The next morning, Paxton woke up to find that Dante was nowhere in sight. Upon asking the workmen, he discovered that Dante had left about an hour ago, without getting looked over. Not even caring about the job he was supposed to do, Paxton hurried away from the Dieselworks, hoping to find Dante soon, before anything could happen to him. He was quite worried about the bigger diesel, and didn't want to see anyone hurt.
Dante, on the other hand, was already having a rough day. He had been sent to the docks to take Henry's train, and he was running incredibly late. As a matter of fact, he hadn't even made it halfway there. Dante found himself unable to travel very fast, as his traction motors on his front bogies were causing him a lot of pain, and making a terrible grinding noise. Though he tried his best to ignore the pain, he found it unbearable if he moved at more than what seemed like a snail's pace. Still, he pressed on, determined to prove himself as more than a lousy, defective engine.
Dante had felt something wet dripping down his face, but he did his best to ignore it. Soon, he had to stop at a signal. Unfortunately for him, Bill and Ben were also waiting at the signal, and they both stared at him for a long, awkward moment.
"Hey Bill, is that the—" Ben cleared his throat, "Special diesel the Fat Controller bought?"
"It sure is! Hey, doofus, you're drooling!" Bill taunted.
"Eww, who wants a faulty diesel that drools?" said Ben.
The signal changed, and Bill and Ben puffed off, laughing and making jokes about drooling diesels.
Dante felt hurt by their taunts, but at the moment, the physical pain he was in was much worse. As he started to move again, a loud snapping sound was heard, and he came to a sudden stop. He felt a sharp, searing pain in the back of his mouth as he began to cough uncontrollably. His driver had gotten out to check him over, let out a horrified gasp and sprinted quickly to the nearest phone.
Dante found himself choking and gasping, feeling the same sharp pain become worse, and a sickly wet sensation all throughout his mouth and face. He had broken down many times before, but never this badly. He was utterly terrified.
It ws then, Paxton finally caught up to him. Upon seeing the state that Dante was in, Paxton wasted no time coupling up to him and pulling him back to the Dieselworks. Once they arrived, the Fat Controller was already there, shouting angrily at the same man who had berated Dante the night before.
Mechanics quickly went to work, frantically trying to find the source of Dante's distress. Then, one of them gestured for the foreman and the fat Controller to take a look. The foreman heaved a breath, tensing up, and the Fat Controller turned a shade paler.
"Do everything in your power to save him!" the Fat Controller barked, then got on the telephone and made a call. When he got off the phone, he cleared his throat. "I've called for an engine that I'm well aware some of you are afraid of. I'm having her on standby just in case…" he trailed off, closing his eyes tightly.
Paxton was more scared than he had ever been in his life. He, along with everyone else present, knew that the Fat Controller had called for the dreaded Grim Reaper of the Other Railway. However, it wasn't the Reaper that Paxton was afraid of. After all, he had met her last night, and she was rather friendly. No, Paxton was afraid that he was about to see another engine die. Hesitantly, he looked at Dante, who was still choking, gasping, and gagging. Even worse, black fluid covered his chin, leaking from somewhere inside him, out through his mouth.
Paxton gulped and let out a whimper. He didn't bother asking if Dante was going to be alright, as it was obvious that no one knew the answer to that. Still, things were looking bad for him. The fat Controller wouldn't call for that particular scrap diesel unless he suspected that one of his engines was broken beyond repair. The thought of that brought tears to Paxton's eyes. He felt so utterly helpless; there was nothing he could do, as much as he wished he could.
The diesels that were present all backed as far away from the entrance as possible as a familiar, eerie airhorn sounded. Paxton, however, didn't move. He knew who it was; the mournful wail of the Reaper's horn no longer frightened him.
Moments later, the same black warship with the fearsome scrapping attachment and mangled, scarred face entered the main shed. Before she could ask who she was there to pick up, Dante coughed and gurgled a couple of times, struggling to speak. "D—Da—ni…" he choked out.
Den, Dart, Arry and Diesel all gasped. "He knows her?!" Diesel exclaimed.
"Of course he does!" Daniella said, looking sadly at Dante. "He's my cousin…Dante…what happened to him?"
"He um, bashed his face into a shed door last night," Paxton said quietly.
Daniella's one eye widened.
"Some of his parts came loose, and pierced through the back of his face," one of the mechanics said.
"Dante, open your mouth," Daniella said as she pulled up directly in front of him. To everyone's surprise, Dante didn't hesitate to do what the scary-looking engine told him. However, their surprise turned to horror as Daniella stuck the prongs of her claw into his mouth and began tugging at something.
"What is she—" Dart began.
"She's gonna rip his guts out!" Arry said, looking sickened.
Dante coughed and spluttered more violently as Daniella continued to pull at something. Paxton stared in terror, was she killing him? Finally, with a slow, steady motion, Daniella pulled out a big piece of twisted metal. Her claw, and the piece she had pulled out, was thoroughly soaked in black oil, which dripped all over the floor.
Dante gasped and gurgled again, finally spraying the same slick liquid all over everything in front of him. Then, he stopped gasping. "I…I not feel good…." He moaned miserably.
Everyone was staring at Daniella, who had been splattered with black oil. To their surprise, she didn't seem to care about that at all. Dropping the mangled metal on the ground, Daniella pressed her buffers against Dante's and nuzzled him affectionately. "You're gonna be alright," she said in her soft, albeit raspy voice. "Don't you dare give up, ya hear me?"