his way about the SteamWorks, as Timothy rolled forward to speak with Charlie.

"Good day, Charlie," he greeted.

"Oh," Charlie gasped, then chuckled. "Hello, Timothy. What brings you here?"

Timothy thought hard.

"Well, erm, I was at the Clay Pits this morning when the strangest thing happened. Something raced by me, and caused Marion to throw rocks all over the quarry. The twins arrived after it all happened, but the Fat Controller suspects it was them that did it."

"Oh," Charlie wondered, as Timothy went on.

"Please, Charlie. Could you tell me exactly what it was you saw before you were knocked into that pond?"

"Hmm…" Charlie thought. "I do know that it was pretty fast."

Then he chuckled.

"Oh I know. It was a jet engine racing up the track!"

He chuckled giddily, but Timothy looked him hard in the eye, causing him to sigh.

"I'm not exactly sure what I saw, Timothy," he admitted. "But I did see Bill and Ben pass by after the accident, so interestingly enough, it wasn't them."

"Hmm…" Timothy thought, then smiled.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Charlie," he whistled. "I must head off now."

Then he reversed out of the SteamWorks, Charlie whistling after him.

"See ya later, Timothy!"

As Timothy left the SteamWorks, he was relieved at having found his first clue.

"Now that I know those two didn't commit Charlie's accident, it's time I went searching for more clues," he decided.

And he rolled further on, pretty certain of where to go next.

On the way back to the Clay Pits, Timothy decided to stop by Wellsworth, and ask Bertie some questions before he would be towed away to the RoadWorks.

"I know now that they didn't commit Charlie's accident," he told the bus, as he was towed onto Butch's flatbed. "But how exactly did you come off the road, Bertie?"

"I'm not sure," Bertie admitted. "But I was almost at the level crossing before Wellsworth when it happened. Whatever it was ran on road and not rails."

As Butch honked his horn and Bertie away, Timothy whistled after him.

"Thanks, Bertie!" he said cheerily, then thought harder. "Wow, I do believe I've just solved another clue to the mystery."

POOP-POOP!

He was further surprised by Gordon's presence as he watched the express engine pull into the station.

"Hello, Gordon!" he greeted. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Gordon groaned.

"As long as you make it quick," he sighed. "I'm a busy engine, and I don't really have much time for questions. In fact, I haven't been having the best day so far."

"I know that," Timothy sighed heavily, Gordon looking over at him with surprise. "It's just that…Bill and Ben may have been framed for a series of accidents that they may or may not have committed, and so far, neither Charlie or Bertie believe it was them."

"Mmm…" Gordon thought, looking at Timothy before an awkward silence occurred.

"What did you see happening, Gordon?" Timothy asked.

Gordon sighed heavily and decided to explain himself.

"Oh, alright. I did feel a sudden jerk in my express coaches, hence why I had to go back for them. Bill and Ben did pass by shortly after the incident happened, but I don't think those those silly engines would be able to knock my coaches off of the track, even if they tried to."

"Aha!" Timothy thought. "So it wasn't them!"

At that moment, the guard's whistle blew and Gordon was ready to go.

POOP-POOP!

"Sorry, Timothy, but I haven't ample time to chat. This express must make up for lost time, you know."

"Thank you, Gordon!" Timothy whistled, as he watched the express thunder out of the station, then made his way back towards the Clay Pits.

On the way back to the Clay Pits, Timothy wondered to himself who really WAS responsible for all the incidents.

"If the twins didn't knock Charlie on that pond…or shove Bertie off the road…nor Gordon's express coaches off the track…then who did? Hmm…"

At the Clay Pits, Marion was loading Max and Monty's loaders full of rocks, though searching about the line for rocks was very tedious, and the twins were getting impatient.

"More!" Max shouted out, as Marion emptied her bucket full of rocks into his loader.

"Yeah, and be quick about it!" Monty snapped.

Marion closed up her shovel and looked to face them.

"It's a lot of work searching over the quarry for fallen rocks," she firmly assured them. "You two must be patient, and in time, you will be loaded and ready to go."

"No excuses! Keep us loadin' us, lady!" Max snapped.

""Yeah, we got a job to do!" Monty added.

Marion sighed with exasperation and continued about the quarry line to look for more rocks.

At long last, the job was complete, and Max and Monty's loaders were filled with rocks, ready to be taken away.

"Good to go, you two!" Marion chirped. "Mind as you go now!"

They both raced off, but not before startling Marion and revving dirt in her face.

"Gah!" Marion screamed, at the sound of the revving wheels, then coughed loudly as dirt was blown in her face.

"Max! Monty!" Timothy shouted, as he passed them, raising an eyebrow. "Watch where you're going!"

But they only revved dirt in his face too, causing the oil-burning engine to splutter and cough it up.

"Bet ya can't make it to Ffarquhar and drop off these rocks before me, Monty!"

"We'll just have to see about that!" Monty responded, as they both raced off into the distance.

As Timothy chuffed up to Marion to speak with her, he found her still coughing up dust from the dirt that was blown at her.

"Are you…alright, Marion?" he asked.

At last, Marion was able to recover and sighed, though still coughed as she spoke.

"Not even (cough cough) so much (cough) as a thank you!" she groaned

She wheezed up dust loudly as Timothy watched with surprise, then took a deep breath and was able to recover once more.

"I think I may have an idea for the answer to our mystery," she claimed, settling down a bit while taken aback by all the dust.

"Me too," Timothy replied.

"Oh, oh," Marion thought. "You go first."

"I've spoken to everyone who was involved in this series of incidents," he explained. "So therefore, I know that Bill and Ben aren't responsible for any of them."

"That's great news!" Marion exclaimed. "I think I might have have an idea of who was!"

"Oh," Timothy thought. "Go on then."

"Well," Marion continued, "I was recently startled by Max and Monty in the same manner I was startled earlier that morning."

"Ah," Timothy exclaimed, listening on.

"So, I put two and two together by observing their reckless racing about, and figured that they might just be potential suspects!" she finished, rather emphasizing in her speech.

"By golly!" Timothy gasped, thinking hard. "I think you might be right, Marion! Those two did seem to be racing rather carelessly when I saw them on the way in. But we don't have just enough evidence yet to prove that. I think I have a plan."

He whistled and reversed slowly away, Marion watching after him with surprise.

"Timothy," she asked. "Where are you going?"

"To have a word with Miss Jenny's machines!" he called back. "Perhaps I'll find out some clues that may lead towards the answer to our mystery!"

"Good luck then!" Marion chirped, then hummed happily as she carried on with her work.

Timothy arrived at the Construction Company Yard and shared with Jack and Alfie what he knew.

"No one involved in the incidents believed that they did it," Timothy told them. "But Marion suspects it was Max and Monty, since she was startled by them in the same manner she was earlier that morning. I wonder if she could be right."

"Max and Monty left right before Bill and Ben this morning," Jack confirmed.

"Yeah, but without their fuel! Twice!" Alfie added.

"Miss Jenny assigned them the route through Wellsworth to the Clay Pits to drop off some rubble, if that helps…" Jack informed the oil-burning engine.

"Wellsworth. The Clay Pits! So they were there this morning!" Timothy thought. "Yes. It's all adding up now."

"It is," Jack and Alfie wondered, looking at each other with confusion.

"Thank you, Alfie and Jack!" Timothy whistled, as he rolled slowly away. "I think I know what to report to the Fat Controller now."

"Any time!" Alfie called after him, as he and Jack carried on with their work.

Timothy was sure he knew the answer to the mystery now and could be able to prove Bill and Ben's innocence!

Meanwhile, Bill and Ben were delivering a train of rubbish trucks from Knapford to Whiff's Waste Dump, though they kept arguing over whose fault it was that they were still in the same mess.

"I still think I should have asked the Fat Controller, Bill!" Ben complained. "I'm sure I would have a better job at convincing him to let us return to the Clay Pits!"

"Nonsense, Ben!" Bill argued back. "I usually have the brains for getting us out of the trouble we usually get in! I guess the Fat Controller must be feeling…erm, pretty serious about the series of incidents that happened. After all, who else would he have expected rather than us?"

"Why don't just admit it, Bill? You thought you could get us out of this mess, and you're denying it! It would have worth the try if I had asked!"

Bill scoffed.

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"No, it wouldn't!"

"Yes, it would!"

"It wouldn't!"

"It would!"

Their argument was cut off as Bill's driver applied his brakes hard, followed by Ben's, bringing the twins to a complete stop.

"Doh, now what?!" Bill seethed impatiently.

"Red signal, it looks like," Ben replied.

Bill sighed with impatience, looking up at the red signal.

"We don't have time for this!" he grumbled. "We have a job to finish!"

"Out of the way!"

"Coming through!"

At that moment, Max and Monty raced by, much to the twins' bewilderment.

"'Ey!" Bill demanded. "Watch where you're going, speedy wheels!"

"Catch me if you can!" Monty called out to Max.

He giggled giddily, before Max revved him into the signal, which proceeded to knock over and onto the tracks with a thud, Bill and Ben watching with surprise.

"Oh, boy," Max groaned. "Now, look what ya made me now, Monty!"

"Me?!" Monty spluttered. "You were the one who shoved right into me, Max!"

PEEP-PEEP!

"Uh oh," Monty gasped.

Both sets of twins listened hard to the sound of Spencer's whistle, and Bill and Ben gasped with horror.

"Spencer!" Bill gasped.

Spencer was approaching on the Main Line, and with the signal knocked over onto his track, it seemed as if there could be a crash any moment.

"I think…we better…" Max thought.

"…get outta here?" Monty finished.

"Me first!" Max called out hastily.

He quickly started up with Monty in tow.

"No! Me first!" the latter dump truck snapped back.

Max and Monty immediately started off to make a run for it and escape the situation, but before they could…

All of a sudden, Max's engine began to make strange creaking noises, followed by Monty's, as both twins came to a complete halt.

"Uh oh," Max groaned.

"This isn't good," Monty thought.

Max and Monty had both run out of fuel and were stranded in sight of the fallen signal! They couldn't go anywhere now.

Further up the Main Line, Spencer was proudly chuffing along with his private coach behind him. The Duke and Duchess and having tea with the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt. His signal showed all clear, but little did he know about the trouble up ahead…

PEEP-PEEP!

He blew his whistle even louder, much to the attention of the China Clay twins.

"We have to stop him!" Ben panicked. "Quick, Bill! What do we do?"

"Sound up your whistle, Ben!" Bill responded.

He whistled long and loud, followed by Ben, as their guard got out and waved his green flag.

"I say," Spencer wondered from up ahead. "Whatever is that noise?"

"There must trouble, Spencer," his driver assumed. "I think it's best we slow down."

His driver applied the brakes and gradually slowed him down. Up ahead, he saw both sets of twins in the distance and the guard waving his green flag.

"Stop, Spencer! Stop!" Bill and Ben called out.

He came to an abrupt halt, and raised an eyebrow at the twins.

"Why have we stopped?" he demanded. "I have the Duke and Duchess aboard with the Hatts for a very important tea, and…"

"Dear, oh dear," the Fat Controller groaned, walking into sight with his wife and the Duke and Duchess. "Whatever is going on now?"

"Sorry, sir," the guard explained, "but a signal's fallen on the line. Bill and Ben acted quickly enough to warn Spencer in time."

"I see," the Fat Controller thought, thinking hard. "But…however did this happen then?"

"It was those two silly dump trucks, sir!" Bill hastily explained. "Max and Monty!"

"Yeah!" Ben added, thinking hard of what to say. "What he said!"

The Fat Controller turned over and saw the dump truck twins, raising an eyebrow at them.

"No way!" Max denied.

"We just ran out of fuel! That's why we're stuck here!" Monty added.

"Hmm…" the Fat Controller thought, looking at the guard. "Do you know anything about this?"

"I just got off as soon as I heard Spencer's whistle, sir," the guard explained. "But I am certain that Bill didn't knock it over."

"Oh," the Fat Controller wondered, when…

PEEP-PEEP!

"Sir! Sir!" Timothy called out, stopping in time and sighing with relief, before looking with surprise at the fallen on the track.

"Timothy?" the Fat Controller gasped. "But…but…"

"I found all the clues regarding the havoc that had been caused, sir," Timothy explained. "Charlie, Bertie and Gordon have confirmed with me that it wasn't them, and Alfie and Jack said that Max and Monty were assigned the route from their Yard through Wellsworth."

The Fat Controller nearly fell back with surprise at such information, as Bill and Ben gasped with surprise.

"So it was them?" Bill gasped.

"They got us into all this trouble?" Ben wondered.

"I still figured it out first," Bill assured him.

"No! I did!" Ben snapped back.

"No, you didn't! It was me!"

"It wasn't!"

"It was!"

"Erm, that's quite enough, you two!" the Fat Controller cut off, thinking hard, as he looked sharply over at Max and Monty.

"Max and Monty," he began, "I will arrange with Miss Jenny for Nelson to bring you your fuel, but in the meantime, I will get to the bottom of this whole situation."

The twin dump trucks exchanged a nervous glance with one another, as the Fat Controller looked back over towards the twins.

"As for you two," he continued. "I would like you both to wait for me back at the Clay Pits after you finished delivering these trucks."

"Yes, sir," the twins dully obliged, as Harvey arrived to clear up the fallen signal.

"Thank you both!" the Duchess complimented. "You've acted like heroes in preventing Spencer from a nasty accident! What a splendid pair of engines!"

"Indeed," the Duke added. "Now that the line has been cleared, we must resume our tea."

"I couldn't agree more," Spencer added, rolling his eyes.

"But before we do," the Duke went on, raising an eyebrow at his engine. "Spencer, is there something you'd like to say to these two engines?"

"Erm…thank you, Bill and Ben," Spencer said, feeling slightly better about doing so. "If it, um, weren't for you, I myself, would have had a nasty accident."

"Oh," Bill thought, "well, erm…no problem, Spencer."

"Very nice, Spencer," the Fat Controller assured him. "Carry on now."

The four of them board the coach, as Bill and Ben whistled and carried on with their trucks.

"I wonder what the Fat Controller might want to talk to us about," Ben wondered.

"Don't ask me!" Bill seethed. "I can't tell what's on his mind!"

"I never said you did!" Ben snapped back.

"I know that!"

"Then why did you assume so?"

"I didn't! You assumed I did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

The twins found out soon enough; as soon as they returned to the Clay Pits, the Fat Controller was there waiting for them.

"Well done, Bill and Ben!" he congratulated. "You prevented Spencer just in time for having a nasty accident, and were very heroic in doing so!"

"Thank you, sir!" Bill beamed.

"Glad to be of service!" Ben added.

"Also," the Fat Controller went on. "Well done to Timothy for his excellent problem solving. All the information I've seeked from the drivers was accurate, as was the stationmaster's, who was on hand at Wellsworth when the accident happened."

"Thank you, sir!" Timothy replied. "But I never would have guessed Max and Monty had done it with Marion's help."

"Oh, it was nothing really," Marion replied modestly. "You did all the mystery solving, Timothy. I only found a clue."

"Indeed," the Fat Controller thought, then took a deep breath, looking back over towards the twins.

"Anyway, my apologies, Bill and Ben, for wrongfully accusing you for a series of accidents you didn't commit. As a reward for your efforts regarding the fallen signal, I am letting you take a China Clay special due out to the Mainland first thing tomorrow morning."

"Hurrah" Bill chirped.

"Yipeee!" Ben cheered.

Both twins whistled joyfully, as the Fat Controller left the scene.

"Ahem!" Marion coughed, raising an eyebrow at the twins, as they both stopped to look at her with surprise. "Bill, Ben, is there something you'd like to say to Timothy?''

The twins thought for a moment, as Bill looked awkwardly at the oil-burning engine.

"Um, thanks, Timothy?"

"Hmm…" Marion wondered.

"Thank you for helping us prove our innocence," Ben said.

"Aha," Marion beamed.

"Yes, yes, thanks," Bill sighed with relief, then went on jokingly, "and as a token of our gratitude, we are relieving you of having to keep us looked after…for at least a day!'

Ben chuckled with amusement.

"Oh, good one, Bill!"

Timothy and Marion chuckled along as well.

All four friends shared a good laugh, though not everyone had as much of a happy ending…

Later that night, Miss Jenny spoke severely to Max and Monty in regards to all the trouble they caused.

"I am very disappointed in you two!" she scolded. "You caused a lot of trouble today and many accidents with your reckless racing about!"

"We're sorry, Miss Jenny," apologized Max.

"We really are," Monty added.

"Good," Miss Jenny beamed. "I'm glad you are, because you will spend the next couple of days working here in the Yard with the other machines keeping an eye on you nevertheless.

"What?!" the twins spluttered.

"Maybe it will give you both more time to think about what you have done and teach you both not to race at dangerous speeds."

"No fair!" Max protested.

"Yeah!" Monty added.

"Ahem!"

Miss Jenny looked hard at them and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Miss Jenny," they both sighed sadly.

"Good," Miss Jenny replied, and quickly turned to leave the sheds.

Max and Monty felt rather ashamed, and have now learnt their lesson about racing at dangerous speeds.

Wow, if The Twins' Race was the longest story I've written in a while, then this one surely puts the icing on that cake. But then again, there was plenty of story to tell here with the story jumping right into Max and Monty causing the accidents they did, before the Clay Pits crew comes into the story, and Timothy goes about his mystery solving. I'm really proud about having given the little oil-burning engine the spotlight here alongside both sets of twins, and Marion and the Pack were fun to include in supporting roles, also. Spencer, Charlie and the Duke and Duchess also play minor roles after having been heavily left out of my previous set aside from a few one-liners just for the gratification of having them speak. Paxton was originally supposed to appear at the climax, but I cut him out because I didn't think he was necessary, but I think I have other roles for him planned later on in the set. As for the punishment aspect, I was debating on how to handle TFC's character to not make him look like a dick, but considering Max and Monty were never suspected until later, in addition to Bill and Ben's shenanigans that TFC had to put up with in the past, it makes sense. Thanks again to NeverLander852 for the story idea. I had this in consideration for a while. Just took a bit of debating on where to place it. My next story will feature another character I've never included in the starring role before, aside from having her featured plentifully in my stories whenever the Steam Team make supporting roles. I am also having her square off against a set of characters (ANOTHER set of siblings, I know in a set of 5, I know) that it took guts for me to think about having to work, and I think it'll work brilliantly. Feel free to leave comments on your thoughts of this story, and, as usual, stay tuned for…

Emily Takes Care - Emily takes Annie and Clarabel out while Thomas is on his quarry run, but the coaches don't entirely trust her and are harsh on her with every mistake she makes, without realizing how their behavior is taking an emotional toll on Emily herself…

Peace At Last - Murdoch is transferred to Vicarstown to help out with the goods duties, however he is immediately unsettled by the loud, noisy environment, and finds himself constantly late with his trains attempting to seek the peace and quiet of the countryside.

Put Upon Peter Sam - Peter Sam is always keen to help other engines in a state of bother, however his generous nature is exploited when Rheneas is in need of repairs and other engines bribe him into doing their work as well as his own.

Edward And The Cabbages (based on the story of the same name by Christopher Awdry) - James is late delivering some passengers for Edward's train, and as the #2 blue engine attempts to make up for lost time, his wheel goes missing in a cabbage patch, which is later discovered by the farmer.

All Steamed Up - it's harvest festival time, and Isobella has to pull the float with the choir on it when Trevor breaks down. Isobella doesn't want to miss out on the fun the other vehicles have while she is off-site, but soon finds that fun is what she can make it.