Hey all. It's been quite a while. Sorry this took so long but there were some priorities I needed to get set straight before I got back into the swing of writing of these stories. Anyway, Set 3 continues with the opener for this set's DVD:

Ready! Set! Rescue!

Part I: Amber Rushes In

Written by Michael White

The early morning sun shone brightly over the Vicarstown Bridge. Birds sang and flew out over the quay, as the bridge was lowered to let a waiting Spencer. As he started, a faint sound of a siren grew gradually louder until…

SWOOSH!

"Woah!" Spencer wailed.

A huge white moving force rushed suddenly past him, taking him by surprise.

"Watch where you're going next time!" he shouted out, as he stopped to observe what overtook him from ahead.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Early one morning, a new arrival came to the Island of Sodor…

The white moving force raced steadily along, the word AMBULANCE labeled on both sides, and a red plus sign on the back. The siren sounded loudly as strobe lights flashed from both sides.

Murdoch was waiting at Vicarstown for Rosie to bring him his trucks when they both heard a faint siren sounding from the distance. Murdoch groaned with annoyance as Rosie brought him his trucks and stopped right outside the station.

"What could that be?" she wondered.

At that moment, the new van raced into sight just outside the station, facing Murdoch and Rosie as she came to a stop. The sound of her siren gradually died out.

"Erm…is there a…Sir Topham Hatt in sight?" she asked.

Murdoch shot her a funny look, before the sound of Gordon whistling as he left with the express and Henry as he left with his own passenger train made the van think even harder.

"Oh," she thought. "My guess is I'm not at the Search And Rescue Center then. Sorry. Must be off now. Bye bye!"

"Wait!" Rosie called out, as the van raced off. "I would have…given you directions."

She sighed sadly and frowned, as Murdoch groaned with irritation.

Meanwhile, a shed at Whiff's Waste Dump was on fire! Belle and Flynn worked hard with all their might to put the fire out till there was nothing but smoke!

Whiff and Scruff gazed and watched with amazement as the fire was put out, with black smoke erupting from the shed. Belle and Flynn watched as men who had been injured from the fire were brought to safety and laid by a brick building beside the line.

"Well done, Belle and Flynn!" Whiff praised. "You managed to put out that fire all in a nick of time!"

"All in our line of work!" Belle admitted.

"Ready and raring to rescue!" Flynn added.

"But…who will take the injured workers to hospital then?" Scruff wondered.

As Belle and Flynn thought hard about this, they all heard a loud hovering from overhead and watched as Harold flew into sight and landed down right before them.

"Greetings, chaps!" he greeted, as his crew got out, and the injured workers were helped aboard. "I've come to take these injured workers safely and directly to hospital. No idea how they'd get there otherwise. Do you?"

Before any of them could respond, Harold's pilot spoke up.

"Never mind that, Harold," he told him. "We best be quick. The Fat Controller would like to see us back at the Rescue Center right away."

"It's best we get going then, Flynn," Belle suggested.

"After you, Belle!" Flynn called out.

HONK-HONK!

DING-DING! DING-DING!

Their horn and bell sounded out as they took off back for the Rescue Center, and Harold took slowly to the sky, as Whiff and Scruff watched with astonishment.

At the Rescue Center, the Fat Controller looked fixedly and anxiously at his watch as he waited at the platform for the rest of the team to arrive.

"Hmm…" he thought to himself to a nearby Rocky, Butch and Captain from the waterfront nearby. "They should be back any time now…"

At that moment, he heard Belle's bell and Flynn's horn as they both rushed into sight.

"Ah, Belle, Flynn," he sighed with relief. "You're both here. Splendid!"

Belle and Flynn both smiled at him as he went on.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Harold to return and then I can make my announcement."

At that moment, they all heard a loud hovering overhead and watched as Harold landed down onto his helipad.

"Hope I'm not late, sir," he wondered aloud. "Rushed over as soon as I was done dropping those workers off at hospital and…"

"No, Harold," the Fat Controller cut off, raising his hand up so as to get his attention. "Not at all. In fact, you're right on time. Anyways, I would very much like to praise you, Belle and Flynn all for your valiant efforts in tending to the fire at Whiff's Waste Dump. However, Harold can't always be around to answer to a fire when casualties are involved."

Harold shot him a confused look as he went on.

"He does have an even greater responsibility at hand, patrolling the Island and keeping it safe. In addition, Captain can only do so when the emergency is close to shore."

Captain listened carefully to this statement and sighed, as the team listened on.

"Therefore, I have arranged for a new means of transport to rush to aid in emergencies in case of casualties."

"New means…of transport?" Flynn wondered.

"What are you talking about, sir?" Rocky asked.

"Or who?" Belle suggested.

Just then, they all heard a strange unfamiliar siren that they'd never heard before.

"Who is that, sir?" Butch wondered.

Before the Fat Controller could answer, the new van raced into sight and stopped right before the team. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Rushed in from the hospital on the Mainland and ended up at some other station the railway engines call Vicarstown. Then Knapford and Maron, I believe. Must have gotten myself off course along the way."

The Fat Controller looked at her carefully and nodded, before pointing his hand towards the Rescue team. Butch, Rocky and Harold all looked at her kind of funny, while Captain, Belle and Flynn smiled at her.

"Oh," the van gasped. "So sorry. I almost forgot to exchange introductions. My name is Amber. I'm an emergency van, and I've just arrived from the Mainland supposedly to answer a distress call. But it doesn't look like there's any emergency here so…"

The other team members all shot each other funny looks, which Amber noticed before going red in the face.

"Oh, deary me," she gasped, rather embarrassed. "My apologies! I almost forgot to ask you all of your names! I always enjoy getting to know who my comrades are before working with them! No exceptions! Just not myself today! No excuses, of course!"

"I'm Belle," the big tank engine introduced, "and this is Flynn."

"We're a fighting-fighting pair!" Flynn put in. "Always ready and raring!"

"I'm Butch!" the breakdown truck introduced. "My job is to clear away rubble from fires or assist in rescues by towing broken-down or stranded engines or vehicles."

"I'm Rocky," the crane introduced. "And I'm a breakdown crane."

"Captain!" the lifeboat introduced. "I'm always on hand in case there's rescuing needed out at sea."

"And I'm Harold!" the helicopter finished. "My duty is to patrol the sky in case of anyone in distress."

"Hmm…" Amber thought. "That does sound very useful of you all, but what's my purpose if Harold and Captain are doing all the rescue work?"

The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Oh, Amber," he laughed. "I think you'll find that I was very lucky to be able to spare you. Your help will always be needed in case of casualties in emergencies."

"I can only do so in places far out within my reach," Captain admitted.

"Yes," Harold noted, "and my duty is to remain on high alert."

Amber listened carefully to this and grew way beyond excited.

"Yay!" she cheered. "So I will be needed after all! Where's the first emergency at then?!"

The Fat Controller expressed a facepalm and groaned.

"You haven't been called to an emergency yet, Amber!" he assured her. "Therefore, you must wait here at the Rescue Center till you are! Not to worry! Your chance should come soon enough!"

Amber sighed as she watched the Fat Controller walk off.

Deep down, Amber knew that the Fat Controller was right, but she was still disappointed about not being able to start work right away.

Amber rolled off and reversed into her berth at the road shed beside Butch, who looked over at her and smiled.

Butch could see that Amber wasn't in the brightest spirits.

"Don't worry, Amber," he beamed. "Waiting your turn for an emergency is part of the job, you know."

"I know, Butch," Amber admitted. "Just think, how exciting it'd be to jump right in and be really useful! Might even give me my chance to know my way round the Island too."

Before Butch could respond, his operator hopped aboard to get him going.

"Come along, Butch!" he called out. "There's a telephone pole that's fallen and needs lifting up again."

"Right!" Butch decided. "We'll soon get that sorted!"

HONK-HONK!

He honked his horn loud and revved into action.

"See you later, Amber!" he called out.

Amber watched after him, before sighing to herself as she sat alone in her berth.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Amber waited around a little while longer, which of course, was enough for her to become very bored.

Amber yawned quietly as she sat quietly in her berth, shutting her eyes tightly with anxiety.

She grew increasingly anxious as well and tried her best not to panic, as she kept her eyes tight shut.

"Keep it together, Amber," she murmured to herself. "They'll need you sooner than later. It won't be long before…"

At that moment, the alarm bell rang, and Amber opened her eyes with a start!

"Emergency!" she shouted.

She rushed out of her shed in a flurry and rushed over to the top station, where Rocky was waiting amongst the shouting men.

"What's the emergency, Rocky?" she wondered.

"Fire at the Vicarstown DieselWorks, sounds like," Rocky confirmed. "And I do believe that one fire engine is needed from the sounds of it!"

"I'll go!" Belle volunteered.

She rang her bell loud, as he started up his engine and rushed out.

"I know!" Amber guessed eagerly. "Where there's a fire, there must be casualties! This will be my chance to be really useful!"

She sounded her siren loud as she got ready to go.

"Wait for me, Belle!" she shouted out, and raced into action as well.

"Wait, Amber!" Flynn shouted after her, honking his horn.

"Come back!" Rocky shouted. "Nobody said it was your emergency!"

He sighed sadly, before hearing a familiar whistle, as Edward quickly buffered up to him.

"Oh," he thought aloud. "Hello, Edward. What's the emergency?"

"Thomas has derailed on his Branch Line, Rocky," the blue engine confirmed. "And some of Annie's passengers have been injured from the derailment. We're needed there right away."

"Well," Rocky thought to himself, as Edward pulled him along. "This would have definitely been that new ambulance van Amber's emergency to tend to after all…"

Edward expressed a look of confusion as they continued on their way.

Meanwhile, Amber was quickly and steadily making it on her way…towards the emergency that she was sure that she was meant to be at…

Amber's siren sounded aloud and her strobe lights flashed, as she approached Bertie up ahead.

"Make way for emergency purposes!" she called out.

"Oh!" Bertie gasped.

He quickly revved aside and stopped, allowing Amber to rush by. He watched with surprise as she raced on further into the distance.

"Hmm…" he thought to himself.

Amber continued noisily further down the road on her route. Elizabeth could hear her from trundling up the slope.

"What do you suppose…?" she wondered to herself.

Her driver steadily pulled her aside and brought her to a stop, then they waited for Amber to rush noisily by, taking Elizabeth by surprise.

"Sorry!" she called back. "It's all in the line of rescue work, you know!"

"Well, I never!" Elizabeth wondered to herself with astonishment, as she watched Amber race on.

It wasn't long before Amber started to remember where she was.

"Vicarstown!" she beamed, as she came into sight of the busy station. "I know this all too well. I shan't be long now!"

The loud sound of her siren echoed through the station as she raced by, catching Murdoch and Gordon off-guard.

PEEP-PEEP!

"Oh, hello again!" Rosie greeted cheerily.

But Amber was far out of sight before she could hear Rosie.

"Oh," she wondered surprisedly to herself.

Amber's wheels pounded sturdily against the road.

"Nearly there," she panted. "Nearly there."

Soon enough, she saw a sign up ahead that caught her attention!

"Vicarstown DieselWorks!" she cried out. "I've found it! I've found it!"

She turned immediately away from the road at the Junction and past the sign that led her to the DieselWorks.

At long last, wheels pounding and nearly running short of breath, Amber arrived at the DieselWorks. But by the time she got there, Belle had already put out the fire!

"I'm here, Belle! I made it!" she expressed joyfully.

Belle shot her a look of confusion in the midst of all the cheering from the workmen and nearby diesels.

"What exactly are you doing here, Amber?" she inquired, rather confused. "Was this your emergency?"

"I'm quite sure of it!" Amber assumed. "Now please, can you tell me where the injured workmen are? Surely they must be taking refuge from the fire! I'll have 'em at the hospital on the double!"

Before Belle could answer, Den raced in.

HONK-HONK!

"Sorry," he regretted, "but the men are taking refuge in a spot just by the DieselWorks, and they're completely unharmed as it seems."

Dart rolled up beside him.

"What he means is," he added, "is that there have been no casualties from the fire."

"Oh," Amber thought, rather surprised as she went red in the face. "Well, I guess this wasn't my emergency after all."

"Doesn't look like it, Amber," Belle pointed out. "In fact, I do think it's urgent you report back to the Rescue Center right away in case of another emergency where you will be needed!"

"Right," Amber agreed. "Thanks for the tip, Belle! I best be off then! Goodbye!"

She sounded her siren loudly and flashed her strobe lights as she rushed out of the DieselWorks, past a very surprised Butch! The breakdown truck proceeded to roll into sight of the DieselWorks and faced Belle.

"I came over as soon as my operator got the call!" he told her. "Was that Amber I just saw go by?"

Belle shot a look of confusion, then sighed with dismay.

Amber rushed on her way back to the Rescue Center, though she felt very silly at having rushed in where she wasn't needed.

"Oh, dear," she muttered to herself. "What a silly mistake that was! Having showed up at the wrong emergency! It's best I head back on the double and see if there's an emergency I can answer to!"

Siren sounding loudly and strobe-lights flashing from both sides, Amber pressed on.

"Out of the way!" she shouted to Bulgy up ahead, who was on the same road.

"Woah!" Bulgy wailed.

He quickly swerved to the side, before Amber rushed past, the sound of her siren ringing in his ears!

"Well, flatten my roads! What was that?!" he groaned.

Amber hurried steadily on, panting wearily.

"Must get back to the Center! Must get back to the center!"

Up ahead, The Fat Controller was listening to a phone call whilst performing an inspection aboard Winston.

"Oh," he thought to himself, listening carefully. "Oh, my."

At that moment, he heard the sound of Amber's siren and gasped, looking up.

"I think I've found her, Charlie. Not to worry. I'll call you right back!"

He wailed as Amber rushed suddenly by, then quickly regained his composure.

"Amber!" he shouted out.

Winston honked loud enough for Amber to hear him. Amber heard them both and gasped, before screeching to a sudden halt!

"Come back here, Amber!" the Fat Controller sternly ordered. "I would like to have a word."

Amber gulped and slowly reversed back, directly facing the Fat Controller and Winston.

"I'm sorry, sir!" she immediately began. "I know I messed up! And pretty bad, too!"

"Amber," the Fat Controller sighed calmly.

"I answered to the wrong emergency!" Amber went on, cutting him off. "I thought I was needed at the Dieselworks but there were no casualties involved!"

"Amber, please," the Fat Controller insisted, raising his hand so as to get her attention.

"Now, I must report back to the Rescue Center! I'm sure I'll be needed for an emergency soon enough!"

"Amber!" the Fat Controller bellowed.

Amber stopped all of a sudden and turned her attention towards the Fat Controller, who sighed with exasperation.

"You're not needed at the DieselWorks or the Rescue Center!" he corrected.

"Oh," Amber thought, rather dumbfoundedly.

"You're needed on Thomas' Branch Line!" he went on. "Poor Thomas has come off the rails and some of his passengers are injured and need to be taken to hospital!"

"Oh," Amber marveled. "That's great news! Thank you, sir! I'll be on my way!"

"Ahem!" the Fat Controller coughed, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, erm…would you still like to speak to me, sir?"

"Indeed," the Fat Controller confirmed. "I know all about you rushing into that emergency at Vicarstown. I just recently spoke with Edward's driver who informed me of everything Rocky observed before they were both called to that emergency!"

Amber listened in shame as the Fat Controller went on.

"I thought I specifically instructed you to wait at the Rescue Center until you were needed! Now, Annie's passengers will have to wait a while longer before being taken to hospital!"

"I'm sorry, sir," Amber apologized. "I really am. I guess I was so eager and overly excited to start work that it only got the better of me."

"Everybody makes mistakes, Amber," the Fat Controller assured her. "But it's much easier to make mistakes when we have no idea how something's been done beforehand. It was your eagerness and excitement that got you into the predicament you're in."

"I know, sir," Amber heartily agreed. "I promise, I'll be patient from now on and wait my turn."

"It's good you've learnt your lesson, Amber. Now it'd probably be best that you head over to Thomas' Branch right away. You may take his injured passengers to hospital from there."

"Yes, sir!" Amber cheered, then had a thought. "Erm…how do I get there again?"

The Fat Controller sighed.

"You pass a few more exits up the road here," explained. "Soon enough, you'll see a fence which lead you over a bridge. Thomas derailed right near that signalbox."

"Oh, right! Thank you, sir! I'll be on my way then!"

She sounded up her siren and flashed her strobe lights once more, before setting off.

"Good luck, Amber!" the Fat Controller called, before continuing to forcefully move Winston along.

Wheels pounding, strobe-lights flashing and her siren sounding loudly, Amber set off for Thomas' Branch Line!

"Passed three exits!" she thought aloud to herself, as he recently passed one. "Destination should be dead ahead!"

It turned out that Amber was right! Straight up ahead was a white fence that led to a bridge!

"Aha!" she decided, turning a corner towards and through the fence, leading to the bridge up ahead.

"I've found it!" she exclaimed. "It's just like the Fat Controller said!"

She raced on over the bridge and turned another corner, leading her back towards the road.

In the distance, Amber saw a blue tank engine she had never seen before, right beside the signalbox.

"It's Thomas!" she cried out. "I've found him! I've found him!"

She arrived at the scene of emergency just in time to see Rocky lift Thomas back onto the tracks.

"Thank you, Rocky! Thank you, Edward!" the tank engine said gratefully.

He looked over in surprise to hear a siren and watched with astonishment as a van he'd never seen before stopped right at the scene.

"Phew!" Amber sighed. "Sorry, I'm late! You must be Thomas then."

"Well, yes, I am," Thomas confirmed, rather puzzled. "But…who are you?"

"Oh! Yes, well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Amber! I'm the new emergency van! I was called into action to take your injured passengers to hospital, but I…kinda rushed into the wrong emergency and ended up at the Dieselworks beforehand. Yes, eh, sorry 'bout that."

Thomas chuckled.

"No worries! You're here now, aren't you?"

"Erm…yes, I suppose I am," Amber guessed, as the workmen helped the injured passengers aboard her compartment.

"And little harm was done," Rocky added. "You can still get these passengers to the hospital all in good time."

Amber smiled as she heard her back door slam.

"Surely, I can!" she beamed. "Pleasure meeting you, Thomas! Oh, and your splendid coaches too!"

She raced off much to the bewilderment of Thomas, Annie and Clarabel.

"Oh, my, dear!" Annie marveled. "What a peculiar van she is!"

"Agreed, Annie!" Clarabel put in. "But rather nice too!"

"Quite right, Clarabel!"

Thomas smiled and whistled as he pulled them further along.

Amber dropped the injured passengers off at Wellsworth Hospital, and waited til they were all helped inside before rushing off back to the Rescue Center!

Amber sounded up her siren and flashed her strobe lights as she exited the hospital and turned back towards the road.

As she arrived, she stopped right at the platform for a rest. Butch was nearby and guessed the situation all too well.

The sound of Amber's siren died down as she stopped at the platform, and Butch observed her closely.

"Rushed in after all, did you, Amber?" he guessed sympathetically.

"Yes, Butch," she admitted. "I was too eager to help that I made the mistake of doing so and ended up at the wrong place. But I quickly resolved the situation and got Thomas' passengers to hospital on time."

"Yes indeed! Your actions were heroic! You were magnificent, Amber!" Rocky heartily agreed.

"Eh, I'm not sure I'd concur," Amber expressed. "I've made enough mistakes all in one day to be sent away."

"I'm not sure about that," chuckled a familiar voice.

Amber looked over with surprise to see a familiar figure exit the station office.

"Sir?" she wondered.

"I came over for a meeting with the Center manager," The Fat Controller explained. "Rocky's operator told us all about your heroism in rescuing those injured passengers, Amber."

"Even though I…messed up, sir?" Amber wondered confusedly.

"Don't worry, Amber," Flynn soothed. "I've made mistakes from time to time as well."

"As have I," Belle added. "Why, once I left the Rescue Center after having sea water in my cannons and it ended up spraying out everywhere!"

"Did you?" Amber wondered, and tried hard not to laugh.

"It's only your first day on the job, Amber!" Butch wearily concluded. "You've learnt well from your recent mistakes!"

"For sure, she has," the Fat Controller chuckled. "And for that matter, I do intend to keep you on Sodor. You do make a fine asset to my railway overall."

"I do?" Amber gasped.

HONK-HONK!

"For sure!" Flynn chimed in.

DING-DING! DING-DING!

"Welcome to Sodor, Amber!" Belle called aloud, ringing her bell.

Flynn and Butch honked their horns as Amber just smiled.

Amber felt much better about herself, and finally like part of the team!

"Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement! In future, I vow to be a more patient and careful ambulance van!"

That, however, was easier said than done, as the alarm bell went off!

"Emergency!" Rocky shouted out, as the men shouted and climbed aboard.

PEEP-PEEP!

"What's the status report, Emily?" he asked the emerald engine, as she whistled and buffered up to him.

"Fallen telephone pole on the line, Rocky!" she confirmed. "Harvey's on the other side of the Island and won't make it in time."

Watching Butch and Harold roar into action and Emily pull Rocky away, Amber was bursting with excitement and sounded her siren and strobe lights.

"I'm ready for action!" she called out.

"No!" Belle and Flynn shouted together, sounding their bells and horns as loud as they could.

"Oh," Amber gasped, settling down a bit and chuckling nervously. "Sorry! There I go again! Rushing in when I'm not needed!"

She blushed with embarrassment as Belle, Flynn and the Fat Controller all laughed amusedly, and soon found herself chuckling along with them. The Fat Controller headed back towards his car as Amber sidled into the station.

Amber waited at the station for her next emergency, and was rather cautious from that moment not to rush into emergencies where she wasn't needed.

Part 1 of my DVD about the Search and Rescue characters and a new character is introduced: Amber the Ambulance Van! I hope you've all enjoyed how I wrote her: very eager to help and therefore tending to rush in where she isn't needed, but in the end, she learns from her mistakes and gets done the task at hand. She will be given more development in another spotlight story later in this DVD. I've made the decision to include my DVD for this set three quarters of a way to maybe shake things up a bit, especially a returnee later down this list has another planned role in my last bunch of episodes. Anyways, I hope you all look forward to the rest of Ready! Set! Rescue! The next story shall be up tomorrow morning. Till then, be sure to leave your thoughts on this story in the comments, and as always, stay tuned for...

Gator's Discovery - while delivering some rock salt along Duck's Branch Line, Gator comes across Bulstrode the Barge washed up by the shore and enlists Percy's help to make him good as new.

No Bother For Butch - Butch spends all day tending to other engines and vehicles in a state of emergency, that he doesn't think to take notice of the problem with his own engine, dismissing others' warnings. Instead, he puts his friends entirely before himself, which eventually leads to his own emergency!

Amber's Castle Conundrum - a pair of rock climbers are injured at Callan Castle, so the Rescue team are called into action, though Amber takes a wrong turn and ends up at Ulfstead instead!

Trevor And Flynn - Trevor often tries to find a way to help Flynn with fighting fires when he passes by despite Flynn clearly thinking the old traction engine has little use in a situation like that; however, when Belle derails on the way to a fire, Flynn may end up needing Trevor's help after all when he starts to run out of water.

Not-So-Smooth Sailing - While out on patrol, Captain sees a dark cloud looming towards Arlesburgh West. He warns everyone about the upcoming storm, but when poor Skiff gets caught in the storm, it's up to Captain to brave the waves and rescue the little railboat!