Cue the theme!
...
Percy smiled. It was a nice day for just being Percy. No nasty jobs for him today, aside from briefly taking a couple of trucks to the harbor, and then he could go and have some fun. Maybe catch a game, see a movie. The VHS business was kicking off like crazy, and he wanted to be first in line to get one of the...er, saucier movies.
He snapped back to the present, as he headed deeper into the quarry.
All he needed was a bit of stone for his trucks.
He felt like he was going into Nam in Apocolypse Now. Trucks were stacked and lined in different places than they should be, finding lines blocked at random and forcing him to go around another way.
Not helping the fact was that snow and frost lay everywhere, and there was nary a sound to be heard. He shivered. Percy was a very cold engine, and hated this time of year. January. The last month hangover, is what Edward called it.
He ventured further, and found, at last, a line of trucks. He could hear a bit of sniffing coming from the other side. He saw Mavis, the new diesel engine, sheltering in the shadow of some rocks.
"Mavis?" He said with concern. "Was that-?"
"Just ignore me Percy." Mavis groaned and tried in vain to pull herself together. "I-I'm fine."
"No you're not." Percy was sympathetic. He had gone off and had a couple of emotional moments to himself when he had first arrived. He never showed it, of course, but living in a workhouse for the first few decades when no one knew what you were could take a toll. "Cheer up, may never happen."
Mavis was still remembering the trouble she'd had with the trucks and the crossing. "Manager says I don't listen to advice. He says I've no business jauntering down Toby's line."
"Manager's a bit of a stick in the mud." Percy said somewhat reassuringly. "I'm not sure he even really has ever met a...diesel."
"You were going to say woman."
"I was, but I wasn't sure what sounded worse."
Mavis smiled. "Well...I still think Toby's a bit of a fusspot."
"Sorry, gonna have to say this, Toby's forgotten more about trucks and safety than you or I shall ever know." Percy was firm, but not hostile. He got the feeling that Mavis had been getting a lot of stick, whether rightly or wrongly he didn't know, and he didn't want to add to it. "It would help, I admit, if you could place the trucks where he wants them. It does help. Then you'll get Fat Man's seal of approval, Really Useful Engine. Now, if you excuse me, the harbor is calling and I need to take these stones."
Mavis nodded half-heartedly. She liked Percy, but listening to his advice was something that she hadn't got the hang of yet. "Why shouldn't I go on Toby's line? Free country."
Percy sighed. He had the feeling he'd have to listen to Toby venting a great deal more when he reached the harbor.
...
The siding arrangement for the quarry were...awkward. Rumors were that the chief architect had gotten incredibly drunk the night before, scribbled down some random lines, stumbled out of his house and got hit by a truck. It showed. They twisted and turned, and to put the trucks where Toby wanted them, Mavis had to make several journeys and rearrange at least one other line of trucks every time she did so. It was annoying, to say the least.
It was long work, too. Mavis got bored rapidly. She began making plans and ideas.
One plan in particular struck her as both being helpful to her personally and not having a way to backfire and cause trouble. One day, as she waited in her freezing cold shed, she discussed the matter with her driver. "Now, we use the teeniest tiniest bit of Toby's line, we would save all this bother of having to go to the sidings every single time!"
The driver agreed. He was a idiot who tended to think more with his mustache than with his head. He allowed them to go as far as the first level crossing, to where certain sidings would be concealed in the white snow, in particular a much larger siding just a short while from the crossing.
Mavis waited and watched.
...
A few days later, and Sodor's notoriously freaky weather struck again. This time, a heatwave rushed through the Island, melting the snow and frost, and giving Henry and Edward heatstroke for three days.
The snow melting meant that the quarry grew busier, and engines such as Percy and BoCo were allowed in to start working. Therefore, Mavis was forced (Happily, mind you) to take some of the longer trains to beyond the level crossing. Which was not the name of the new Srar Trek film by the way.
Now for her plan. In actuality, a lot of this had been blind hope and praying to god that this would work. Mavis wanted to go further down the line without it seeming like it was her fault. She met up with some truck leaders, and casually started up a conversation.
"Can you keep a secret?"
The trucks looked at each other in bafflement. Was this gal for real? They couldn't not take the chance. "Yes! YES!" They cried.
"Will you bump me at the level crossing, and tell no one?!"
The trucks frowned. This sounded familiar.
Very familiar.
Ah well. Like any good tribute band, doing the same things over and over again was bound to pay off eventually. They promised quite quickly. Mavis had to go away to get some work done back in the main part of the quarry. While she was away, Toby was sent by the manager to take the next train of trucks to Tidmouth Hault, over the very unreliable bridge.
The trucks decided once again, that one engine was as good as another.
He reached the level crossing with good time. He glanced from left to right, and he put his brakes on. "All traffic should be halted." he remarked to his driver.
"Let's not have another Mavis-incident."
"Come on, we're probably being too hard on her. She's young."
"When did you start quoting stuff back to me, Toby?"
"Since I've had a couple of days off without he- Hang on, are our brakes on?"
"Yes!"
"Then why are we MOVING?!"
The braking had been the signal for the trucks. "ON! ON! ON!" They yelled, and they banged against Toby's buffers. Toby had no chance to react before he was away, the trucks screaming and yelling behind him. The water on the rails made it hard to get a proper grip, and as the fireman rushed for the sandbox, he was knocked unconscious by the roof.
The melted snow was causing even more trouble. It had ran down the valley and into a once relatively peaceful stream into a torrent of rushing water. The bridge overseeing it was creaky enough, and now it was on the verge of collapse.
"DAMN OUR HEALTH INSPECTORS!" wailed one workman as he watched. "Fingers crossed some other railway doesn't pick up the 'Shake Shake Bridge' method! We'd be screwed otherwise!" He rushed to get a drink, another drink and help. In that order.
The wood was rotten, and slowly it began to fall to pieces.
The process was sped up when a huge log rolled down the waterfall, raced towards the bridge and took out one of the support beams, smashing the bridge to bare bones. And in this climate, bare bones wasn't good enough. The rails were now stretched out across like a tightrope across the thundering river. Toby rang his bell weakly as they rounded the corner.
"STOP YOU FOOLS! STOP!" Toby was now in full panic mode. He knew what would happen, worse than any of the other engines, if he fell into that river. Images of his dashed body flashed through his mind, and he bit back at the terror rising. But the trucks paid no heed, and forced him on. As his driver fought for control, they came nearer...
...and nearer...
and nearer...
...until at last, they were resting over what looked like a abyss to Toby. The driver had braked his hardest, and Toby had stopped, staying absolutely still but with his wheels treading the tightrope.
He said nothing. He felt pale. He wished he had said something more heroic to Henrietta than "Please remember the milk, m'dear.". Something more meaningful as well.
A piece of the bridge fell off. This did not improve Toby's mood.
Mavis followed the trail of destruction under orders from the Manager. The second she saw the trucks, she felt horrified. She felt sick. She rushed to the rescue, all the while babbling apologies out at Toby. The tram was currently trying to enter a state of zen, so mostly answered with short, terse answers that were none the less somewhat positive.
Workmen anchored Toby with chains attached to a firm tree stump, while Mavis made sure to remove the trucks. They were somewhat more sober than usual, because these trucks were somewhat new to the idea of actually killing a engine. When she returned, she began to help Toby to safety.
Toby screamed a lot as Mavis pulled him back. Mostly out of terror. Also at one point because he felt as though he was going to murder the next engine he saw. He was hoping it would be James.
Once they reached the points, Mavis began apologized repeatedly once more. "I'm so so so so so sorry! I can't think how you managed to stop them in time!?"
"Uh, uh it was...it was a trick." Toby felt himself grow stronger. "You know, driver talks about people who walk tight-ropes at the circus. Didn't fancy doing it myself."
There was a awkward silence.
"We're...going to need to talk later." Toby remarked at last.
"Yes, yes, er, we do." Mavis looked terrified. And it was odd that Toby, despite everything he had just been through, couldn't summon up any real hatred or exasperation.
"Look, I'll...vouch for you. Even if you do have a lot of ideas about the way things work, that don't really work on paper...it's...it's not something to be discouraged. If we all stayed in our allotted places in life, we wouldn't get anywhere. And when you can work, you do a damn good job. We just need to work on a couple of basic pointers, and maybe come to a arrangement, okay? I'll...I'll be less of a fusspot, and I think we can arrange for you to get out of the yard every so often, and maybe we can try and work on your truck shunting skills as well as your attitude."
"Okay. Toby?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad you're a fusspot."
Toby felt touched. "Er...thank you, Mavis."
...
Later, the Fat Controller arrived.
"A very smart piece of work!" He said, admiring a painting of himself. Then he turned to Mavis. "Oh, and you're all right. Mavis, you did well too, so I hear. Maybe? I've been out of commission the last few days."
"It-It was my fault about the trucks, sir. But- But if I could-"
"Could what?"
"Come down the line sometimes sir, just to learn a bit. Toby says he'll show me what to do."
"Certainly!" The Fat Controller said. "If your manager agrees." He frowned. "Who is the manager?"
"Jim."
"Jim!? I thought I fired him years ago! Isn't he the one who doesn't like women in the workplace?"
"That's the one."
"Right. Well, new world. Let me give him a little refresher course."
...
An agreement was reached with the new manager. Now Mavis is as happy as can be. She still mistakes, because she is still young and has much to learn, but she is never afraid to ask Toby for advice and help. The Fat Controller thinks she is really useful indeed.
There is but one other thing to note, briefly.
...
"Okay, what's the problem?" Toby looked around. Edward, Duck and Percy were there. "Hello gentlemen, is there a problem?"
"We're just making sure we've got another one for the road." Edward's mug was tapped as if to prove it.
Mavis swallowed. "I, er, was talking to Percy a few nights ago and he said something about the Other Railway-" Edward and Duck suddenly became very interested. "-and, well, he mentioned that you'd been there?"
Toby looked at Edward. Edward nodded and the tram turned back to Mavis. "Yes. Me and Edward went there at the end of last year to see if we could track down...someone we knew. We barely got out of there."
"How bad has it gotten?"
"You've been there?" Duck was surprised.
"Where do you think I was before I came here?" Mavis shrugged. "It wasn't very pleasant, to say the least."
"What, for diesels?" Edward must have realized how he had sounded, for he quickly followed it up with "They seemed very anti-steam when we went over there, didn't they Toby?"
"Yes. The diesels seemed to be the majority by a large margin."
"If you're lucky, you're given the attention of the Fat Director." Mavis laughed at their expressions. "Yes, that's really what he insists on being called. We don't know his real name. But you're sort of forced into one corner of the railway, and unless you manage to get into the inner circle...you don't leave unless there's a meeting."
"Inner circle?"
"Oh yeah, there are these bunch of arses, pardon my French, that get allowed to roam the entire Railway under the Fat Director's role. Like they're his bodyguards or something. They find other diesels and runaways and bring them back to be...processed. It's kinda why I went a little nuts about wanting to get out of the quarry. I really don't want to be stuck here for the rest of my life. I thought I'd avoided that when I managed to slip out of that horrible place."
Toby groaned. "You know, we could have saved a lot of trouble if you had just come out and said it."
"Probably."
There was a pause.
"I'm not getting a apology out of you, am I?"
"No."
"I think she's had to apologize for enough." Percy remarked.
Toby sighed. "Fine. Come on then, let's get back to Trucks by Toby Part 12."
Edward smiled. "Well, you enjoy yourselves. I'm heading off to have a chat with Trevor."