Well. Here we are. This six thousand plus chapter is the last proper episode of Thomas Abridged Volume 1. I'll save more specific thanks for when we reach the end of Magic Railroad, but can I just say, you all are the reason I'm still continuing. Thank you.
Now, regarding the story itself! For those of you who are here for the parody, the whole parody and nothing but the parody, so help us, I apologize if you feel as though you have to trawl through a lot of crap to get to it. I have made it easier, however. The sections in bold are the flashback sections which take up most of the actual episode, and they are like that because it is Rusty telling the story. If you want to just read those, go ahead and then perhaps wait a bit, as parody and serious storylines are going to be wrapped together in Magic Railroad.
Quick chat about that! I'm looking at possibly ten parts for the Magic Railroad, which wouldn't be possible if I wasn't packing quite a lot into it. I want ten because...well, I prefer even numbers, and one hundred and forty chapters seem pretty cool! But again, to make sense of it (And because watching it again, there are a lot of times where NOTHING is happening) there's going to be a lot more happening in it. As in, a lot more of STORY than PARODY. But the parody is still going to be there. The humor's still planned, totally.
One last little thing. The author's notes are going to be at the bottom of the story instead of just before the start. Just so I don't break the flow. So with that in mind, I'll try and explain as best I can there.
And for the last time! REVIEW TIME.
To the Guest: Thank you! Those are some interesting theories, and (If I had gone for a more humorous take on it) I probably would have had the gasses in the ravine be hallucinogenic to explain what the hell that was all about!
Reid007: Thank you!
MattPrice01: The Association for Boulder Equality are truly the unsung heroes! Thanks! I wrote it during an exam period myself, so I empathize! Sherlock Season 3 was fine (The worst of Sherlock is still miles better than some shows) but I preferred Season 4's focus. And I hope that they'll just go back to doing crimes instead of family drama for a bit.
UGX7: Thank you! I'm glad my random explanation for him didn't put you off! Boulder...it's complicated, but I do have a few ideas...
Radical-sandwiches: Thank you! Here you are! Hope you enjoy it! I did borrow the idea of the trucks being a bit more...out for blood, especially given how angry Angelis makes them sound, so thanks for that!
TrainManiac: Thank you! I really threw my all into making Rusty and the Boulder as good as it could be! Hopefully this is pretty good, the actual episode is such a weird one to end the season on. So again, like with Mind That Bike, I expanded it a hell of a lot more.
Game Watch: You are not the only one! I recall watching it for the first time on a VHS with a lot of other Season 5 episodes, and being really freaked out by it. Not helped by the fact that it was the very last one on there, and was a very low key ending. And yeah, pretty much. Basically my idea is that the absence of Lady on the Island resulted in a lot of things getting REALLY screwed up.
AaronCottrel97: Shit is going to get really goddamn real.
Reality Rejection Service: Indeed. Basically, I'm drawing a lot on the rejected Director's Cut for Boomer's character. And i'm going to point out how petty his reasons for betraying Burnett and Tasha were in Magic Railroad.
Bronze-Shield: It does. It tried to be too many things and ended up being very little. I still have a soft spot for it, and I did enjoy rewatching it, but yeah. Now, it's interesting you ask that question. I'm not sure in which way you mean 'hero' but here's my take on it. Something that I've tried to do is capture what the original five season Thomas run did very subtly, that is, taking Thomas from a whining child to a sarcastic and rude son of a gun to a hard working and helpful member of engine society. Obviously I've made it so that he's still sarcastic, but one of the things I have tried to do is have him slowly become a better engine. So in that respect, yeah, he kind of is. And I hope to continue on with that in Magic Railroad.
CUE THE THEME.
Winter time was here.
Christmas, as the song says, is a time for things. And a lot of things were going on this season. The snow had covered the railway lines and the fields, trapping trucks, coaches and even a good few engines inside the thick white quilt of frozen water. Again. Edward had been heard to remark that he sometimes wondered if Everest was anywhere near as cold as Sodor was at this time of year.
Nearly all the engines were hard at work, except for Percy. He had somehow managed to fall asleep while pulling the mail train, and had paid for this by being buried alive by a ton of snow. "I'm fine as long as Thomas doesn't-"
"How'd you manage that?!"
"Oh, of course."
"Come on, Percy, this is no time to be a lazy git and rest! You're not James for god's sake!"
"I'm stuck!" Percy protested. "And my funnel is freezing up! Most of my orifices are dying! And Alec's buggered off back to his house, to 'send for help' as he puts it! Cheeky sod, I know he's just sobbing at his graduation photos and wondering where he's gone wrong!"
"Right now-" Thomas said, grimly "-I empathize with him insanely. PAH!" And off he went, leaving Percy to his own devices again. Not that he could do much.
"Nine hundred and ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall, nine hundred and ninety nine bottles of beer-"
...
"Hey Edward, you okay?"
"Hmm? Oh, fine. I guess." Edward tried smiling. He was good at pretending to smile. He could win medals for it.
Mavis gave him a Look, the kind that starts with a capital 'L'. It was the same sort of look that Edward had seen on BoCo's face whenever he had been trying to hide how genuinely frustrated he was with everything. Which seemed to be happening a lot, now that he thought about it. She sounded sceptical as well. "Where are you spending the night?"
"Figured I'd head back to Vicarstown, see if I can't sort the yards out a bit. Someone has to, it might as well be me."
"The yards in Wellsworth are in worse shape, if you want my honest opinion."
"I want to challenge myself."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
The two of them stared at each other, each one daring the other to break the silence first.
"You know-" Mavis said, boldly "-seeing as someone has to manage Bill and Ben, I was thinking of heading up to Wellsworth to get them away from any potential fire hazards. They'd like it if you came too."
"I appreciate it, but-"
"You're not the only one who misses BoCo, you know."
Edward stopped.
"I know that you're worried and you're scared, and that you're lonely right now. It must be pretty quiet on your branchline at the moment. But the twins miss him too. They're just better at hiding it. So why don't you come on over, and we'll get really drunk to celebrate him?"
Edward sighed. "I'm not getting out of this one, am I? Fine. I'll show up. But I'm not playing bloody Charades."
He couldn't quite, however, hide the smile on his face.
...
"Ugh, why are we still here?!" Had James feet, he would have been stamping them up and down now in a foul tantrum. As it was, he settled for whining at the top of his voice. And considering how loud his voice was, this was quite some top.
Toby ignored him. It was best to ignore James in the cold weather, he was even more insufferable than usual. He was checking up on Bertram. The events at the quarry had shaken him up, and the tram was concerned for how the narrow gauge engine was handling things. Especially with Sir 'Mr Sensitivity' Handel and Duncan the Dunce being in close proximity for the four days that the engines were allowed to have off. "You doing okay, Bertram?"
"Mmmm. Still not sure why I can't just stay up at the castle. I mean, no offence Toby, but it's a bit...much."
"Sorry mate, do you want me to take you back?"
"OH GOD NO I WANT TO GO BACK TO TIDMOUTH TONIGHT!" wailed James.
"Ignore him, he's being a prat."
"Nah, I'm fine here. Really. You go and have a good Christmas."
"Well...all right." Toby looked around, and then leaned forward to whisper. "A word of warning. Once Skarloey has a few shots of Culdee's Fall, he tends to get a little bit...boisterous. I heard rumors that he attempted to become the world's first flying engine a few years back. Hence the reason why there's a suspiciously Skarloey shaped hole in the roof."
"Heh." Bertram smirked. "Duly noted. Happy Christmas, Toby."
"And to you, Bertram." Toby straightened up and backed away. "All right, James, we can finally head off home-"
"OH THANK GOD I AM FREEZING MY BOLTS OFF HERE!" James was off like a shot, and sighing, Toby followed after him. Bertram sighed, and then looked to his shedmates for the holiday. Ivo Hugh and Peter Sam were busy watching holiday movies, Sir Handel was trying to stop Rheneas from licking glue and Skarloey was trying to avoid the temptation to drink Culdee's Fall Alcopops. And failing.
Duncan, meanwhile, had been hoisted above the shed to act as 'fairy' for the holidays. He was not best pleased by this. It had, however, made Duke laugh until he cried, so that was a positive.
Well, for the others. Bertram was still trying to wonder if he could work up the courage to confront Duke. Truth be told, he was beginning to worry that he could no longer make himself care enough to want revenge on Duke.
"Come on Bertram! Muppets Christmas Carol is on!" Peter Sam was excited.
Bertram sighed. He might as well have a bit of fun while it lasted. "Be there in a moment."
...
Elsewhere, Thomas had been drafted for that most pleasant of jobs, clearing snow away from a banged up old tunnel. As it turned out, it was too deep and he ended up getting stuck. The tank engine was not happy, and made his feelings known. His driver and fireman headed off in search of cocoa and perhaps a therapist. "SNOW-" He proclaimed "-is nothing but trouble!"
"I feel like we've been over this before." muttered Rusty, who was there for...some reason. "Anyway, driver says that this winter is just as bad as the worst winter of all!"
"When was that, then? AD or BC?"
"Ha, funny."
"How worst?"
"Bad grammar there, Thomas."
"Bite me."
"No thanks. Anyway, I'll tell you."
"Now, listen, you don't have to do-"
"Many years ago-" began Rusty, firmly. Thomas sighed, and tried to get comfortable. Whenever someone started to tell a story like this, it often bored the pants off of him, and considered the temperature, he was in no mood for that to happen.
...
MANY YEARS AGO.
Skarloey was working in the slate mines, up in the mountains. Because apparently the Skarloey Railway ended up getting relocated to the mountains inbetween seasons for no reason, and no one's actually been doing any work with coaches or passengers.
When the snow came, it was difficult to work. Duncan didn't even bother trying, much to no one's surprise. But the workmen did use it as a double buffer zone, to stop the trucks from skidding through to the ravine below. A pretty bloody stupid place to put a quarry if you ask me, but then no one does.
("Heavens-" cried Thomas, sarcastically "-I'm learning so much today!" A loud blast on the horn shut him up, and he returned to sulking)
One day, Skarloey set off to the mines with some empty trucks and some dying dreams. Primarily so as to get away from Rheneas and Peter Sam, who were having a contest to see who could out stupid the other. It was going about as well as could be expected.
Meanwhile, there was trouble at mill. Also at the mine, which is more relevant to our story. The winch that hauled the trucks up and down was no longer working properly. Anyone else would have figured that maybe halting production in the quarry was a good idea. Not these workmen, however.
("You're a bit biased, aren't you, Rusty?" asked Thomas. Rusty honked their horn loudly, a quiet little smirk gracing their face.)
Skarloey had reached the ravine on time, and his driver stopped to take a piss. His fireman sighed. "There are safer places to go when nature calls, mate!" He protested. The driver shrugged, and proceeded to write his own name in the snow. He looked up and frowned.
"That snow looks bloody dangerous." He remarked. "Almost as dangerous as letting Old Faithful have another drink or two, eh, eh, eh?" He laughed. No one else did. It wasn't really that funny. "Anyway, the sound of the engine and these trucks could set off an avalaunche. Especially considering how much of an echo there's going to be here. Better set off a cap, just to test."
"So, your genius plan to avoid us getting buried alive is to set off a loud noise that could potentially cause us to get buried alive?"
"Do you have a different suggestion?"
"Yes, we talk to the foreman at the top, which we reach on foot, instead of risking all of our lives-"
"WHOOPS TOO LATE!" And the driver ran back, drove a very reluctant Skarloey over it and listened as the loud bang shook the mountains. Everyone listened, and waited. Nothing. The fireman raised his two fingers and glared angrily at the driver, who was feeling rather smug. "Nothing! Good oh! Let's have a cup of cocoa, now that we're stopped here, then we'll be on our way!"
"This is the stupidest thing ever." growled Skarloey. "Are you sure, boyo, that it's not you who's pissed?!"
("That's a terrible Welsh accent.-"
"Hush!")
But there was worse to come. Because of course there was. There always was. A full line of trucks were already on the incline, the winch holding them back. But only just. Slowly, the workmen began to lower them down. They had just reached the point where the first truck was almost on the flat part of the land when some empty trucks became derailed.
There was a loud groan, and the winch stopped momentarily. The workmen stared at each other. They didn't think they were going to get paid today. The trucks, of course, took their chance. "BREAK IT! SNAP IT!"
These trucks were rather nasty ones, ones who didn't care if they lived or died, as long as they did things with an intense amount of flair and/or explosions.
There was a loud growling sound as the part of the winch holding the trucks was stretched to a point where it should never be stretched. And then it snapped. "FASTER! FASTER! FASTER! ON ON ON!" the trucks wailed, shockingly. After all, it's not like this is the thousandth time they've said the same thing over and over again, is it?
"The snow bank and buffers will stop them!" said the workmen. He was wrong.
"When have buffers EVER stopped them!?" shouted his friend. He was right. The trucks plunged into the ravine, or to be more grammatically accurate, into the ledge overlooking the ravine. It was not a very dynamic death, upsetting many of them. However, there was worse...much worse to come.
Skarloey and his crew looked up.
"AVALANCHE!" screamed the driver, a full five seconds before the snow even began to shift. The fireman rushed for the controls, but he wasn't as experienced as the driver, and thus struggled to get Skarloey moving backwards.
Said driver was currently on his knees, praying to whatever God was listening for forgiveness as the snow moved closer and closer to the edge. Then it smothered them, literally. Deep inside the high drift, blocking the ravine and surrounded by trucks, was Skarloey. He was buried under there, thinking about what an embarrassing death this was going to be.
...
They puffed through the snow in quiet, all conversations having been abandoned upon seeing the state of the rails and the weather around them. They both thought along similar lines but in different ways. Toby's thoughts were focused upon making sure that Henrietta was safely tucked at the coach shed for the night. He'd pick her up in the morning and bring her to the sheds proper for Christmas then. He also thought a great deal about enjoying a warm drink by the fire, and seeing if there was any chance he could catch a repeat of an old Last of the Summer Wine episode.
As for James, he was busy thinking of matters connected to, what else, himself. So he did not notice when suddenly, without warning, Toby stopped dead and stood stoc still, eyes widened and brow creased.
Toby felt as though he had been struck by an odd sense of deja vu, as if he had been down this area before. Of course he had, he had traveled all over the Island. But no, this...this was something far more powerful. There was some sort of sense nagging at him, a sense that none of us can properly define or explain, that tells us that we are somewhere that is very important to us.
And then in an instant, he realized it. Home! His old home at Arlesdale End! The old tramway that he hadn't thought about properly for so long, since that first day that he had left for this madcap shitstorm of a railway. But yes, this was the ridge of the cliffs that lead into it, the place where he had once taken the Fat Controller and his family for that fateful ride, the place where he had been born, and grown up in, and left abandoned, alone and forgotten.
"JAMES!" He shouted, the urge to return and at least see what it was like overwhelming any thoughts about getting to the sheds. "Please, come back! I've found something!"
"Oh for god's sake, hurry up, Toby!" James snapped, unaware of just how desperate Toby sounded.
"No, please, really, I promise, it's important! This is where...this is where I was made! I haven't been here in years, and I just...please, let me just have a look! Please, James, please come back!"
James was too far ahead now to properly make out Toby's genuine distress, and too far ahead to recognize that Toby would not have stopped for any good reason. "Oh screw it! You can stay out here and freeze, mate, but I'm not! If you're coming, come. And if you're not, then to hell with you!" And so saying, he plowed on into the cold.
Toby tried to fight back the wave of despair that hit him. He felt that his old home, that place which he hadn't looked at in so long, was calling to him, desperately, needing to say...something, if only a proper goodbye. But he knew that leaving James to the snow was not an idea any sane engine should contemplate. Supposing the bastard fell into a pond? Who's fault would it be then? And, worse still, what if he was left on his own? James didn't function well on his own. So, throwing aside every ounce of his being that was telling him to head on down the old line, he hurried after James.
"Finally!" And so, they continued onwards. But Toby, aware of the pain in his boiler and not just attributing it to the pains he had been feeling all year, grew slower and slower, until at last James noticed. Not even he was so self-absorbed to ignore potential heart attacks happening, so he stopped to give him chance to catch his breath. "Is there a problem?"
"Why would there be a problem?" Toby tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He failed.
"Okay, what's the matter?"
"...i just...I saw my old tramway there. The way into it, at least. And I know that it's not as nice as Tidmouth, or as comfy as Wellsworth or...or anything like any of the other sheds. But it was...it was my home for most of my life, and then I went away, and then I just left it there. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. And then...I saw it. And I just wanted to see it, to see what had happened, just one look. But you wouldn't...I can't leave you alone out here! You just wouldn't come back!"
Toby wasn't sure if he was crying, or the snow was just that fierce. There was silence for a moment, aside from the howling blizzard. Then:
"Come on, let's head back."
"Yeah, okay, sure...sheds are that way."
"I know."
James had started to head back along the same tracks he had just cut across. Toby stared, baffled. "No, wait, James, I didn't mean any of that, that was me just being stupid!"
"No, I've had a lot of practice with being stupid. This is important. I am...sorry. I really am." James sounded it, too. "Come on, we better get a move on."
"But-"
"No buts. I need your help, you're the only one who can apparently tell where the hell this hillbilly settlement you called a line was, so move your arse!"
...
"So, a drinking bender?" Oliver sounded skeptical. "You!?"
Duck nodded, or did the engine equivalent. "I can't believe it either! I have no idea what the hell they put in those mainland drinks, but it must be some pretty powerful stuff!"
"We'll be needing a full list of the drinks ye drunk! Fer science!" declared Donald, having consumed several drinks of his own making already. He was, not to put too fine a point on it, sloshed. Douglas shook his head and sipped at his milkshake.
Duck sighed, and relaxed, rather happily.
He had a good feeling about the new year.
...
"And then came the funny part!"
"Really?!" Thomas asked, incredibly skeptical. "I don't think there's anything funny about an avalanche! I'm sure that most people who have been in a avalanche would agree with me! In fact, even people who haven't would say that that's not true!"
"Hush! This is my story, and I shall tell it!"
...
STILL MANY YEARS AGO.
No one knew that the heat from Skarloey's fire and engine had helped to make an igloo. Somehow. Physics be damned, apparently! But the workmen were so dim that they spent three whole hours arguing over what it was.
"It's a snowball!"
"It's a snowhouse!"
"It's snow bother!"
"It's a You Ever Make a Pun again Perkins I swear to god!"
"It's a representation of how we've failed as a nation!"
"It's an engine for god sakes! Anything to stop the stupid! We need to dig him out of there!" And so they did, removing the ice that had somehow magically formed around Skarloey, to find his driver and fireman drinking cocoa as if nothing had happened!
Oh, and I was there too. How we laughed!
...
"...It's not that funny."
"You had to be there at the time, I think."
"Lucky for them. Just goes to show that you can't trust trucks!"
"Or snow!"
Both of them sat in silence.
"Was there an actual point to telling me this story? Or a moral? Because I feel like there was intended to be one at the start of this tale, and then we kind of veered off course!"
"Yeah. See, this is why I need to take storytelling lessons from Skarloey. Now there's an engine who knows how to tell a story!"
The men had just cleared the line for Thomas, when Gordon the Big Rainer on the Parade arrived with a snow machine. For...some reason. Thomas spluttered as the snow went up his nostrils once more. "Hello you duffers, look out, there's snow about! HO HO HO! Tis a good day to be Gordon!"
"It's never a good day to be Gordon!" snarled Thomas.
He was right. Gordon wheeshed loudly as he reached the entrance way of the tunnel. He looked up just in time to see a large chunk of snow move towards him. He made a noise that sounded like "Uh oh" if he had the ability to hold his nose, before getting buried.
There was a three minute delay, before Gordon let out a loud "POOP!" on his whistle. Or it was a "Help!", the snow had buried him alive, it was hard to tell.
"If Skarloey could survive a snowstorm and laugh, a big strong engine like you can stick it for a few minutes!"
"Puhuhuh!" said Gordon (Or something along those lines) and then fell as silent as the snow.
It took them a minute to realize that he was suffocating.
...
"You really lived here? For that long?"
"Oh, it wasn't like this originally. You can't see it, but there were lines leading to a whole bunch of sheds here, originally. My brothers .And then they died, or they moved on, either or. And so they tore them down, got them used in something more useful. And they didn't really see the point in giving me a massive shed that only I was going to be sleeping in, so...wooden shack it was."
"...How'd you stay sane?"
"Who says I did?" James laughed at that. "No, it was more a case of keep your head down. Don't speak out of turn. Don't...stand out too much. Of course, apparently that got mistaken for being boring on this Island. It happens."
"Trust me, I get that. They literally reduced me to my color the first year or so. All because I was ruining the continuity of the scene! Whatever that means!" They laughed, and Toby was aware that this was the first actual meaningful conversation that they had had in...who knows how long?
At last, silence descended. Not an unpleasant one, but noticeable nonetheless. Toby decided to break it. "Look, we should probably be getting back now. It was nice to see it...what's left of it." He looked around ruefully at the old banner not too far from the shed, still hanging there since his farewell party. "Could have tidied it up a bit, couldn't they?"
"...Toby, you've been weird all year. Is there something the matter?"
"...I finally got the results back not long ago. With the stuff with the quarry and all the work we've had to go through, I've had no time to properly digest it or tell you about it, but...I've got something wrong with me. Internally, I mean. The parts that I need aren't parts that are sold or can be made properly anymore. They might be able to make some in the future, and it's not terrible. It just acts up whenever there's a bit of anxiety going on. Which is often. But, it's manageable. I'll live as long as any of you, don't worry!"
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"James, no offence, but you don't take things seriously. At all. And it's not you, it's just...the Island in general. It's not the kind of place where one easily admits to weakness."
"...I, um, nearly died this year. On several occasions." James looked uncomfortable. "i just want to apologize. You know. In case for whatever reason they decided to shove me against a power mad diesel with a claw next time."
"Pfft. Like that would ever happen." Toby was about to say more when he heard a strange sound off in the distance. James also heard it, and for a moment, they pondered on what it could be. At last, Toby spoke up. "Oh my! Are those the carolers?! They always used to come around here at Christmas time. But they can't be here, right? The station's been closed for years."
The two engines left the shed and looked in surprise as Headmaster Hastings lead a selection of children onto the station platform. Most of them looked as though they were freezing, and that they'd rather be anywhere else but here. Yet, there they were, singing away. Toby frowned. He wasn't quite sure what to do with them. They hadn't expected to see him, that much was obvious from their expressions...
"Well sung! Almost...decent." James tried smiling, but the cold made it a little difficult. "Look, you're all freezing out there, would you like to come in and warm yourselves up?"
Hastings frowned, but the children took James up on the offer immediately. The two engines watched as their drivers and firemen graciously gave them their own coats, and their own supplies of food and drink. Soon, the kids were chatting away with the engines. They made a pretty good double act at telling stories, James telling his own fanciful versions of what had happened, and then Toby chiming in with a blunt truth.
"Thank you." said Toby, as the kids gathered around the phone to speak with their parents who were all wondering why Headmaster Hastings had stolen the school bus and taken them out randomly carol singing.
"For what?"
"Putting up with me."
"Three hundred and sixty three days of the year, you do it with me. Least I can do."
...
Percy shivered. Night was coming in, and still neither one of his crew had returned. He would have at the very least hoped that his fireman would have come back. He had stuck with him throughout Carlin and now with Alec. He tried to focus on something else, something more positive. But nothing came to mind.
It was then that he suddenly felt a jerk, and a light bump moved him out of the snow. "Wha-"
"There you are, pea green! Been looking for you all over the place!"
"Henry!?"
"Yeah, the very same."
"What are you doing out here?"
"Oh, you know me, I regularly come out here at night, when no one is looking so that I can smuggle out the huge amounts of crystal meth that I have for years been brewing away in a secret facility near Vicarstown. What do you think I'm doing out here!?"
"...Me?"
"You. Now, hold up, this next bit is going to be a bit...dicey. I'm not sure if I can get you out, but I'm damn well going to try."
"So why-" asked Percy, as they continued on to Tidmouth Sheds "-are you out here for me? I mean, shouldn't you be inside Tidmouth, watching It's a Wonderful Life, or a Christmas Carol, or...the Muppets Christmas Carol, I don't know."
"Eh. I was. And then I figured that you were the only one who couldn't be anywhere else. Toby and James are either at Crovan's Gate or somewhere round about that area. Edward's probably at Wellsworth with the twins and Mavis, Gordon and Thomas are...well, they're still out and Elsbridge isn't too far from where I last heard they were. And the Little Western lot are probably at their sheds at Tidmouth Hault. So, we have the sheds to ourselves."
"Heh. Cool. Thanks for coming out."
"...Eh, I just figured, you know. Don't want you to be alone out there. Trust me, I've had that experience." Henry shuddered. "The last time I ever take a dare from Gordon in winter. That engine is nasty!"
...
"I don't get it!" Carlin was moving as fast as he could. Up ahead, he saw a fete being held. Or rather, where it had been held. Everyone had long since abandoned it. leaving only a few tents, a hot air balloon and tables filled with food to show there'd even been a celebration."What is the Magic Railroad?!"
"It's a gateway! Any point and any time that the user wishes to go to can be accessed from there!" Benn ignored the branches whipping in his face and his shoes getting drenched in mud, so focused was he. "If the Malevolence gets their claws on it, there's stopping it! The entirety of time and space will be his plaything, and we'll be helpless to stop it!"
"So, not a good thing, then!"
"Not really, no! Look!"
Up ahead, they had a decent view of Lady and the Malevolence. They had turned sideways, towards Great Waterton. And there, just a few yards away, were a pair of buffers. They had a clear enough view of them to see the Malevolence shooting forward a blast of black magic, and Lady using the last of her own energy to fire her own back. The two met and-
For a moment, there was nothing. Literally nothing. It was as if Lady, the Malevolence, the humans, the yard, the trees, the animals, the birds...everything just simply wasn't there. It wasn't completely black or white, it was just nothing. If nothing was a color, this was what it was.
And then suddenly everything rushed back into focus, and Carlin bent over to heave up the vast majority of the alcohol in his system. When he was finished, he glanced up once more.
Lady, Burnett and Tasha were gone. The Malevolence, however, was still standing there. An odd little smile graced his features. Oddly enough, that was somehow more unnerving than the grins and the grimaces he had given earlier.
"I can wait for a very long time." he whispered.
"I don't get it, what happened?" Carlin asked Benn, who also seemed to have been overwhelmed by whatever the hell had just happened. As he leaned against a tree, Benn closed his eyes and massaged his temples.
"It's like a nuclear reactor overheating. All that magic's leaking out back onto the Island, light and dark. The affects are already beginning to happen now! Look!" Benn pointed to where Great Waterton was. Or rather, where it had been.
And Carlin suddenly realized why it was that there were so many abandoned tracks, why the Island never seemed to have a consistent geography, why there were so many lines that seemed to go nowhere. The magic was screwing up the Island something fierce, everything was being rearranged. Lady's last gambit had been to essentially hide the Magic Railroad for all time away from the Malevolence. "I assume that the magic will do something to people's memories of this? It's not exactly on the f**king Discovery Channel that a giant dragon awoke and laid waste to an entire Island!"
By luck, the balloon was still there, so the two of them hurried onboard, and Benn took them up into the air. They sat down, and rested for a moment.
"With all the disturbances and time portals popping up, not to mention all the otherworthly stuff that's leaked onto the Island, I shouldn't be surprised if the population begin to think that it was just a gas leak of some kind. They'll come up with something to justify it, they always do. And will."
Carlin snorted, humorlessly. "Yeah, that figures. Knew Roswell was a cover up all along!"
"Hell yes it was! How do you think the American public managed to elect Lyndon B Johnson?"
"...Wait, seriously?" Carlin looked up to Benn...and then his eye landed upon something. "Holy- There it is! The portal!" And there it was. This one was far bigger than any of the other ones, the length of an oak tree and the width of three double buses parked in a horizontal line. "Bloody hell, they're compensating for something, clearly!"
Benn got to his feet, and started to release more hot air to make the balloon head towards the portal.
The shot rang out suddenly without so much as a warning. Carlin threw himself to the ground, the bullet whistling by him. Luckily, the bullet didn't hit the fragile canvas of the balloon. "The hell was that?!" Carlin got to his feet. "Benn, are you-"
He stopped.
Benn was swaying slightly, his eyes wide and tearing up, and his hand pressed against his blood-soaked shirt. He staggered back a bit in the basket, leaning against the side with an expression of bafflement. Carlin was transfixed, unable to move from sheer shock.
Benn met his eyes.
"George..."
"William!"
Then the second shot rang out and Benn slumped over the side.
And then he fell.
Carlin didn't hear the sound of Benn's body hitting the ground, nor did he see the malicious smirk on Boomer's face. He barely saw anything, save for that awful final expression on his companion's face.
And then he saw the Malevolence. It had shed the form of the dragon, now taking the form of a massive black cloud moving faster and faster. It was entirely possible that this form was something else entirely, and it was just that the creature was moving faster than the mortal eye. And too late, Carlin realized in horror why the Malevolence was so calm. Because through that portal lay the way back to the present day, back to the Malevolence's allies, and to the only things that could stop it.
And they had lead him right to it.
The Malevolence winked at him, and then raced through the portal. Carlin gave chase, the balloon picking up speed as more and more hot air was released. He went higher and higher and higher and higher, until at last, he shot through the portal.
Down below, Boomer put down the gatling gun that he had managed to pilfer from Benn in all the chaos, and without giving a second glance to the vanishing portal or the broken body of Mr Benn, headed off towards the docks.
It was going to take a long time to find Lady. But it would be worth it.
A few minutes later unnoticed to anyone, as if by magic, the Shopkeeper appeared. He looked around, found that there was no one watching him, and picked up Benn. He shook his head. This hadn't been the first time that Mr Benn had died in the line of duty. It would not be the last.
And so, whistling, he returned to a certain shop.
...
That night, as all the engines rested before making the great pilgrimage to Tidmouth, they suddenly felt the need to sing a certain song. All of them, Thomas and Gordon at the old tunnel, James and Toby on the tramway, Henry and Percy back at the sheds, Edward, Mavis and the China Clay Twins at Wellsworth, all four of the Little Western inhabitants, the Skarloey engines, and even a few of the non rail vehicles, joined in.
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
But at the Smelters, the only thing bright was the glow from the great kiln as Arry and Bert applied the final touches. Watched over by Marklin and the Juggernaut, they carefully gave their creation it's greatest weapon, the large Pincher (Or Pinchy, for short) that had been stolen so long ago.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
In some way, they were all there, thanks in no small part to a sudden conference call.. The Fat Director and Captain Zero watching from the Other Railway atop Class 40. P.T Boomer and Gotch from Shining Time Station. From the Island itself, George, the Horrid Lorries, and a whole section of disaffected trucks lead by one S.C. Ruffey. All there to watch their plans come to fruition. And now, there was only one thing missing. But not for long.
Sleep in heavenly peace,
For the time portal was already opening up. Before it vanished, a large black shadow shot out of it, howling and roaring in triumphant glee, it's body already reaching out towards it's new home. It hesitated for a moment, and then, with a sudden burst of energy, it reached out, savoring the feeling of it's brand new form. The claw snapped. The engine started. Black energy crackled and sparked all around. The Fat Director smirked and saluted, as he saw the result of over forty years of planning come to fruition. Captain Zero took a shaky sip of his drink, wondering what the hell he had got himself into. Both Boomer and Gotch smirked at each other, sharing a joke that no one else knew about. The trucks laughed and cackled, for at last they would have a new dark master to serve. The men cheered, unaware of just what the cost was going to be.
Sleep in heavenly peace
And Diesel 10 opened his eyes...and smiled.
It was the beginning of the end.
Can the Island of Sodor be saved from the Malevolence?
Will Duck tell his friends the awful truth?
What is the awful truth?
Where is Carlin?
Where is Lady?
How the hell does the bad guy's plan work again?
Seriously, how does it work?
What the hell is the deal with the Tumbleweed in the movie?
Who will live and who will die?
Can this story get even more convoluted before the end?
All these questions, and more, will hopefully be answered on The Magic Railroad! Coming soon!