Thomas Abridged

by ToonGuy

So, Thomas and Friends. You've heard of them, yes (of course you bloody have, you're browsing the Thomas fanfiction selection)? But back to the point; the history books tell you a different tale. This is an island where confusion and delay reign supreme and if anything really useful happens, it's a mistake. This is the Island of Sodor as you've never seen it before.

140. The Magic Railroad: Part 10

Hey guys. Now, up until now, I'd get straight into the action and leave the author's notes for the bottom of the page. However, given that this is the last chapter of Volume 1, and that Season 6 and onwards will be in a separate piece of work all together, I figured I'd do the reviews here, give out general information and then discuss what I did with this chapter at the bottom.

So, let's crack on!

Trainmaniac: Thank you for the honesty! I think I've PM'd you about it, but just to stress, hopefully the chaos will be to your satisfaction. A lot of loose ends and extraenous characters are getting the boot. Fingers crossed we start on a cleaner slate for Season 6.

Radical Sandwiches: Hope this is worth the wait! Glad you enjoyed!

Reality Rejection Service: He has a VERY selective memory. Thomas strikes out more than your average drunk baseball player. Badass Edward is so much fun to write.

Game-Watch: Indeed.

MattPrice01: Thank you! I am glad you're enjoying this, and not to worry, this chapter will hopefully be relatively good! What'd you think of the Power Rangers reboot? I've yet to see it, but I've heard good things about it!

Reid007: Glad you enjoyed that! It was a blast to write, really!

Aaroncottrel97: Not to fear! The ending is here! And no, I didn't deliberately rhyme that! But basically, just...stick with it in this last chapter, and get it done with! Comedy shall return!

Kamen Rider Necrom: I highly reccomend listening to Come for the Ride throughout the main battle, then Really Useful Engine (You'll know when) and in the aftermath, the Island Song. It might, or might not, make it more interesting.

UGX7: Thanks! Glad you think so!

Now to explanations! The first chapter of Thomas Abridged Two (Working title, may change it) shall, god willing, go up on the nineteenth of April. That's a nice date, so please keep an eye out. Should be there. And by the way, it'll be light frothy comedy all the way! There is going to be a storyline running through it, but that one should be far less complex than this one, and I'll start sowing the seeds for that in this final chapter.

Lastly, I want to apologize if this story hasn't been quite what you expected. But I hope that you have enjoyed it a little, and that you will stick around for a back to basics Season 6!

Also, apologies for the fact that this is a SIXTEEN THOUSAND WORD MONSTROSITY. This is the last chapter of any such length for a long, LONG time.

And now, maestro, we cue the theme!

---

Part 10: And This Concludes The Program...Finally.

Pandemonium reigned supreme.

Before, both sides had had the advantage of having the other side's army scattered all along the Island, with more room to move about and to try and escape. But here, there was nowhere.

Thomas hit diesel and truck alike, and felt like a pinball made of rubber. He took a deep breath, and looked around.

Edward, Henry and Gordon charged again and again at the diesels ,forcing them back through sheer brute force. One got a little too overconfident, and tried to attack the smaller engine side on. This was a mistake. Edward shoved on through, and the diesel stumbled right into the path of Gordon. With a pow and a bam and a thank you mam, he proceeded to make the diesel eat his own buffers! Possibly literally. Elsewhere, Toby and Percy had coupled up, and back to back were whacking anyone who came near them.

"SCOTLAND THE BRAVE!"

Thomas rolled onto another track as Donald and Douglas charged into the fray, Donald having managed to grab a set of bagpipes in the fray. He wasn't sure what was causing more damage: Their attack or that really quite awful racket that the pipes were making.

The Iron Circle, meanwhile, were forming a barrier from which diesels were being beaten back left and right. Duck, Truro and Scotsman alike hit their opponents again and again and again. Trucks launched themselves like kamikaze pilots, only to be battered aside in a single bash.

"FINALLY! I GET SOME ACTION!" shouted Duck. "This is what it feels like!"

"That's the spirit, Montague!"

"Sir?!"

"What?"

With each word, Duck pounded a unfortunate diesel right in the face"I! WANT! A! RAISE!"

"Aaargh! My face!" The diesel whimpered, rolled back to get a moment to regroup...and promptly got smashed away by Mallard, who was darting around firing madly at anyone who got in her way.

"We can talk about this later Montague!" shouted Truro, trying to cover his face.

Stepney, the Iron Duke, Duchess of Hamilton and Green Arrow were in the thick of the fighting. The four of them were bunker to bunker, shooting, bashing, biffing, headbutting, anything they could do to keep the diesels at bay was being done. Trucks were cut down like wheat by a scythe as Boxhill lead the rest of the Bluebellers to fight.

Elsewhere, Captain Baxter and Duncan were actually trampling all over the trucks, swearing up a storm and having the time of their lives. Skarloey was launching beer bottle from inside his cab, with the help of his crew of course, at the bikers, while Rheneas was boring several attackers to sleep with his blandness.

...

"I can't believe we're doing this!"

"Then you really need to stick around, kid, you might learn a thing or two. Admittedly, they'll be on what not to do in a situation like this, but hey, you're f**king learning something!" Carlin looked up and sighed. Harold the Helicopter, who had been doing nothing since the battle had started, was now heading off in the general direction of the mainland. Fat lot of good he had turned out to be.

Putting aside the cowardly helicopter, Carlin looked around at the rest of the humans "All right, does anyone have anything they'd like to say?"

"Only that this is lunacy!"

"Thank you, Mr C, this is why we don't listen to you anymore!" Carlin grinned, and then tried not to feel downhearted when the only one who gave him a grin back was Starr. "Oh come on! You act like we're all about to die!"

"WE ARE!" shouted back the humans.

"Too late! Gold dust, AWAY!"

The Fulton Ferry, on which they were all standing on, sparkled for a moment...and then vanished.

...

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" Zero remarked, glibly. The Fat Director ignored him. "Now what do we do? How can things get any worse?!" He immediately went pale and started waving his hands up at the sky.

Karma ignored him, however.

"You know, it got very dark all of a sudden, didn't it?"

There was a split second pause, at which point several diesels looked up at where that large shadow that was blocking the sun had come from, and then the Fulton Ferry dropped like a stone. While it's not entirely possible to ascertain exactly what noise it made upon contact with the Other Railway diesels, but it was probably somewhere along the lines of 'splat' and 'squish'.

Meanwhile, the impact sent shockwaves rippling across the ground. Right towards the Fat Director and Captain Zero. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then at the large drop to the hole in the earth below...and then dived.

"TIME PORTAL!" shrieked Zero, grabbing hold of the Director's jacket. "TIME PORTAL!"

And then, by sheer luck, one appeared, taking the two of them right out of it. And right into the Atlantic ocean, too!

Meanwhile, back on the ferry, Carlin laughed heartily. "DEATH OR F**KING GLORY!" he bellowed, and he ran to the prow of the ship and jumped into the fray, fighting tooth and claw against the rank and file sods who had dared to threaten his island. Starr...took the stairs.

Burnett, Lily and Patch peeked over the side. It was utter pandemonium, especially with the rolling stock that had been stored on the ferry diving over the side of the boat and joining the battle. "It's chaos!" Lily shouted over the noise, just as a truck was sent flying up into the air by Henry's buffers. "What are you looking for, grandpa?!" Burnett was focused on something on the ground, and then...he rushed for the stairs. Patch and Lily looked back, just in time to see Boomer rushing too, towards the ferry.

"Oh NOT THIS again!" Patch snarled.

"This again!" shouted Burnett as he charged forward.

Splatter and Dodge, meanwhile, had recovered from their somewhat cowardly actions in hiding at the back of the army and praying that the engines would just go away. No, this time they were going to do something!

Splatter, of course, went nuts almost immediately. He raced through the crowd, cutting down engine after engine. Thank god that they were all nameless, or else we'd really be up shit creek, eh? But as the purple diesel hacked and slashed at anyone or anything that got in his way, he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks.

Toby.

"You!" he hissed, remembering all too well the humiliation he had felt when facing down the tram engine. True, he hadn't actually been the one to take him out of the battle, but Splatter hadn't been one for thinking things through. Toby rang his bell in a 'bring it on' kind of fashion, and screeching, Splatter rushed the tram engine. He hit the electric skirt, and for a moment seemed to hesitate somewhat...but then he pushed through! Toby growled, and put as much of his weight into shoving Splatter back as he possibly could. It wasn't much, unfortunately. The electricity continued to crackle, more and more so. Sparks flew and hissed, and a faint whining sound began to echo in both engines's ears.

Toby realized what was about to happen first. "Well, Splatter, I'd say this is all about to blow up in your face!"

"What?" Splatter noticed the skirt. "Oh. Very fun-"

The explosion made everyone jump. For a brief second, they stopped to see Splatter's charred corpse and Toby's undercarriage exposed to all the world (NO, THAT IS NOT AN INNUENDO, GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER YOU PERVERTS!), but then they shrugged and decided to carry on the fight. Percy sidled up to Toby and looked him over, then at Splatter. "So, erm, how exactly are you alive?"

"Don't sound so disappointing. As it turns out, wood's surprisingly decent at not conducting electricity. The skirt took most of the damage, and Splatter took the rest! Bit messy, isn't it?"

"Did you say something witty like "How shocking!" or "I think you'll find this electrifiying!" while you were at it?"

"Percy, an engine is dead in front of us."

"Yep."

"...No, but I wish I had said those things and oh crap here comes Dodge!" Toby prepared himself as best as he could, even though his only weapon was now pretty much useless to him. Dodge oiled forward, face like thunder...when Henrietta slammed into him with full force.

"LEAVE! MY! TOBY! ALONE!"

"Oh, it's one of those days!" snarled Dodge, quite baffled as to how a faceless coach was beating the living hell out of him. Mavis, who was giving Henrietta a light push to give her something to do, winked at Toby.

But Dodge soon had bigger, and more familiar, problems to deal with. "Oh no, NOT AGAIN!" he wailed, as Truro dragged him by the coupling into the middle of a large grouping of engines. With his face still exposed, Truro was trying not to let it get to him that everyone was currently gawping at him instead of actually doing much in the way of fighting. He decided that this would make a good team exercise.

As the big engines set about Dodge, who appeared to be fighting like a rabid wolverine even now, Truro caught sight of the Juggernaut moving silently across the battlefield. He rushed over. "Back off!" he hissed. "What is wrong with you!? Your orders-"

"Are irrelevant!"

Truro suddenly found himself in a tree and nursing a splitting headache. The Juggernaut, satisfied that he was going to be no problem, turned his attention back to the battle. In particular, at the three engines standing amidst a pile of knocked out diesels.

"That's-?"

"Yeah."

"Bloody hell, he's worked out a bit since then, hasn't he?"

"What do we do?"

"Well, I don't know about you lot, but I always hated his guts!" Gordon whistled loudly. "OI! JUGGERNAUT! COME ON THEN! TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT!" Edward closed his eyes, and Henry audibly groaned. The Juggernaut grinned, and with a roar, he moved towards the three railway engines. Gordon wasted no time in going for the attack, hacking away with his buffers at the cracked armor. Had he the ability to laugh, the armored train would have done so. He settled, instead, for ramming Gordon as hard as he liked.

Henry leaned over to Edward. "Got any ideas? Cause I have. No, not running!" This was at Edward's slightly dry expression. "Now, listen, see those cracks? Your doing, I take it. Now, if we can break open a section of that armor, that might give us a better shot."

Edward looked around. "Hmm...Starr!" The Conductor turned to look at him. "Mind hooking me up with one of those guns again?"

"I make love, not war."

"Well you're in the wrong place for that, mate!" As Edward quickly was hooked up with a smaller gun, Henry watched as Gordon reeled back like a boxer after the end of a round.

"Guys!" said Gordon, spitting out a tooth. "I've got him on the ropes!" Yet another punch landed solidly on Gordon's face. "Okay, so I've got to rethink my position a little bit!"

...

Gotch sighed as he tapped his phone. "Come on, come on, I didn't install you with car-phones so that you could just ignore me!" He tried Lorry 1. Nothing. Lorry 3. Nadda. He tried Lorry 2.

He got an answer.

"HELP ME!"

"Where are you?"

"Tractor...nuts...BURIED ME ALIVE...SEND HELP!" All this said through what, from sound alone, appeared to be soil. Gotch decided that now was a bad time for Lorry 2, and rung off. One more try then.

"George?"

"GOTCH! GET! ME! OUT!"

"Oh, you're not buried alive too, are you?"

"NO! I'M ON MY SIDE, ALONE AND VERY, VERY PISSED OFF! Where are you!?" George sounded a bit stressed, and Gotch considered hanging up on him too, and trying his luck with Bulgy. "Don't you dare hang up on me!"

"I'm not, I'm not. Look, I'll get there now, all right? I swear, I don't know it was even worth killing that vicar! Do you realize how hard it is to train bees to be lethal? And for what? Just a really stupid plan that backfired in every way possi-" He stopped. "George, I'll call you back." He stared at Trevor the Traction Engine's enraged face as he hung up, and tried to give an easy-going grin. "So, uh, that bit about the vicar...can't we let bygones be bygones? Please? Maybe? No?"

He moved to run down one of the streets. Bertie was there, blocking the way. The other street then! But no, the 'nuts tractor' as Lorry 2 had put it was also blocking that way too.

Trevor began to move forward. Gotch stumbled over his feet in terror. Too late, he tried to scramble up, but it was no good! The last thought that Adrian Gotch ever had before Trevor crushed him like a grape was that he should have picked his friends much, MUCH better.

The Fat Controller winced. "Damn...remind me never to screw with Trevor." He looked around, most of the henchmen were now fighting the Conductors. But he wasn't interested in them any more.

No. He had a reckoning with Boomer.

...

"Oh shit."

"What is it?"

"Firstly, looks like the git's coming back for more!" Edward nodded towards the now almost-skeletal figure of the Juggernaut, struggling free of his armor. "And secondly, the bombers!"

"THERE WERE BOMBERS?!" shouted Thomas.

"Oh yeah! You missed a treat!"

The whine of the planes cut through the battle, and every engine braced themselves. Boomer grinned. The fools were still under the impression that the Fat Director had ordered them here! This was perfect. He tapped his walkie talkie. "BOMBS AWAY, BUCKOS!"

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" shouted Henry.

Bomb after bomb fell as the planes circled overhead. One bomb went off right next to Rusty's face, and they were only saved by Douglas taking the blast instead. Another bomb sent the roof of Shining Time shattering outwards. To be honest, the bombs were doing just as much damage to the Other Railway goons as they were to the Sudrians. But they didn't know that.

"They're circling ba-ACK!" Edward gasped for air, as the Juggernaut's forced his driving wheels up, the ash from his body choking Edward's lungs.

"BLUE ENGINE!" it (It really wasn't 98462 anymore, was it?) roared in his face. "YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! I'm going to enjoy-"

It blinked. Or would have, if it still had eyelids. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong indeed. It wasn't quite clear what the problem was yet, but it was certainly there. It took the Juggernaut five seconds to realize what said problem was. Henry had used the distraction that the former Sudrian's gloating had given him to ram what remained of it's cab and midsection. And with the damage done to it by the fire, it hadn't taken much to break apart completely.

Once it realized this, the Juggernaut, the former 98462, let out a low moan, and pitched onto the ground, dead. Seconds later, the body turned to nothing more than ash and rubble.

"Oh...Did I do that?" Henry looked stunned to say the least.

Up in the tree, Truro frowned. He must make sure that the other Juggernaut was Henry-proof, in future.

"Thanks, Henry!" Edward didn't pay attention to his former shedmate's dead body on the ground. He had more important concerns. Like the fact that the bombers were rushing around. The chips were down, and their backs were against the wall. He could see no way out, and their time was running out. They were all heading for a fall.

And then...

"LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!"

"It's a bird!"

"It's a plane!"

"It's-"

"HAROLD!" Percy shouted in joy.

Harold the Helicopter, pride of the sky, was so smug that it made James look like the Buddha. And he had good reason to be. For he was flanked, not only by a very determined looking Tiger Moth, but a majority of the RAF, armed and ready for action. "HELLO CHAPS!" He boomed. "Keep up the good word! We've got these blighters!" And into the fray he whirred. The RAF opened fire. Talented though they may have been, at heart the Other Railway bombers were amateurs. They were cut down pretty quickly. Harold spun around, using his whirly great arms to thwack and slice any planes who decided to be stupid and get too close.

Tiger Moth, however, had bigger fish to fry. Until now, Marklin had been staring disinterestedly at the fight, preferring to look away towards the general direction of Sodor. Tiger Moth didn't know what the hell was up with this weird thing, and quite frankly, he didn't care. It was there, it was ignoring him...and that was a mistake. He charged Marklin. "OI! YOU! PAY ATTENTION TO ME! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM TIGER BLOODY-"

There was a loud crumpling noise. Tiger Moth's propellers promptly stopped working.

"-mmmmmoth..." Tiger Bloody Moth promptly face-planted into the ground, the equivalent of a broken nose taking him out almost completely. Marklin smirked, and flexed his buffers. Being a ghost had been fun. But being a ghost who could now punch things? Even better.

Well, he had about...five more minutes before the thing that had been Ten arrived here. Might as well have some fun.

James was not hiding, in case anyone asked. He was merely considering what tactics to use. It just so happened that this took the form of hiding quite near to the Fulton Ferry. And away from all the actual fighting. He was not cowering. He was planning! There was a massive difference, really.

And then he felt a sudden change in the air.

Most of the engines who were fighting up front were suddenly barreled aside, or keeled over. Alfred, Judy, Etienne, the Ravenglass lot, all engines who were knocked aside by the charge of Marklin. The ghost engine reared up, black arrow forming out of nothingness. He aimed and fired. One struck an unfortunate Toby in the bell. Another clipped the tree which Truro was resting in.

And the third-

"AAARGH!"

James stared in horror as the black arrow pierced the hull of the ferry. But he was not staring at the arrow, nor the ship. Instead, he was staring at the sudden white line that had appeared, marked into his red finish.

At which point, the day's events finally registered in his mind. It was rather like ten anvils falling upon a very fragile glass ornament. E.g. It wasn't going to go down well.

"My paintwork." He said faintly.

Thomas charged Marklin, but the latter caught him, picked him up with his mind and slammed him into the ground once, twice and thrice before throwing him over his head and onto the rails below. The tender engines charged him, but the ghostly German sprung up a shield, locking the three of them inside. "Ach! Is this the best you have, Miss Lady?"

Lady moved forward, ready to put an end to this...and was promptly knocked aside by a red flash.

"YOU! RUINED! MY! PAINTWORK!"

Marklin was about to laugh at the sight of James rushing towards him like he was William Wallace or Robert the Bruce or Steve MacQueen on a mission of vengeance. This was ridiculous-

Then James bit him.

The scream that Marklin emitted could be heard in outer space, outerer space and outest space, which is about as out a space as you can get while still being in a plain of existence. Even now, said scream has looped around the universe a grand total of five times. It is that long.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT EATING BASTARD! I WILL SHIT OUT YOUR CORPSE AND USE IT AS FERTILIZER FOR THE VICARSTOWN PLANTS YOU ARSEWIPE!" James had lost all control, and was now rythmically headbutting Marklin over and over and over and over again. He bit and scratched and headbutted and whistled and wheeshed at the ghost engine. Marklin attempted to take off, but- "WHERE ARE YOU GOING, YOU KRAUT SON OF A BASTARD?! WHO SAID THE SPLENDID RED ENGINE WAS FINISHED WITH YOU!?"

"GET HIM OFF ME! HE'S GONE FICKEN CRAZY!" Marklin was terrified. He had expected Edward, he had expected the Flying Scotsman, and he even expected Lady. But this? This was James! He who got served by karma repeatedly! What was going on and who was responsible?! James then proceeded to try and gouge out his eyeball.

Edward, Henry and Gordon watched all this with expressions of horror on their faces.

Right then and there, they agreed to never, EVER, scratch James's paintwork.

Meanwhile, as James continued his thrashing of Marklin, Arry and Bert stormed towards Oliver. Stepney had been forced back with him, and together, the two of them faced down the Grim Reapers.

"Hey, aren't you the guy who got saved from scrap?"

"I am! How did you know?"

"Duck mentioned it to me. Said that as you were too modest to mention it-" Oliver laughed loudly at this "-he might as well bring it up for you. Right, now, which one do you want to take on?"

"Who said that yer going to take them on!?" Donald and Douglas rushed up to join the two. "We have a score ta settle as well!" Donald bared his teeth, while Douglas coyly winked at Bert. This sent the latter into a good old rage. He could remember the humiliation that he had suffered back at the Smelter's Yard.

"Then shall we? SCRAP SQUAD! AWAY!"

The three of them stared at Oliver.

"What?"

"Scrap Squad?"

"Yeah! It's our team name!"

"Nae, it is not."

"It is!"

"Ir really isn't, Oliver."

"But, Douglas-"

"Wheesht with ye! FIGHTING TIME!"

Bert went for Douglas immediately, only to be thwarted in this attempt by Oliver. He growled in rage, and tried to headbut the Great Western, but to no avail. All of a sudden, the shunter found himself weighed down by something. He turned, and roared in fury at the sight of Toad, valiantly holding him back from attacking his fellow escapee.

"Mr Oliver! NOW!"

Oliver rushed forward and rammed into Bert as hard as he could. The shunter's front wheels left the track, before coming down harshly onto the Great Western's top. His funnel cracked, and his smokestack buckled under the pressure. Oliver screamed in pain, even as Bert half-coughed and half-laughed in triumph. Then there was a blur of black, and both Donald and Douglas rammed Bert from both sides of the track. As the frame around Bert's face began to come apart under the pressure, Oliver backed off, leaving Bert open to a head-on collision.

He got it.

As Stepney charged, Bert had a few seconds to think about the futility of what he had done with his life before Stepney hit him straight on with such force that his entire front half just...crumpled. As the saying goes, he who deals in scrap, so too shall he become it.

Or something like that.

Arry watched this, and was just about to launch a revenge attack...when he found himself cornered by two little tank engine twins. He headed backwards to try and escape, only to find the way blocked by a black diesel who was grinning at him oddly.

"What the 'ell?"

"For BoCo." said Bill and Ben, simply.

I won't describe the very painful process by which Arry died. Fire was involved, of course. And it took quite a while for him to die.

As the tanks rolled out from the portals, the Skarloey Engines knew what they must do. Rheneas immediately turned the full force of his personality open them, boring them to sleep, while Duncan and Rusty launched makeshift molotov cocktails (Skarloey's own special brew, of course) into the cockpits. Peter Sam lunged at them, roaring aloud for all to hear "FOR DUKE!" and making a right pain in the arse of himself for the Other Railway side.

"All right!" snapped Dodge, swaying on his wheels. "Now then, hold sti-

Without looking, Thomas smacked him in the face with his buffers. Dodge slumped over on his side, closed his eyes and started to cry. It had been a very bad day. Thomas watched as Lady walked through the field, diesels and humans alike falling before her, in some cases transforming into ashes and dust as her magic ripped through them.

Speaking of humans, the Sudrians were fighting very well. Considering that they lived on the Island of Sodor, fighting was something that they were used to, and now, free from constraint, they fought like wild dogs. Stacy Jones swung her baseball bat around like she was Babe Ruth on steroids, hitting home runs with every swing. Billy Twofeathers was busy making sure that the bikers got some gold old fashioned Shining Time fisticuffs. Elsewhere, the Italian Barber had managed to get hold of a pair of shears. Woe to anyone with hair that was in cutting distance of him. In all the chaos, Thomas caught sight of the Refreshment Lady serving up some pain, while Nancy the Guard's Daughter kicked out, boots meeting face and squashing the latter with bloody abandon. Flanked by the Kyndley Sisters (Good fighters for their ages!), Jerimiah Jobling headbutted and clawed at the Other Railway soldiers. He took up a gun that one had dropped, and...well, let's just say the battlefield began to tremble at the sight of the Leather Bootlace wearing man rushing about.

Mayor Bedella and his staff were holding the line further back, making sure that whatever else happened, the fighting didn't spill into the streets of Shining Time. But that didn't stop them either. Bedella had taken control of Butch, and under his control, the tow truck had been made into a whirling terror on wheels. People screamed and leaped away to avoid his terrible hook, and were immediately caught in the crossfire of radiator smoke from Caroline the Car. Terrance the Tractor advanced, smiling once more, and took out the stragglers. Somehow. It didn't do to ask questions. And when one street was protected, the humans gathered onto Bertie and advanced on to another one.

On one end of the platform, Lady Hatt finished smacking a sailor over the head with a tea tray just in time to see the Fat Clergyman leap from the top of the Shining Time roof to crush five malcontents who had been sneaking up on her. She gave a weary thumbs up, just in time to see Bobblehat slam a biker through the front desk, shattering it completely. Grabbing a piece of wood that had been splintered off, she charged once more, stabbing and slashing as best she could. She passed Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever, both fighting to get through to their engine, the former with his bare fists, the latter with a coal shovel of all things. And she passed the remains of one group of Other Railway fanatics who were desperately trying to make their way back to the portal, but couldn't as Sybil Hatt began to scold them with such fury that they broke down and begged for forgiveness.

It was a weird day.

But she hadn't been focusing, and now Boomer had jumped up, his eyes crackling with lightning. There was nowhere to run too, and even as she lashed out with the wood, he battered it aside like it was nothing. It was nothing against the storm. She closed her eyes-

-and then rapidly opened them again as a familiar mail van came tumbling through the portal. Tom Tipper clutched to the steering wheel with such love and...what appeared to be lust that in any other situation she would have begun questioning it. But at that moment, the red van was more beautiful than anything she had seen before. It slammed into Boomer at full speed, sending him hurtling back, right over the heads of Hatt, Starr, Carlin and Burnett, all of whom had been rushing up to get their mitts on him.

Jem Cole, clinging to the back of the van, wondered if he had made a mistake fixing it up.

And then, as if it wasn't clear who was going to win already, through the portal arrived Farmers McColl, Trotter and Finney, bringing with them the greatest chaos of all. Animals! Champion the Bull gored and rammed and chewed cud and took names.

The final nail in the coffin for the Other Railway was the strangest sight in the world. Men, women and children, all in step and all with the same somewhat vacant but still determined expression. Old Bailey, drinking away, led the Army of Norris's to battle, taking out the last stragglers completely.

In the center, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and Duck watched and cheered!

The battle was won! Clearly, this was the end!

All the Sudrians and assembled people on their side let out a sigh of relief and a triumphant shout...

And then there was a loud roar from the sky. The earth shook, and the cheers died down, some not even fully out of the Sudrian's throat.

Everyone stopped. And not just in an awestruck way where they registered what was going on. I mean physically froze to the spot, unable to move. Then, as one, they looked towards the sky.

"Please tell me you brought someone else with you, Harold." said Percy.

"Er...no, sorry."

"Then what is that?"

Thomas suddenly felt very small. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

Marklin seized his chance, Slamming James into the platform, he raced towards the sound of the roar. And sure enough, a massive black cloud was rushing forward with such speed that it wasn't even remotely possible this was anything natural. "AT LAST!" he howled.

And then as one, as both Marklin and the thing that had once possessed Ten embraced each other:

"AT! LAST!"

For a moment, everything went very, very dark indeed.

And then the darkness cleared. For a moment. For there, floating above Shining Time, was the true form of the Malevolence. He wasn't a tank engine, or a diesel, or even a dragon anymore. No. This was...something else. It had limbs...more limbs than can be counted, and trying would have driven you to madness. It had a mouth that looked as though it was as wide as the sky. One massive eye peered out at all the very small engines and humans.

And then it smiled.

"So on a scale of one to ten-"

"TEN. TEN EVERY TIME, HENRY."

"MY FOLLOWERS!" It bellowed. Or not. Perhaps this was just the way that it spoke normally. "I THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT YOU HAVE PUT IN OVER THE YEARS TO FREE ME! THOUGH YOU HAVE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO SCREW IT UP EXTREMELY WELL, I AM NOT UNJUST! ALLOW ME TO GIVE YOU A REWARD THAT YOU HAVE LONG BEEN OVERDUE FOR!"

There was a pause.

And then the screams started.

Dodge was the first to start. A massive tendril, quite possibly the sharpest thing in existence, reached out and stabbed Dodge through the forehead and all the way out of the back. The shunter crumbled to black dust as he was 'rewarded' for all his hard work.

Every Other Railway employee at Shining Time, be they engine, sailor, biker or workman, was lifted up into the air by something. They screamed and screamed until they could scream no more, and then they found a way nonetheless, as massive tendrils wrapped around them and pulled towards the maw. Their bodies felt apart, transforming into nothing more than ash and soot, as the white energy that was their magic flowed into the Malevolence's body.

It was horrible. Actually, no. Horrible was an understatement.

There was, however, one who hadn't been sucked up. Boomer sat on the platform, quite mad, laughing hysterically at the sight of what he had been working to achieve finally come to fruition. "Thank you!"

"PETER TIBERIUS BOOMER!" The voice echoed and crackled with, surprise surprise, malevolence. "YOU HAVE BEEN LOYAL. LOYAL TO ME, AND TO THE PROMISE THAT WE MADE SO LONG AGO. HOWEVER, THERE IS SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED BACK THEN."

Boomer screamed as something was ripped out of him. He tried to use his lightning to reach it, but...nothing.

"I AM THE GREATEST EVIL THAT THIS UNIVERSE HAS EVER AND WILL EVER SEE.

I LIE. A LOT."

Boomer stared in complete bafflement, as his magic was absorbed by the Malevolence. And then it turned around and ignored him. He tried to reach out and grab hold of the Malevolence, but he was suddenly picked up and slammed back into the ground.

And then someone grabbed hold of him, and he was-

...

-in the Magic Railroad!

"YOU! LITTLE! SHIT! YOU! RUINED! EVERYTHING!" Burnett screamed, as he hit him in the face again and again and again and again...and you get the point, I hope. Boomer wondered if his face looked as bad as it felt.

"When it's my turn?!" snarled Sir Topham Hatt. The fat man charged forward and kicked Boomer right in the balls. For a moment, the biker sang soprano as he screeched in complete agony.

"Not that this isn't fun-" Starr slapped Boomer a good few times, just for the hell of it "-but can we please move on? You know, we have to do something about the thing that is actually still a threat? Right Carlin?"

"Hold on." Carlin took a running jump...right onto Boomer's stomach. As the biker lay there, heaving his guts up, Carlin offered a cold stare. "That was for Benn, you sick f**k." He took a deep breath. "Let's go. We've got an abomination to stop."

As they vanished in a cloud of gold dust, Boomer tried to regain the ability to breathe. And the ability to not feel like shit. And the ability to forget the fact that his entire life up until this point had been a complete waste of time.

And then he heard the whispering.

He looked around, but there was nothing. Nothing except for the trees that made up the roof and support of the Magic Railroad. And that sound, echoing all around him. He shivered and tried to get up, but found that he couldn't. Whatever it was, the ground didn't want to give him up. It was sucking him down into it, like quicksand! He struggled and fought and kicked and screamed, but to no avail! All he could do was scream and scream.

And then he was free of the ground.

Too free.

For now Boomer was falling, falling through the darkness. He saw the glow all around him, and the whispering grew louder and louder and louder and louder and he realized now that he didn't want to learn the secrets of the Magic Railroad after all, and he screamed...

And fell.

And as far as I know, he is still falling to this very day.

...

"You know, I miss the days when the worst thing that happened was being slightly late with a full set of passengers."

"Preach, Henry. Preach."

The Malevolence gave that horrible, horrible smile. "AND NOW, I BELIEVE THAT I SHOULD TAKE MY TIME AND ENJOY THIS NEXT PART! LADIES, GENTLEMEN AND THOSE OF UNSPECIFIED GENDER! IF YOU HAVE MADE PEACE, AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVEN'T...THEN SAY GOODBYE TO THIS WORLD!"

Instead of reaching out and sucking them all in, his tendrils sprang into action. One reached forth and grabbed hold of everyone, engine, truck, coach and human. The twins, Oliver, Stepney, Mavis, Truro, Scotsman, Harold, Bertie, Terrance, Trevor, Lily, Patch, Sracy, Billy...and then everyone just sort of crumpled to the ground. They weren't dead, but judging by the shuddering and shaking of the tendrils, and the white being drained from them, that wasn't going to last.

"Why aren't we being absorbed?" Gordon whispered to Toby.

"Because of me." Lady winced. She had managed to drag the eight of them, plus her, into this protective shield that she was holding up only with the power of her will. "Now listen carefully, I shall say this only once!" Some of the engines, on the verges of hysterics, snickered to themselves. "My power is ready. But when I last defeated the Malevolence, it was with the help of Proteus, the strongest engine bar myself. So even at full power, I doubt i'd be able to put away the Malevolence for good."

"Oh. NOW SHE TELLS US!" raged James, still riding the adrenaline high from early. "DUCK, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE WASTED TEN PLUS YEARS OF YOUR LIFE FOR THIS WOMAN?!"

"Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder where it was I went wrong." Duck frowned. "So, what's the plan?"

"Simple. While I take care of him from the outside-" And here, Lady closed her eyes. For a second, nothing happened. But then, from within her, seven balls of white energy emerged. One by one they slipped into Gordon, Henry, James, Edward, Toby, Percy and Thomas. The engines squealed and shouted as the magic worked it's way through their body. "-you'll have to handle him from the inside."

"Oh. Lovely."

"Wait, what about me?"

"Duck." Lady smiled enigmatically. "You're going to be doing the most important thing of all. You see that...television aerial? Is that what it's called? I need you to use it. It's time to make a very special broadcast."

"COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE! OH TRUST ME, I COULD RIP YOU OUT OF YOUR LITTLE HIDEY-HOLE IF I WANTED, BUT I WANT TO ENJOY THE LOOK ON YOUR FACES WHEN I-"

"OI! You talk a big game, fatso!" Thomas brazenly charged at the Malevolence. "But if you were really that powerful, you'd do something to change your face!"

"So, how do we get in then? Bust a cap in his ass, as the Americans say? Do we assault his sides until we can burn our way through? Ram him? Trick him?"

"A rather more conventional method, James." Toby closed his eyes. "Though admittedly, a bit of a disgusting one."

The Malevolence leaned down towards the seven little engines, standing there in an attempt to be bravely defiant against the abomination...and ate them in a single gulp.

THE END.

.

.

.

All right, not quite.

Lady hesitated. "A bit more...literal than I was expecting, but you know what, it's been one of those days." At the sound of whistling, she turned and watched as Carlin, Starr, Burnett and Hatt all stumbled back into the real world.

"What's going o- BLOODY NORA!" It said much about how bad Hatt's week had been that this was the strongest reaction he could muster at the moment. "The hell is that thing?!"

"Not pleasant!" Carlin frowned and tilted his head a bit. "F**k me three ways to Monday, is that the Malevolence? He looks a lot less...dragon-y than the last time I saw him. So, have we a plan?"

"Ehhhhhh...sort of."

"That is not encouraging, Lady."

...

"Lads, you know what I miss?"

"The simple days?"

"Yes. Pretty much. I mean, you recall when the height of stupid adventures was that time that Thomas ended up running for mayor? Except now it actually turns out THAT was all part of this weird Other Railway plan too? Honestly, how much fun would it be to just have a normal issue again?"

"About as simple as the Other Railway's plan, I suppose."

"Yeah, bout that, I was out nearly dying and heroically sacrificing myself for Gordon's sake, what I'd miss?"

"Turns out that for whatever reason, there's been a problem with souls moving on when killed on the Island, or by anyone with the Other Railway lot. They've been sort of stuck on the Island, probably where the idea of ghost trains came from. The Malevolence is sort of eating up the souls and using them like batteries. So at the moment, we're literally inside a being that's made up of dead people...look, I just act on this stuff, I don't write it! It's bloody complicated!"

Thomas nodded to himself, and turned to face the other six, who had been chatting amongst themselves. "All right, here's the deal. Lady just had a little chat with me telepathically. As you do now. I miss the simple days. The magic she's given us is sort of powered by the..." Thomas looked embarrassed, and muttered something under his breath.

"Sorry, missed that, what'd you say?"

"...It's powered by the...god, I hate saying this. Powered by the hopes and dreams and positive energy that others provide." Thomas was aware of how bloody silly this was, and watched as the pregnant silence that was the engines taking this in stretched on and on.

"So to clarify-" James remarked "-we're trapped in the literal belly of the beast, the world is about to end...and our solution is essentially 'Clap your hands if you believe' because if they do that, they might bring Tinkerbell back to life. Remind me why it is that Lady is so highly sought after?!"

"It does make an odd sort of sense, though." muttered Edward. "I mean, the Malevolence probably feeds off the anger and the hatred and the terror and the fear that the souls that make him up have. Being trapped here would definitely help with that. And he's been using the Other Railway's hatred for others for god knows how long. It almost makes sense that Lady's power would come from the opposite."

"And considering that she seemed pretty powerful when Burnett was having a moment of delirous happiness, I'd say she's on to something." Thomas looked around. "Okay, so...I'll stay here. Three up top, three down below?"

"I've heard of dumber ways to die...not many, admittedly, but still. So, what's the plan? How do we even use the magic?"

"I dunno."

"...Right, fine, if that's the best you've got for us! Percy, Gordon, with me!" And Edward puffed and struggled up towards the 'head' of the Malevolence, with a rather reluctant Gordon and a blissfully unaware Percy following after him.

"Oh, and I don't want to alarm anyone, but there might...might be a few hallucinations coming up!"

"OH GOODIE!" they heard Edward bellow.

...

"Lily better be all right!"

"Okay, Burnett, I get that you're a little nervous and such, and I get it, really, I do. But if you could just focus on tightening the nuts on this thing, we might be able to get a signal strong enough to broadcast the message Lady wants us too!"

Burnett grumpily made sure the nuts were in place. Carlin gave a thumbs up to Starr.

"And you're rolling in three...two...one...good luck mate! And...ACTION!"

Duck's face quickly slid into a rather nervous grin. "AH! Hello boys and girls, it's me, Duck...everybody's favorite engine! So, um, this might be a little confusing for you seeing as it's...not the usual time for Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends to be playing, but I'd appreciate it if you did me a huge favor right now! Um...okay, so, if you have any grown ups with you, it's really important that they do this too, so...you do that!"

"You know, I think we should have got someone a bit more used to the camera." Carlin muttered as he slid down to join Starr.

"Eh, if it was James, he'd only now be focusing on what we actually want to do...and even then, that's a little debatable." Starr took a deep breath. "Okay. Ready to go and do something stupid?"

"I lived on the f**king Island of Sodor! What do you think!?"

Lady and the Malevolence looked at each other for a moment. Lady tried to avoid the horrible feeling in her firebox that things were about to go belly up. She couldn't let the darkness win. Now now. Not when they were so close. She wondered if she looked as weary as she felt. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"NOT A CHANCE. IT ALMOST SEEMS UNFAIR NOW! THIS FIGHT IS NOT GOING TO BE NEARLY AS FUN AS I HOPED IT WOULD BE!"

"Oh, I'll try my best." Lady's eyes flickered to her cab, where the four humans were standing by to act as a makeshift crew, and then back to the Malevolence. "Let's finish this, shall we?" Her body glowed bright white, and with a whoosh, she jumped off the tracks and straight towards the Malevolence's throat.

White and black clashed as the Malevolence hissed at the heat of her magic. One limb created the same spears and arrows that Marklin had used but a moment ago, now increased in size tenfold. Lady gritted her teeth and flew backwards, blasting energy from her funnel towards each projectile as it launched towards her. She closed her eyes, and raised up another shield. But this one was weaker, and with every hit, it cracked more and more. "I need a distraction!" she hissed.

Without a word, Carlin blew his whistle and teleported right up to the Malevolence's face. "OI! F**KFACE! REMEMBER ME!?" And doing so, he proceeded to punch the creature of pure energy right in the eye. He blew a raspberry, and just to add insult to injury, threw a bit of gold dust as well.

The Malevolence screamed. "YOU WORM! YOU INSECT! YOU SHALL-" And then that scream turned into a roar of agony as Lady's own arrows and spears, created with white energy, slammed into his body again and again and again. One even came close to taking his eye out. "THAT IS IT! I HAVE BEEN GENEROUS IN ALLOWING THIS CHARADE TO CONTINUE! BUT NO MORE!"

The four humans gripped the bunker as Lady was pulled forward towards the Malevolence, who made one of his sharper and longer limbs withdraw from the husk of Dodge's body...and lunge towards Lady's face.

She had no time to call up a shield or anything. She shut her eyes and waited for the end.

And waited.

And waited.

ARE YOU JUST GOING TO DO THAT ALL DAY? BECAUSE I THINK THERE IS A WAR TO BE WON HERE, YOU KNOW.

Lady opened her eyes, and tried her best not to cry out in mingled joy and surprise. For there, blocking the Malevolence with his own body, was a very, very welcome and familiar face.

"Hello Ivor."

LADY. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. I ONLY WISH THAT IT WAS UNDER MORE CHEERFUL CIRCUMSTANCES. I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT A BUN, BUT GREGG'S WOULD BE SHUT AT THIS TIME, WOULDN'T IT? Ivor looked to the Maleovlence. SO. YOU'RE STILL KICKING ABOUT THEN. AND NOW YOU'RE STEALING MY ALL CAPS DEAL. COPYRIGHT THEFT, THE WORST CRIME OF THEM ALL.

"YOU ALWAYS DID PRATTLE ON SO! WHY ARE YOU GETTING INVOLVED?! THIS IS HOW THE UNIVERSE ENDS!"

NO. NO IT IS NOT.

Ivor the Engine looked at the Malevolence, and then at Lady. IT IS TIME FOR ME TO DO MY JOB. THERE ARE SOULS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN. AND THERE'S AN OBSTRUCTION ON THE LINE.

"Then I think we should clear it, don't you?" Duck limped up to join them. "It's been one of those days."

IT HAS THAT.

...

"Oh, you're back, are you?" Edward grinned a little savagely. "Well, that's nice! I'm deep in the head of a massive magical soul eater and all of a sudden, I've decided to start hallucinating again!"

"Not a hallucination." hissed BoCo. "But even if I were, you should really listen to me. Look at you. You've lived too long, Edward. You're rotting away inside. You're dead, you just don't know it yet. Look at those eyes. When I came to the Island, there was still just a tiny spark left in there. But now? It's all gone. You let the Island, your 'friends' and your inability to do anything worthwhile break you down. You're Old. Alone. Done for."

Edward groaned. "Marklin, I don't actually give a damn about what you think. And your BoCo impression is quite frankly, terrible." But even so, the words kept going around his brain over and over and over again.

...

"You really are an embarrassment, you know that? Look at you. Nigel got bored making you, didn't he? Such uninspired craftsmanship, and such a boring old shade of blue. That face too...look at it. But it would be fine if it was just the looks, for god sake's have you seen Cousin Spencer? No, it would be fine if it weren't for how much of a failure you are in general. You keep telling me that you're setting these records, but there's only one that really matters, you know. No wonder i didn't see you when I came to Sodor. I wish you had died instead of-"

Gordon tried to focus on other things, but Scotsman's enraged face and arsenic laden tone couldn't help but get into his head a little.

...

"Well, well, welly well well! Look who decided to get up and actually get himself into gear today!" Henry tried to ignore the speaker, but it was hard. Namely because his old self- pre-Flying Kipper, was being really, really loud and obnoxious. "You know, I don't think the new look is your thing at all. I mean, hark at you now! Before, you used to just be the moany git who was ill all the time. But now you're a drug addicted hippie who can't do anything right! You'd think that by now, you'd pick a personality. You're about as strong willed as cardboard, you are. Coward!"

Henry shut his eyes and shook his head, trying to continue onwards. But he was still there, his old self, shouting about in his head.

...

"Oooh, look at you swanning about!" St Eustace's snarling face hung over James like the Sword of Damocles. "Hello again, Brakeblocks!"

"You know, I wish my hallucination was a bit more attractive."

"You know, it would be nice to be respected. I know that feeling, you see, so I can only feel pity for someone like you who has never felt it before in his life. But it's understandable why you've never felt that. Let's review, shall we? In your first year alone, you came off the rails, broke your coaches, got spun around like a top, crashed into tar wagons...you started as you meant to go on! And there was the fact that for the first few months, no one referred to you by your proper name! Face it, Red Engine, you're a shambles."

James cheerfully puffed on, trying to silence the nagging voice in his head.

...

"BLOBBY!"

Percy tried to ignore the grating sound of his one true enemy, but it was impossible. "SHUT UP!" He screamed. But Mr Blobby gave not a single shit!

...

"SO BORING...SO FLAT...FADE INTO THE BACKGROUND."

Toby tried to hide the quaking feeling in his wheels as he gazed up at the terrifying vision of Diesel 10. But somehow, the already unnerving engine had been transformed into something even more frightening. Diesel 10 would have towered over an average size building now, his wheels more like massive legs or trunks of some great beast. His face was stretched over the skull like a grotesque death mask of some kind, teeth the size of kitchen knives and sharp as needles gnashed away, bloodshot eyes burned a hole in Toby's body and the claw...the claw was now more flesh than mechanics.

"LITTLE TRAM!" It bellowed, and advanced.

...

And in the center of it all, Thomas sat alone, trying desperately to tune out the mocking and twisted faces of his friends.

"Silly little tanker!"

"Little Thomas, come out to play!"

"A disappointment, that's what he is!"

"Some friend you turned out to be!"

...

Seven little engines, trapped inside a walking, talking, breathing thing made of darkness and negativity, felt all their faults and foibles and weaknesses laid bear. For a moment, it overwhelmed them. As a tidal wave completely envelops and engulfs a lone swimmer, so too did the Malevolence's power take hold of them for a second. All that rage and sorrow and pain and hatred that they had held for so long in their hearts just took over their minds. They couldn't even remember their names or where they were meant to be going after a while, and soon the thought occurred to them that it was time to stop, and give in.

And then another thought came to them all, separately.

NO.

The first one to realize it was the tram held in the grip of Diesel 10, that horrible vice like grip that was squeezing the life and soul out of him. And this simple thought occurred to him, and this thought grew and grew and grew. Until at last:

"I know why you're doing this to me."

"DIE...DIE...DIE..."

"I hurt you, didn't I? Back on Sodor. I rang my bell and I humiliated you! I beat you before, and I made you look a right tit! And I'm going to do it again! To hell with being a background character, is that such a bad thing?! No it isn't! I am Toby the Tram Engine, and YOU! WILL! NOT! WIN!" And Toby wrenched himself free and scrambled forward. Already the creature seemed so much smaller than it had been a moment ago. And he burned a bright white light, and suddenly Diesel 10 shrank back and screamed as it tore him to shreds.

Toby laughed triumphantly, ringing his bell loud and clear. For a moment, he thought he saw Henrietta standing besides him, and the sudden joy of it all sent the light careening out of control.

Outside, Ivor, Duck and Lady stopped their attack as the Malevolence screamed in pure shock. "WHAT...IS...THIS...?" The tendrils and tentacles withdrew from the prone bodies of those closest to him, trying in vain to stop the horrible burning! And as more and more began to stir, Lady nodded. Starr, Carlin, Burnett and Hatt closed their eyes...and began to sing.

...

"BLOBBY!"

"Bloody hell, you're annoying!" The little engine scoffed. "You're just a comedy bit that's got no real punchline! A real joke! Is that what you think will stop me? Well, it almost did, but only because I've got a busted up brain! But brain damage or not, I am Percy the Small Engine, and I say that the joke's not funny any more!" And with that, the fake Blobby thing was blasted away without even time to scream. Percy cackled with glee as the light smashed through the Malevolence's...stomach? Armpit? Neck? It was hard to tell by this point. But all he knew was that the sight of Mavis smiling approving was the best tonic for his sore head that there ever was.

More limbs and tendrils were withdrawing now, rushing inwards to try and contain the horrible...horrible things that were doing the Malevolence's insides no favors whatsoever. Lady tried and failed to keep her smile under check.

...

"You are-"

The red engine interrupted this speech. "...You know what, Eustace? Do you even have the first idea to whom you speak? There is one person in this world who absolutely respects who I am, what I am and how I do it! This person is the best damn thing on the planet, and I trust their judgement more than anything? It's ME. James the Red Engine, the most splendid engine on the planet, and don't you forget it! Make way for me, you asshole!"

Eustace's body melted away into the shadows with such speed that it was almost frightening. The exhilaration on James's face, if converted into a power source, could light up the national grid. Sparks flew and light crackled from his brakeblocks and his shiny brass dome and, most of all, his red paint! For one shining moment, James was the most splendid thing in the entire universe. The whoops of glee from the Scottish Twins were proof enough of that!

By now, the song had raised to such a volume that even people on the moon would have been able to hear it. The Malevolence was snarling and spitting now, seeming to alternate between the massive size that he had been in for the last half an hour or so, and shrinking to a different size.

...

"I suffered dreadfully, and no one cares!" said one green engine. But the other green engine appeared to be gathering courage now.

"No wonder. I was a whiny little prick when I met you! You know, say what you will about me, but that accident was actually the best thing that ever happened to me! It gave me a new perspective on...well, everything! I may be a hippie who smokes a little and gets on his soapbox a bit much...but I am no coward! I have fought through things that would make a lesser engine whimper for the scrapper's claw! I am Henry the Green Engine! And you are not. That's your loss, by the way, you nitwit!"

"OOOH BALLS!" shouted the False-Henry, and died. The real Henry, for a moment, felt as though the entire world was in tune with him. He could feel Shining Time and all the continents and masses around it...and his home, the one place he hoped to keep safe more than anything, the Island of Sodor. She was battered, she was bruised, but she was still alive, and she wanted him to come home. And he had never been one to disappoint! As the Skarloey gang, in particular Peter Sam, whooped with pride, light streamed forth at an even quicker rate than any of the others.

The Malevolence barely felt the pain any more. All he could think was to wrap as much as possible around the heads of the three remaining engines. For now, across the world, those being drained were also being freed, and in gratitude, they sang!

...

"What say you, brother?"

The big engine paused...and then burst out into racaous laughter. "My word, do they feed you these lines? You know, what you say would actually be intimidating were in not for the fact that you are the worst acted version of my brother since...well, that would be telling! No, your words, though they have been those I have imagined before, are ultimately false! My brother is proud of me, and so he should be. I am Gordon the Big Engine, the fastest! The best! And pulling the express has never been so easy! If I were you, I'd be retreating, because oh-" Gordon whistled long and loud "-THE INDIGNITY OF IT ALL!"

The whistle sounded loud and clear, and the coaches and vehicles echoed that call with great joy. Once it had cleared, and the light began to ripple outwards, cutting through skin and flesh and shadow, Gordon spared the Scotsman no heed...not that this mattered, since he had melted back into the shadows the second that he had seen that the battle had been lost.

"MARKLIN-" wheezed the Malevolence, now back in his dragonic form once more. "STOP THEM...EDWARD MUST NOT...HE MUST NOT GET FREE-"

...

Marklin approached the blue engine. "What's the matter? Are you done, mein chum? Bah! You were no real battle!"

"You are wrong, Marklin." said a voice, quiet and dignified. "You have never been more wrong. You have bullied and mocked and killed and done terrible things in your life and in your death. But all of these things do not amount to a tenth of what this engine has done. You know who this is? This is the one who saved Trevor from scrap. The Old Iron. The savior of the railway. Hero of Wellsworth. He survived the war, and he'll survive this. He'll do so as he does so every time. Battered...weary, but unbeaten. Isn't that right, old chum?"

With a laugh, the engine suddenly straightened up. "Quite right. I am Edward the Blue Engine...and you have been left to ramble for FAR too long!"

Marklin screamed as light streamed forth and connected, slicing open his chest and rippling outwards, crushing and compacting and melting away everything that he had been. And now the souls from besides the wall began to tear at him too, finally free at last of their horrible prison. "THIS...You said we would be unstoppable! I...I've... lost?"

And on this note, Marklin fell backwards, hitting the shadows and crumpling to dust. The ghost engine had finally been killed once and for all.

Edward looked to BoCo, and smiled sadly, his eyes brimming with tears. "A hallucination?"

"Not this time, old chum. Now come...we have a world to save."

Now the Malevolence grew again, still in his dragon form. But the sudden loss of Marklin, a vital part of him for so many years, threw him off completely and he writehd in agony.

It was nearly done now.

...

"You've been a shit friend, Thomas!"

"Oi, Thomas, is that what you really think I sound like? Listen to me, of all the engines I've had the pleasure of working with, it is you who is me best mate! And I'm going to need you soon, because me head is a little off center!"

"You are a vile little intruder on our perfect life!"

"Pah! Don't listen to that snooty bastard, Thomas, listen to THIS snooty bastard! What would my life be without your insults about my glorious red paint?"

"You're small, you'll never amount to nowt!"

"Did I ever tell you, Little Thomas, that those words were the biggest and stupidest words that I ever uttered!? I have never been so wrong in all my life. Now come, this shouldn't be that hard for you!"

"You're the only disaster on the rails!"

"Hey, Thomas...you want to go get high later? I've got some good quality stuff, and it's only the best for a certain number one engine that I know. And then we can go and complain about crosswords together! Like all friends should!"

"You're an idiot, Thomas."

"Oh, he is...but he's our idiot. Come on Thomas, what are you waiting for? Get up, you cheeky short stumpy bastard, cause we love you!"

And then a song reached the tank engine's ears. It was being chanted like a song at a rock concert, by the entire world! Young, old, white, black, man, woman, boy, girl, engine, diesel, dead, alive, it didn't matter! At that moment, one song could be heard in all languages and in all tunes.

"He's a really useful engine, you know.
All the other engines they'll tell you so.
He huffs and puffs and whistles
Rushing to and fro
He's the really useful engine we adore!

He's a really useful engine, you know
Cos the Fat Controller, he told him so!
Now he's got a branch line
To call his very own!
He's the really useful engine we adore!"

And like a sapling planted in soil, an idea began to grow in the mind of this little tank engine.

"He's the one, he's the one!"

Yes, he was the one, wasn't he?!

"He's the really useful engine that we adore!"

Really useful? Were there any better words to describe him!?

"He's the one, he's the number one!"

That was right, he was the Number One! And he was that for a reason, and one reason only! It was a reason like no other, a reason more powerful than any reason in the world that anyone could come up with for being number one.

And he sang it out along with the rest of the world as the light shot out of him and destroyed every shadow in his path.

"THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!"

...

And as the Malevolence screamed, and as the entire world made sure that one, glorious symphony of positiveness poured out from their very hearts and souls, and as all the souls ripped and tore and slashed their way out to freedom, at long last...seven voices rang out in unison.

"MALEVOLENCE, YOU FUCKED WITH THE WRONG ISLAND!"

And in the last second before the end, the Malevolence knew that this was the truest thing he would ever here. And he screamed and screamed and screamed, as he grew smaller and thinner. His body ruptured out as soul after soul escaped from him at last, rushing towards the waiting Ivor with such speed that a cheetah would be jealous of. And the Malevolence shrank, and shrank...

And then the light swallowed him up completely, and he was gone.

It was over.

At long last, it was over.

Seven engines suddenly realized that they had not been born with wings, and plummeted head first to the ground below, but even this did not stop the huge amount of cheers ringing out from human and vehicle alike.

"Ahhhhhh SHIT! That bloody hurt!"

James's cry sort of brought the whole thing down a little bit, but still. It was a good time.

...

Marklin woke up.

He looked around him, and grinned. All according to plan! Admittedly, the plan to completely black out the sky hadn't, in his head, been quite so literal, but it was a start! Now, all they needed to do was-

HELLO.

Marklin started backwards. And then he laughed. "Why, if it isn't Death itself! What are you going to do? Scythe me?" Something about his voice sounded different somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was there. "It's too late! I've won! We've won! We-"

Then he noticed that behind Ivor the Engine was what looked to him to be an almost infinite number of humans, engines and even animals, all staring at him with undisguised hatred in their eyes. He recognized BoCo, and Davidson, and Drampf, and both sets of Shunters. There was Class 40, and Alec, and Jinty and Pug, and the Reverend Teddy from the vicarage. And that wasn't getting into the myriad of those he didn't recognize. He slowly began to back away.

YOU LOST, MARKLIN. YOU DIED. AGAIN. ONLY THIS TIME, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. NO FREAK ACCIDENT. NO CLINGING TO LIFE. IT'S TIME FOR YOU AND I TO TAKE A RIDE TOGETHER. JUDGEMENT HAS BEEN DENIED TO ALL OF YOUR VICTIMS OVER THE YEARS. I THINK IT ONLY FITTING THAT ON THEIR WAY TO THEIR OWN VERDICTS, THEY SHOULD BRING YOU ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

And every soul surged forward, grabbing at him, and Marklin screamed aloud as all of his victims dragged him backwards, towards a horrible and undying light that seemed to grow brighter and brighter. He tried to use his powers, but there was nothing, nothing at all, and too late he realized that he was what he had always been.

A angry, bitter, vengeful, small tank engine, dealt with only in the background.

And that was the end of Marklin.

...

Later, as Stacy Jones made sure to keep the station running, accompanied by the remainder of the Shining Time lot, the engines sat and rested, talking as they were slowly healed by Lady's magic.

Carlin sat alongside Percy, for the moment quietly content. The two of them looked up at the sky, and for the first time in quite a while, Carlin felt completely at peace. He looked up to the green saddletank. "So how are you doing, you f**king catepillar?"

"Eh...a bit terribibble." Percy paused. "Terrible. Sorry. Head injury."

"I get it." Carlin knew that the head injury was not something that could just be fixed with a magic wave of the hand. There were going to be aftereffects, Percy being a bit more naive than usual, slipping up when it came to words and so forth. But as long as he was taken care of, it shouldn't get too worrying.

...

"Will this work?"

"Ah, stop yer wheeshing, James! It's not every day that a God decides ta help with yer paintwork!"

"I know, but will it still sparkle like morning dew in the sunshine!? Will it still amaze and astound all who see it and inspire the youth of today to a better and brighter future? Will it still allow me to pull the ladies?"

"Funny." muttered Oliver to no one in particular. "I must have been sleeping when that happened."

...

"So, what's the sit-rep on the survivors?"

"We've already taken the steamroller into custody. He's not going back to the Island for a long, long time. Luckily, in case people start asking questions, we have managed to get his French cousin who is also named George to fill in on background shots. As long as he doesn't say anything for the next ten or so years, we should be good. And just so people don't get confused about what happened to Arry and Bert now that they've been on the TV, we've found two idiot shunters to take their place for the foreseeable future- Oh, look out. Your brother's coming up."

Duck and Stepney were deep in conversation, as Gordon and Henry moved up to meet the City of Truro and the Flying Scotsman. Many of the other famous engines had headed home for repairs, or to take care of the portal machine once everyone was back on their rightful place. The two famous engines looked up warily as the two big engines faced them down.

"You did so well, brother!" The Flying Scotsman sounded honest when he said that. "You are a true credit to Sir Nigel-"

"Scotsman, Truro...a moment, if you please." Henry looked at the two of them, and then started again. "Duck's informed us how you tend to deal with situations like this. Erasing people's minds and so forth. And while that may work on all the civilians and people who didn't take part in the battle that much...it's not going to stick with us. The last week or so has been...a thing."

"What's your point?"

"He's coming to one. To summarize it, I think it's worth noting that you had ten years to finish this. And we managed it in a single week." Gordon looked at the two of them, sternly. "So here's the deal. Next time, try giving us a warning about what's going on instead of sending spies and leaving things to chance. You know what we can do, and we know who you are now. If we had been working together from the outset, then it's possible that none of this would have ever happened, and there'd be a hell of a lot more engines standing here alive than there are at present."

Scotsman looked at Gordon, and Henry...and then to Duck for a moment. "...You are not...incorrect."

"Spoken like a politician." Duck grunted as he moved towards them. "I'm staying on. I think by this point, I've earned a bit of rest and relaxation away from all the spy works and the battles. Sodor's my home now, if they'll have me. But if anything comes up...give me a call. Sir."

Scotsman nodded, and headed off quickly to chat to Etienne about something. Truro was left on his own as Duck and the two tender engines moved away to join James in having a celebratory drink. But he wasn't alone for long. Stepney pulled up besides him and grinned grimly at him. Truro didn't look at him, and kept his eyes fixed mainly on the horizon.

"You look smug about something, Stepney."

"Interesting thing. I saw Duck not too long ago. Told him a bit about you and your...shall we say, dislike of diesels."

"Yes?"

"Yes. He doesn't remember a thing. Funny that, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

Stepney puffed away. "Watch your back, Truro. The Iron Circle's reputation has taken a severe bump this week...I'd start considering your options a little bit better."

...

"Miss Jenny? Hi there, yes it's Topham...no, don't hang up! What happened in university happened, all right? Now, I've got a very, VERY big job for you. There's been a...freak hurricane over on the Island, there's a ton of buildings been damaged and I'd be grateful if you could get your...what you call them, the Pack? Yes, if you can get them on it straight away. I'll even employ you full time if you like. God knows we're going to need a construction company anyway! Yes, I'll see you...tomorrow? How does that sound? Good, great. Bye."

Hatt hung up the phone, and turned to look at Stacy Jones. He smiled sympathetically. "Sorry."

"It's all right." Stacy took a deep breath, and placed the blood-stained bat back behind the desk. "I'll have to open in a few minutes, give them all an explanation of what the heck just went on." She grinned. "Can't think of what, mind."

"A little advice from someone who constantly has to mollify passengers? Blame the engines. Always blame the engines. You've got an advantage over me. Yours don't talk back!"

"Oh, I don't know." said Billy as he entered. "The Rainbow Sun, sometimes..." He paused, and then shook his head. "I just wanted to say it was no trouble, hiding your escaped friends on my engine."

"Thank you, Mr Twofeathers. And you, Miss Jones. I can only apologize that you were dragged into whatever the hell this week was. I can't wait for things to go back to...well, normal's a strong word, but the closest thing to it."

...

Toby puffed forward to join Edward, looking out over the valley of Shining Time itself. The tram engine didn't say anything for the longest time, and neither did Edward. Together, they just looked out onwards at the village.

At last, Edward spoke. "Well done, Tobe. You were the first to break free of that thing, by all accounts...not surprising, really."

"Ah-" said Toby modestly "-it's just a knacK. Besides, as per usual, you did all the heavy lifting."

"You do yourself a massive disservice mate. You're the best of us, and I mean it. While we're all off getting fixated on revenge and glory and fame, you're just doing your job, making sure that the trains run on time. Honestly, how Mussolini did it..." Edward trailed off.

Toby took a deep breath. "You'll have heard this a number of times now, and you'll hear it a few more. But for the record, I am truly sorry about BoCo."

There was silence for a time. And then Edward spoke again, in a voice that sounded pained. "It's raining."

Toby looked up at the cloudless sky, and then to the softly shaking frame of the blue engine besides him, and to the sudden wetness of his face. He gave a sad smile, and nodded. "Yeah. And we can stay here for a bit, until the downpour ceases."

And so they sat there for some time.

...

"So...do you want to keep in touch?"

"Yes. Definitely!"

"...Oh. Oh! Thank god you said that, I don't know what I would have done if you'd said no!"

"Here."

"What is this?"

"It's my number, Patch."

"...Wow."

Today had been a good day to be Patch.

...

Lily and Patch were busy chatting about something or nothing, so Burnett left them for a time and headed off towards Lady. She was sitting there, thoughtfully looking out upon Shining Time. "So, now what?" He asked.

"Now what?"

"Are you heading back to England, or Sodor...or what?"

Lady didn't answer for a moment. She chewed her lip and gazed towards the glowing portal that was being set up for the others to return to the Island of Sodor. Burnett was just about to turn away when she finally spoke again. "Thing is, Burnett, I'd be going back to a world that I don't know anymore. They're expanding so fast that there's nowhere for me to just simply be. Besides, I've gotten used to this place now. It might be nice, just for a little bit, to stay here." She winked at him. "And see how you're getting along with that nice Stacy."

"Lady!"

"Burnett, I had to listen to you monologue to yourself repeatedly over these last few decades. Tasha wouldn't want you to go old and grey and not enjoy life. You like that girl? Go get her!"

...

"Bloody hell, mate! Look what we got here!"

"He's a right ugly frog and no mistake! Oi, Shane! Get the crane and see if we can't lift him up!"

"Mate? Hello! You're in Australia! Got anything to say?"

The diesel in the barge opened his eyes, looked around the dock at which he had come to rest at and frowned. His claw snapped, but in confusion this time, as his brows furrowed and he spoke in a somewhat halting voice that didn't quite know how it was supposed to sound.

"Who...am I?"

...

ONE YEAR LATER.

"It doesn't look good."

The man in the bed had been stripped of everything. Not just his clothes, which were now drying somewhere over a fire, but everything else, too. The mystique was gone, the image of the often times indescribable boss of the most powerful railway in all the world obliterated. So too was the feeling of terror that many people had felt when facing him down. Even the Other Railway was gone now.

Captain Zero stared down at the Fat Director with disgust. The time portal that had opened during the battle had ended up teleporting them to the year 2000, right over the Atlantic Ocean. Captain Zero had got lucky and landed feet first. The Fat Director had landed head first. The Green Eyed Tugs that had brought many of the sailors over to Shining Time had quickly found them and taken them back to the now deserted area of Trumpton to heal. Zero had managed to get by on some crutches, but while the Fat Director wasn't dead, the injuries were severe indeed.

The survivors of the battle had fled back to the Other Railway and made perfectly sure that it was cut off from the rest of the world, even more so than before. The Fat Director's influence over the government had faded, especially with him now in such a critical coma, and they had had no trouble in closing down the Other Railway in every way bar actually tearing it down. Once again, Zero and the remaining loyal men had nothing now.

Well...almost nothing. Zero had one idea in mind. The Fat Director had failed to take over the world using magic. It was time to see if a simpler method couldn't work. But first, he had to clear this loose end up first.

"Give it ta me straight, Doctor. Will ye be honest? What's his odds o' surviving?"

The doctor shook his head. "it's not a question of survival, Captain. I know that he doesn't seem it, now that all the magic that hid his identity has been stripped away, but he's a fighter. No, it's a question of if he'll ever wake up again. Massive damage to the cranium, broken legs, his arm was nearly torn off completely by the time they were able to get him in...I'd brace for the fact that he may never wake up again."

Zero tried, and failed, to hide a smile.

"I can't quite take him off life support, however. His will was very specific about that." The doctor hesitated, and moved over to pull something from his sodden jacket. "There is this. I just need to confirm his identity, and this will help...or so I reckon."

Zero looked down at the passport and whistled loudly. "Bloody nora! ...And he did all that, for all those years, to his own-!" He shook his head. "Oh, if ye were only awake now, eh? The things I'd like to ask ye." He shrugged, and wrote down the name, and headed off without another word. He had a phone call to make to the stock markets. He wanted to see just how much a share in HIT Entertainment costed.

He and the doctor would have been well advised to stay. As Lowham Hatt, the Fat Director, lay on the bed, his heart rate quickened for a moment.

And then his fist clenched.

This was not over. Not yet.

...

Eventually, it was time to leave.

"So, are you sticking around here, or are you heading back to Sodor?" Stacy couldn't help but fondly laugh. "I won't lie, I'd love to see you back here again. Both of you." She turned to Starr and Carlin, both of whom were giving a last look around the place.

"Stace, it was fun." Starr admitted. "But...Babs and the kids are me focus right now. And the music of course! But I'm coming back to see you all every chance I get! Right, Carlin?"

Carlin gave a weary little grin. "Give me chance to make sure Percy's all right, and then I'll head back over here for a week. I'll help with the cleaning up and what have you, but after that...well, Percy's my buddy. And I have been away far too long now." He looked over to see Mr Conductor and Junior arguing over Junior's drug habits. "And, you know, I'll be back to keep an eye on Tweedleshit and Tweedlef**k as well! ...They're all right, I suppose. They just need a bit of guidance."

Stacy paused, nodded softly...and then grabbed the two of them in a hug. "Always wanted to do that, but you were always so small before!" She brightly waved goodbye to them as Carlin and Starr climbed aboard Percy and Thomas respectively.

The gathered Sudrians were seated in the coaches and the trucks. They were cold and weary and ready to go back home to their nice warm beds. Assuming that said nice warm beds were in one piece. Lady had used her magic as best as she could to fix up the worst of it, but still there remained much work to be done. The engines too had been healed, though their paint was not as shiny as it had once been, and they felt their age now.

"All right!" called Scotsman. "The second that the last of you is through, Lady will return Shining Time to it's proper place, and we'll destroy the portal machine on the Other Railway! Capiche?"

"We've got it!"

Once by one, the engines started forward, whistling goodbye. Mavis, Donald and Douglas, Oliver and Toad, Bill and Ben, Derek pulling the Skarloey engines on flatbeds. Then Trevor, Terrance, Butch and Caroline.

"Oi, Thomas! You better be ready for a race when we get home!" And off Bertie went, honking his horn proudly as he did so.

"Bloody lunatic." muttered Henry, as he watched Harold the Helicopter fly through the portal.

At last, there was only the Eight Famous Engines (And Annie and Clarabel, of course). Percy's injuries were enough to warrant a flatbed of his own, while Toby had been placed on there as he would need a new cowcatcher to be attached to him immediately upon return home. Duck was at the front and Edward at the back. The three big engines chafed as they waited for the word to set off.

"Good fortune, all of you." Lady looked around at the eight of them. "I hope to see you again."

"One day, we shall come back. Yes, we shall come back."

"Why are you quoting Doctor Who at her, Thomas?"

"Shut it, Percy."

"And...you're clear."

As Gordon, James and Henry started off towards the portal, the former began to sing.

"For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow-"

"For he's a jolly good fellooooooow!" belted out James and Henry in response.

"And so say all of us!" finished Toby and Percy together.

"And so say all of us! And so say all of us!"

As the cavalcade started off, the seven engines continued to belt it out as one by one, they vanished with one last whistle goodbye. First Gordon, then James, then Henry, then Duck, then Percy and Toby, and finally Edward. And as they vanished, one by one, the sound of singing grew softer and softer, until there was only one voice left singing.

"For they're all jolly good fellows, for they're all jolly good fellows, for they're all jolly good fellows...and it's time to say goodbye!"

Thomas smiled, and looked around Shining Time. At all the humans gathered there, and the famous engines watching as he headed back home. Long ago, he had said he had wanted to see the world.

But right now, there was only one place he wanted to see. Home.

"Peep peep! Until the next time!" He said, and then headed off through the portal.

For a moment, he looked back at Shining Time, it's battle scarred landscape slowly giving way to the white of Lady's magic renewing it, it's people stood waving, looking tired but contented...and he realized that they were really were two completely different worlds. Perhaps the Conductor's words weren't that stupid after all. Shining Time and Sodor, for all their superficial similarities, were really two quite separate places.

And there was, Thomas the Tank Engine thought as he passed the windmill (That wonderful windmill that was, for good reason, the place he associated most with his Island), only one place for him.

And so they have come to the happy ending of the story, and it's time for all of us to go home.

Just like Thomas.

The End...For Now.

---

And that's it.

Bloody hell, I never thought I'd get this far.

Well, a long time ago I got bored and wrote a dumb little Thomas thing for shits and giggles. And now, one hundred and thirty chapters on, here we are, at the end of the Magic Railroad. And that is all down to you. Thank you all for your support, feedback, critiques and opinions. It really has made the series worth it.

Now, last few notes before we all head off!

-I originally toyed with having Splatter and Dodge legitimately turn out to be good really, and having them go through witness protection at the end to become the Arry and Bert from Season 6 onwards. I scrapped that, primarily because I didn't want to confuse people more than they already had been. Splatter's death at the buffers of Toby was something that I thought was quite nice, considering that Toby was one of the few engines who came out of the movie proper looking cool. Dodge was originally just going to get knocked to death by an engine, but I figured that having the Malevolence kill him would be a much better way to go, and it shows that it doesn't really care about it's promises.

-Speaking of Arry and Bert, originally they were going to get knocked about by Boulder and have their personalities be affected similarly to Percy's. But I nixed that idea as I felt that it wasn't a suitably karmic punishment for them. Hence the victims of scrap taking care of Bert, and Bill and Ben getting revenge for BoCo by taking down Arry. The latter was originally planned for Edward, however...

-...I felt that he, Henry and Gordon taking down the Juggernaut was far more fitting. The Three Railway Engines taking down their tormentor from the olden days? Sounded good to me. You'll note that I've deliberately made sure that there's only ONE Juggernaut here. Where's the other one? What's he planning? Why hasn't he been involved in the attack? ...You'll see. In time.

-Gotch's death was one of the goriest planned. Honestly, I actually can't help hut feel a little sorry for killing him off, if only because he's had such a bad time of it throughout the story. Why Trevor? I felt that having him lose to a non-rail vehicle would be ironic, even more so because it was thanks to him that the Vicar was killed back in Season 3. Karma has a funny way about her.

-Harold's moment of awesome was something I just loved writing.

-Boomer's death was deliberately a bit anti-climatic. Plus, it made for one of the creepiest call backs I could think of. Boomer wants to learn the secrets of the Magic Railroad? Well he can...and he will, forever and ever and ever. Having the three people he had been responsible for pissing off in some way punch him and leave him to die on the way out was really fun to write.

-I thought a ton about how exactly the Malevolence was going to be defeated. Originally it was just going to be a case of having the seven engines blasting him with their magic a la Power Rangers, but I felt it was a bit silly and didn't really have any build up. Plus, after all the build-up I had done for the Malevolence, I really wasn't sure how to write a convincing physical defeat at the hands of seven very ordinary engines. I decided to compromise and to show how far the engines have come really, and to comment on how it's time to get this over with. So I think I did decently.

-Each of the ghosts confronting the engines in the Malevolence is meant to represent something that has happened to them in the past. Edward losing his friends and BoCo, James's embarrassment at being referred to as the Red Engine way back in Season 1, Toby's fear of being a background character, Henry's illness woes (And because I think he's the character who has changed the most from when I originally started writing him) and Percy...yeah, I didn't know what to do for Percy. Decided to bring back the Mr Blobby bit from Happy Birthday

-The Malevolence taking an interest in Toby is because he is still enraged that the tram mocked him and trapped him as Ten. And...well, there's another reason too, but the less said about that for now, the better.

-Yes, Marklin is DEAD. For good...or is he? Yes. Yes he is.

-The effects of Lady's regeneration is meant to sort of explain one of the things that I've noticed with regards to the models from Season 6 onwards. Namely that while they are very good, they never quite get the nice shine as the previous ones. Maybe it's just me, but it's far easier to tell that the models have been changed than it was in previous seasons. I've no quarrel with it, but it's just something I felt like bringing up.

-The Fat Director being Lowham Hatt was something that I had originally planned to be revealed upon Lowham's episode. However, I realized a few things. Firstly, both his and Zero's exits would need to be given something so as to set up what I had planned for the next chapter. Two, waiting that long runs the risk of making the mystery seem boring or not worth it in the end. Three, it gives me a chance to explain why Lowham Hatt is the Fat Director in more detail next time!

-Captain Zero taking up the reigns of the main bad guy was meant to signify a shift in the attitudes of the villains next time. What's he up to? There is a clue in what it is he's doing. I wonder if you'll find it.

-For those not understanding, when the Sudrians made their escape from Boomer's house, they hid onboard the Railway Sun until the battle had began.

-Diesel 10 is currently in Australia, where he will be staying until the next time he appears. The amnesia is a helpful get out of jail free card for me, considering that everyone helpfully decides to ignore the time he tried to kill them all in Calling All Engines. We'll be checking back in with him later.

-Bit of a sappy ending, but I figured that it was worth it. A sign that yeah, things are going to get better after all.

Thank you all, once again.

And until the nineteenth, have a great day!