The sun was barely in the sky by the time Nelson, Isabella and Magenta arrived at Tidmouth Station. Murdoch was waiting for them, a long line of low loaders and trucks of scrap metal behind him. Jack and Alfie were waiting, half asleep, on two loaders in the middle of the train. Only one of them remained empty, waiting for its unwilling occupant.
"I wish I could have stayed here to chat." Isabella said, sniffling.
"Same here. But I'll be waiting for you when you get back." Magenta said. A breakdown crane was alongside the train, and it lifted Isabella slowly onto the low loader. The two lorries continued to chat as she was lowered down.
"Remember that Elizabeth cow I told you about…" Nelson sighed and rolled up to Murdoch.
"They're a chatty bunch." Murdoch said timidly. Nelson chuckled loudly, startling the large engine.
"It amuses me how you dislike sound." The transporter said.
"It surprises me that you people and machines vehicles don't mind it." Murdoch replied, smirking.
"Ah, touché." Nelson chuckled. Just then, Magenta pulled up alongside.
"Come on Nathan, you can take my back now." She said, smiling widely. Nelson mumbled something about his actual name, but the guard's whistle drowned it out. Murdoch chuckled as all three pulled out.
"See you later, Nathan!" The big engine called jeeringly. Nelson blushed bright red as he raced away, Magenta trailing behind.

Three days later
Time seemed to be going by slowly, as the Pack members waited for their three friends to return. The team seemed to have given up on the hotel for the time being. Only the previous day Miss Jenny had brought in several tow trucks and forced them to move.
The leading lady herself was sitting in her office, her heads in her hands. There was a knock at the door, and Miss Jenny looked up, wiping away tears as the door opened. The foreman walked in, a forced smile on his face and worry in his eyes.
"I heard the phone ring twice, anything interesting?" He said warmly.
"Well… sort of." Miss Jenny replied. "Good news or bad news first?"
"Good news."
"The mechanic called. They have stripped the three of their damaged parts, and the replacements are coming in about a week." The foreman smiled broadly.
"And the bad news?"
"Well, I was expecting Cedric to show up the day after this all started. However, his OCD kicked in on the flight and they turned around to go get some supplies he forgot to pack. And he doesn't want to make another flight so want come over until something else occurs." Miss Jenny explained.
"That isn't too bad." The foreman said, smiling. But Miss Jenny couldn't hold it in anymore. The foreman gasped as his boss began to cry, tears streaming down her face. He rushed over, but she turned away.
"I just can't handle this stress at the moment." Miss Jenny sniffed. "I think I should go away for a little bit, relax a bit."
"Smart idea." The foreman replied. "I think you need a break as well, I am sure it will help." Miss Jenny smiled, blinking back tears. Her red hair seemed to glow with happiness, as she turned and picked up her brown satchel bag and left the office.

"Karl… Karl… KARL!"
Kelly growled with fury as he came to a stop, tyres screeching. He shut his eyes and took in a deep breath, as Magenta pulled up alongside.
"For the last time, it's Kelly." The crane growled.
"Well sorry Mr Fussy!" Magenta said, chuckling loudly. Kelly rolled his eyes, but he wasn't surprised. Magenta had been annoying all the machines, mainly due to her shrill voice, gossiping nature and inability to remember anyone's name. She had bothered Byron (or, Brian) the first day, and frustrated Fredrick (or, Franklin) the previous day. Kelly had only agreed to look after her as he knew it would make Isabella happy. But he had instantly regretted his decision. The two were travelling along a road just outside of Hackenbeck, and Kelly had managed to lose her until she caught up once again.
"I don't see how correcting you on my actual name can be 'fussy'." Kelly huffed. Magenta rolled her eyes, sighing obviously. Kelly's eyebrows rose but he said nothing.
"Isabella told me how you can be like this at times." The lorry said snobbishly.
"Like what?" Kelly asked grouchily.
"Stuck-up. Bossy. A big smarty pants!" Magenta boomed. Kelly's jaw dropped, making her smile.
"I am not a big smarty-" Kelly began, but was caught off by Magenta honking her horn.
"What are we doing today?"
"I am clearing away several old trees near the golf course area." Kelly explained.
"I see. I can help with that, I suppose." Magenta said, and suddenly sped off before Kelly could argue. Kelly gasped and raced forwards. Magenta giggled, listening to his angry grunts. The crane fumed and started to extend his arm. It moved forwards quickly, and soon reached Magenta's flatbed. Kelly positioned the hook, then pulled. Magenta came to a halt and Kelly reached her.
"Who says I need your help?" He said, puffing. Magenta laughed loudly.
"Your panting after a short little pace. You need my help, old timer!" She snorted and sped away. Kelly was too shocked and tired to reply, and moved slowly after her.

At the construction site, things were going slow but steady. More trees and bushes were being removed, the road part of the driveway was complete, and the digging of the basement/underground car park was nearly complete. Fredrick and Oliver were loading up Max and Monty with the last of the dirt.
"I can't believe what we have achieved." Fredrick said, beaming.
"Neither can I." Oliver nodded. "If that lorry hadn't been hovering around yesterday, it could have been finished." He finishes and stared at Fredrick, half smirking. The old digger whacked his bucket against the ground in a huff.
"It isn't my fault she followed me." Fredrick groaned. "She just appeared next to me and wouldn't go away, like when you drive through a field and get cow pats in your wheels." Oliver, Max and Monty roared with laughter.
"You could have told her to leave." Max said, struggling to talk through laughing.
"Yeah, she is really weird!" Monty added.
"Speak of the devil." Oliver muttered. They all looked up, stifling their laughter as Kelly and Magenta passed by overhead. Kelly looked down at them, and they all burst out laughing.
"Karl, hurry up!" Magenta called, making the others laugh louder. Kelly sighed and raced away.
"I suppose I should head off, I have to do some digging on the golf course." Oliver said, his face distorted from laughing. "Will you be alright to finish the last little bit?"
"I'll be fine." Fredrick said, smiling. "I have done more difficult jobs in my sleep."
"Boastful much?" Monty muttered, and Max chuckled. Fredrick growled at them, and turned away, ignoring them as they left to dump their loads. Oliver chuckled lightly before rolling away. Fredrick muttered as he cleared away some land from the corner of the basement. He dug his scoop in, and raised up a large amount of dirt.
"Boy, this feels heavier than normal." He mumbled. Fredrick turned around, wishing to drop the mud, but his bucket couldn't deal with the weight. It tipped, causing lots of mud, earth and a square, metal container to fall to the ground.
"Oh my goodness!" Fredrick gasped. He moved forward, using the side of his scoop to brush mud away. The metal box was black, and had a knob and a handle as well. The digger was about to pick it up when someone suddenly appeared.
"What do you think you're doing?"

Kelly and Magenta soon reached the site for the golf course. Currently, it was a large, overgrown meadow. There was a loud buzzing noise, as a worker rode on a ride-on lawnmower, eating up the grass. Oliver rolled past the two, smiling warmly, as he headed to his area.
"There's our site over there." Kelly said.
"Well let's get cracking!" Magenta said, smiling broadly. Kelly forced a fake smile, and followed slowly after her. Several workers were already there, quickly slicing the dying trees. The two machines watched as they fell, eventually piling up.
"It's time for us." Kelly mumbled. Magenta gave him a curious look, but the crane ignored her. The workers got out some chains, and quickly tied the trees up.
"I'm ready when you are!" Magenta boomed.
"That's great, I'm not." Kelly replied through clenched teeth. The workers exchanged looks, and Kelly angrily tooted his horn at them.
"Someone's got their winch in a knot!" Magenta said to several of them. They laughed and Kelly snapped.
"Oh just shut up!" He roared. "Are you incapable of keeping your trap shut for a few moments you dopey cow!" Kelly stopped, and stared. It was suddenly very quiet on the green. Oliver and the workers stared at Kelly, jaws dropped. The wind even seemed to have disappeared, but it's coolness stayed. Kelly gulped and turned to Magenta.
He had never seen someone look so furious in his whole life.
The lorry's face was twisted, distorting her beautiful features. Blood red patches had appeared, causing her face to blend with her paintwork. Steam seemed to be pouring out of her like an angry cartoon character, but then Kelly remembered that she is a steam lorry.
Then, she charged.
Everyone was too shocked to notice anything: one moment, she was there, the next, gone. White steam covered her as she sped forwards. Oliver gasped, and raced forwards. But he was too late. Magenta smashed into Kelly, who accepted his punishment. The force caused him to roll backwards. But the lorry had been too powerful. As she turned and quickly sped away, Kelly found that his back wheels had no grip. The workers rushed forwards, yelling commands, searching for something to use. But Kelly blocked them out, shut his eyes, and prepared for the pain…

Fredrick turned around, worried about what would come next. But, as he completed his turn, he saw that only Patrick and Buster were there.
"I thought you had all left." Patrick said suspiciously.
"No, no… only the others left…. I had to finish digging." Fredrick spluttered. He indicated towards the patch of Earth in the corner. The two nodded in agreement. Fredrick let out a sigh of relief, and Buster saw the black box in his scoop.
"Where did you find that?" He exclaimed. Fredrick gasped, but turned away.
"Oh, just some bit of metal I found in the Earth, happens all the turn." He said. Patrick and Buster exchanged looks, then approached him.'
"Come on Fredrick, just show us it." Patrick huffed. Fredrick wanted to flee, he hated these situations. He knew he could get past Buster, but wouldn't be fast enough to get past Patrick.
"We aren't going to get you in trouble." Buster said warmly. "We are just, um…. curious." Fredrick looked at the warm hearted steamroller, and nodded. He turned around once more, and emptied his scoop. The metal box landed with a thud on the ground. Patrick and Buster swooped in to observe.
"It is obviously a safe." Buster said. "And it doesn't look to old, but is still a bit rusted and damaged, so I'd say it was buried a few years ago."
"What do you think we should do with it?" Patrick said. They all looked at each other, then down at the safe. Fredrick was about to say something, but they all jumped as two horns honked nearby. The digger quickly scooped up the safe, as Patrick and Buster turned to find Max and Monty there.
"Got our dirt ready?" Monty growled.
"Oh, yes, that." Fredrick grumbled. "I'll be a tick." He raced towards the corner and nearly smashed into the wall, making the dump trucks laugh. Patrick and Buster chuckled as well, distracting them as Fredrick dug a small hole and rashly buried the safe. Patrick then swiftly reversed over.
"We'll meet you back here later." He muttered, before racing off to start his work. Fredrick looked at the dump trucks, smiled, and quickly dug up some more Earth.

Kelly opened his eyes. Miraculously, he was alive!
But he wasn't quite safe yet.
As Kelly's eyes got into focus, he realised he was on a tilt. There were people running all around him, securing chains and wire to him. Oliver was there, and Kelly could vehicles moving in the distance: Byron and Ned. Kelly looked down, and noticed his headlights were smashed. He then remembered Magenta and wondered where she had gone.
"What's going on?" Kelly said.
"One of the trees at the bottom of the hill has taken your weight." Oliver explained. "But we need to move you before it snaps." Kelly nodded, but was suddenly extremely nervous. He didn't think it would be able to hold. Byron and Ned soon came up.
"Don't worry buddy, we'll sort you out." Ned said, smiling widely.
"Quickly everyone, we need to get this done fast." The workman supervisor yelled. The workers quickly changed some of the wires onto the machines. Within a minute, Oliver, Byron and Ned had two cables fastened to them each.
"Be ready to heave!" Byron boomed. Kelly shut his eyes as the supervisor started to count.
"One… Two… THREE!" Kelly felt a painful jerk, as his friends started to pull him to safety. The crane reminisced about his life, the memories appearing like photo slides on his eyelids. The day he was built, when Miss Jenny brought him, meeting all the new Pack members, tipping over, rescuing Isabella, getting the contract, time spent with Isabella….
"Come on Kelly, it's all you now." A distant voice grunted. Kelly came back to reality, and realised he was nearly fully back on flat ground. He realised Oliver was shouting to him.
"What?" He cried.
"We need you to power yourself a bit." Oliver yelled.
"Sure thing!" Kelly nodded. He revved his engine, his back wheels spinning uselessly in mid air. But his front ones were working fine, and, with a last great pull, Kelly rolled forwards, banging into Byron.
"Wow, your welcome." The bulldozer chuckled. Kelly smiled as well, and thanked them all.
"No problem!" Ned grinned. The workers rushed forwards and quickly took the wires off.
"I have to scram!" Kelly said, quickly reversing and turning. "I need to sort something out, and fast." The crane gave one last nod of appreciation, before quickly speeding away. The others turned curiously to watch him. As Kelly moved away, dark clouds formed overheard.
A storm was coming, and it was going to be rough.

Within ten minutes, the rain started to bucket down.
It fell down in sheets, instantly blinding Kelly and making it seem like he was living in a waterfall. He couldn't turn his headlights on, so it was nearly impossible to see in front of him, except when there was a flash of lightning. The crane looked forward to them: he was able to see what was ahead, and was provided with the sound of thunder a few seconds later, reminding him he wasn't just at the bottom of the sea.
Due to these factors, Kelly was having no luck in finding Magenta. The road was very slippery, and Kelly had twice nearly had a head-on collision. When he tried searching off road, he would find himself treaching through horrifically muddy plains that would make Isabella scream, and even put Alfie off. As soon as he got stuck, Kelly abandoned that area. If Magenta was anything like her cousin, she wouldn't go near the mud. Kelly had left the construction site far behind, and was searching around the road the two had taken that morning. She had probably fled back to the yard, so the crane decided he'd just go there. He'd need to get his lights fixed before he went back out there.
Kelly started to head home, feeling tired, sore, and quite sorry for himself. He hadn't meant to have upset Magenta, he had just snapped. These things happened sometimes when you can't hold your anger in any longer. He hoped Magenta would understand, he wouldn't her to be upset… or Isabella.
There was another flash of lightning, and that was when Kelly saw her.
There, almost right in front of him, was Magenta. Her purple and red paint was easily visibily through the rain.
"MAGENTA!" Kelly shouted. But the noise of the storm turned the cry into a whisper. But he was able to see a light: her headlights. Excited, Kelly quickly rushed forwards. As he moved closer to her, he could hear water rushing, it was nearby and running very fast. Kelly realised they must be near the Hackenbeck River.
"MAGENTA, IT'S KELLY!" The crane yelled again, speeding across the tarmac. Another flash of lightning revealed that Magenta was on the bridge crossing the river, facing the other direction. Kelly sped forwards, splashing through a puddle as moved. The wind picked up as he neared, nearly blowing his arm around. Magenta looked to see him, and huffed loudly.
"GO AWAY!" She roared, as Kelly came to a halt.
"I am not leaving until I have apologised." The crane replied. Magenta glared at him, before looking away with a sniff. Kelly noticed that tears were mixing with the rain streaming down her face. She could see him watching her, and let out a groan.
"I've wanted to come here for so long." She said, her voice cracking. "I hated working back in London. I always got abused by the other machines, just because I was a woman. And I never got given any proper jobs. I would be covered in layers of dust between jobs. It was horrible! I had to get out of there, so I ran away. There was this old farmer that I sometimes worked for, and she thought I was being mistreated as well. She arranged for me to get a lift on a container ship to Sodor. I thought it would be easier once I got back here, but I haven't been taken seriously since I got here. I tried to be friendly, I tried to be nice, but you guys just don't seem to like me. I heard what Franklin was saying earlier, and then you went and pushed my over the edge." Magenta began to cry more furiously. The stayed in silence for a few minutes, listening to the rush of the river, the pouring rain and howling wind.
"We would have been nice, but you have been a bit clingy." Kelly said, talking quietly and nervously. "We need to work, and it is difficult with a lorry next to us all the time. Plus you keep calling us the wrong name. It is Kelly, not Karl, and it is Fredrick, not Franklin. We would prefer if you got them right." Magenta stared at him, her sobbing ceasing temporarily.
"I am sorry if you lot can't accept the way I act, but that is just the way it is!" She growled. "If you don't like it, than I might as well go back to London. I'll probably be treated better there…."
"Hey! We may get a bit snippy at times, but we aren't bad people. If you try and get along with us a bit better, you'd be respected. And, you can hardly talk about being 'pushed over the edge.'" Kelly added, seething. Magenta looked away from, down into the river.
"Just leave! I can find my own way home." She said. Kelly was going to retort, but decided against it. He started to cross the bridge, leaving her behind.
That was when he heard the splash.
Unbeknownst to the two, this was the time of year where the river would get a little higher than normal. Percy had faced the same issue many decades ago. However, the storm had fuelled this ecological issue, causing the river to rise an extra one and half metres. The river and the wind were battering the bridge, and it was struggling to take anymore. As Kelly drove away, a section behind Magenta fell away, causing the splash.
Kelly instantly came to a halt, and spun around. He could just make out Magenta's face, and she was petrified. However, she wasn't moving.
"This bridge may collapse, you need to move." Kelly yelled. Magenta looked at him, her eyes wide and fill of fear.
"I ca-ca-can't move." She whimpered. "One of my tyres, I think it burst." Kelly sighed, and quickly examined her tyres. Sure enough, the front left one was flat.
"I'll have to pull you off then." Kelly said. Quickly, he started to extend his arm out. But the wind wasn't going to have a bar of it: his arm was pushed to the right. Magenta let out a scream, as more of the bridge fell into the river. The road was starting to crack. Kelly managed to control his arm, and started to lower his hook. Magenta was able to move slightly forwards, and the hook reached her front bumper.
"Hurry!" Magenta squealed. Kelly nodded, and started to bring her in.
There was another flash of lightning, and everything went wrong.
The bolt of lightning needed to hit something, and there was a perfect conductor nearby.
Kelly's arm.
The crane let out a cry, and Magenta screamed as well. More of the bridge had disappeared, and she was starting to tip backwards.
"KELLY!" She screamed. The majority of the bridge behind her had collapsed, and her flatbed was dangling uselessly over the edge. Magenta was struggling to grip on the road, and felt like she was slipping. If more of her body got over the edge, Magenta was going to drag Kelly down with her. There was another crack, and Magenta could feel the ground shifting underneath her. This was it, it was time for her to go…
The ground disappeared.
And Magenta was pulled forwards.
The lorry was stunned. She thought Kelly had been killed! But the crane was still in front of her, very wet and a little sore.
"How did you survive?" She gasped, and Kelly chuckled.
"I was Miss Jenny's first vehicle, and she treats me well. My tyres have nitrogen in them to stop them from exploding, and I am heavily insulated as well." He grinned. Magenta smiled weakly, before shrieking as the bridge swayed.
"QUICKLY!" She yelled. Kelly nodded, and reversed, retracting his hook as he moved. Magenta was yanked forwards, just as the ground disappeared beneath her. Her back wheels smashed into Earth where the bridge had just been, but Kelly raised his arm, lifting her up more. She got back on safe land, and skidded to a stop. Both machines were panting, and stared at each other through the rain.
"Thanks." Was all Magenta could muster, and Kelly could only smile back.

The rain was dying down back at the construction site, but work had already finished up. It was impossible to do anything in this weather. The basement had practically flooded, and Patrick and Buster hadn't got any work done. But they didn't care about that.
Fredrick stayed under a tree, hiding as Nelson took Ned home. Then, he moved quickly across the yard, squelching through mud and splashing through puddles. He went over to the ramp, and slid down, crashing into the water.
"Jeepers! That could fry my engine." The digger huffed, his moustache soaked. Patrick and Buster laughed.
"Come on, start digging!" Patrick said, turning to the right corner of the basement. Fredrick drove through the water, rain adding to his discomfort. He reached the corner and moved his shovel across.
"Found it!" He exclaimed. With one swift movement, Fredrick moved the dirt of the safe. Water instantly poured in, and he quickly scooped it out. The safe was now very wet, but the contents hopefully weren't.
"What are we going to do with it now?" Buster said, staring in awe at it.
"I think we should move it to a different position." Fredrick suggested. Patrick scoffed at this.
"Your engine probably has been fried!" The cement mixer growled. "Why should we bury it again?"
"It would be easier to keep it hidden if we find a better place to hide it." Fredrick said. "And if we hide it, we can find out it's true purpose."
"I agree with him." Buster said. The two looked at Patrick, who sighed and nodded.
"Good show! Now, let's go do it and head home before they start to worry." Fredrick said, grinning. The three cheered and began to move. But they were all unaware that Rex and Mike from the Small Railway had driven past, and heard every word.

Kelly and Magenta were moving quickly through the storm, desperate to get back and tell everyone about their adventure. The lorry was able to move, but Kelly warned her not to put too much pressure on it.
"That was the most thrilling thing I have ever done!" Magenta said, her eyes gleaming and her mouth in a wide smile.
"You have to get use to those sorts of things around here." Kelly chuckled, and the two started to laugh. And they continued to laugh as they travelled down the road. It wasn't into Kelly bumped into someone that they halted. Another lorry was right next to them, looking very displeased.
"Oh, sorry Elizabeth." Kelly said, struggling to stop laughing. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"Quite alright Kelly. Just watch were you're going next time!" She growled. She then looked at Magenta. "Oh great, another one." Magenta's haw dropped, and Kelly started laughing again as Elizabeth chugged away.
"Rude old bat!" Magenta scoffed.
"Oh ignore Elizabeth, she is always like that." Kelly said, moving off again. Magenta got a smirk on her face, and quickly followed.
"Got the hots for her have you?" Kelly look instantly repulsed.
"Dear god no!" He said, and Magenta laughed.
"Yeah, I know you love Isabella." She said. Kelly halted, and the lorry rushed off.
"Hey, come back!" He called, and chased after. Magenta giggled and squealed in delight, and splashed through several puddles to blind him. Kelly tried to catch up, but Magenta was skidding across the road. But all the air left in her tyre left. Magenta started to skid across the road, wailing in fright. Kelly watched in horror as Magenta left the road, smashing through a wooden fence. Her flatbed smashed into a tree, and the lorry herself smashed into the other side. Kelly raced forwards, hoping the nights drama was over. But then he froze, staring up into the tree as something pale started to appear. With the rustle of leaves and sickening thump, a corpse rolled out of the tree and onto Magenta's flatbed. Magenta looked around at Kelly.
"Please tell me that something gross didn't just touch my flatbed." Kelly stared at the pale, lifeless figure, wearing sodden black shorts and a brown vest, the skin rotting and hairless.
"Define gross."