The reconstruction of Brendam Docks was going well: after being abandoned in 1909 in favour of Tidmouth, the jetties were left intact. The Admiralty decided Brendam would be a great port to use for ship construction and weapon testing during the war, thus a reconstruction program was started to bring the port back up to working standard, as well as an area for ships and weapons to be built. Luoc, MacHarold, and Rolf, who was now officially named, would take it in turns to help with this task while also handling their normal duties.

Unfortunately, the Germans found out about this, and this was made clear when the month of May arrived. MacHarold returned to the sheds on the first night of April, feeling exhausted.

"Never thought I'd ever be needed to help with hauling up a new crane," he panted. Luoc was puzzled.

"What do you mean hauling up? Aren't cranes built at the docks?"

"Not this one," MacHarold answered. "It was brought on a flatbed fully intact. I guess they were in a hurry, considering the fact that's not normal. Whatever the reason for that, they attached strong ropes to the crane and I, which I then pulled on backwards to get it upright."

"Jesus! No wonder you're exhausted!" remarked Rolf. "Righting up a crane would take the energy out of any engine!"

"Tell me about it, Rolf," said Luoc. "I'm pretty sure you'd have managed better, especially with your tender."

"I doubt it," said Rolf. "Cranes are heavy, even for me. Not sure why they didn't just use a tugboat to do the job."

"Probably because they couldn't source one," suggested MacHarold. "From what I saw, there weren't many tugs at Brendam."

"Not really surprised: it's been abandoned since 1909," said Rolf. "On the bright side, MacHarold, at least you won't be needed to assist tomorrow."

"I just wish we could get a fourth engine to help us out," said MacHarold. "They'd definitely allow us to focus on the other trains while that engine handles the Brendam work."

"Like what? An Atlantic?"

"Now that would be WAY too heavy," said Luoc. "And that's saying a lot considering how you used to be when you were tenderless."

"Yes, half-full tanks, or track gets damaged. Good thing I have this tender now."

"Remind me: why do you still have the tanks?" asked MacHarold.

"Cost-cutting measure," replied Rolf. "I'm sure they'll be removed when I go in for my next major overhaul, whenever that happens."

"Speaking of major," said Luoc, "did you hear about that Zeppelin scout that was spotted over Arlesburgh in March?"

"I don't know anybody who hasn't," confirmed MacHarold. "I'm surprised it was only a scout: striking Arlesburgh would've done great damage."

"Perhaps they still might," said Rolf. "Scouts can lead to actual strikes after all."

As if on cue, an air raid siren was suddenly heard.

"Me and my big mouth."

A large Zeppelin flew overhead, the engines preparing to brace for impact. But surprisingly, it just floated past Wellsworth without doing anything!

"Phew! Just another scout!" sighed Luoc when it was gone. But it wasn't: suddenly, an explosion was heard. All three engines went wide-eyed and looked. Then they saw lights coming from the south.

"I didn't know fireworks were planned tonight," quipped MacHarold.

"They weren't," said Rolf. It was then that they all realised: the target wasn't Wellsworth, it was Brendam. With their fires out and their crews having gone home, all they could do was sit and watch, hoping Brendam would survive.

The next morning, Rolf was ordered to take an inspection train down to Brendam so the damage could be surveyed. He hoped the damage wasn't too bad, and that the Navy had managed to protect the port. It turned out to be much worse: upon arrival, he was horrified to find that the whole dockside had been destroyed. There was no sign of the Zeppelin, which had seemingly vanished. Rolf started to tear up: all their hard work had been for nothing.

The Fat Director came to Wellsworth later that afternoon.

"With the damage done as a result of the air raid," he said, "Brendam is no longer safe to use. Therefore, until further notice, the reconstruction will be halted indefinitely."

"What will happen to us?" asked Luoc.

"You shall carry on as usual," ordered the Fat Director. "Just no more reconstruction trains." And he walked off. The three engines looked at each other.

"On the bright side, at least we won't be overworked anymore," said MacHarold.

"MacHarold, there is no bright side: people died from that air raid," said Rolf. "How can you possibly find a bright side from that? The Germans will be coming for us next, I know it!"

Nothing Luoc and MacHarold could say would convince Rolf it was safe. He started to do other jobs that took him far away from Wellsworth. He developed a severe attitude problem. It's best exemplified with how a meeting he had with Whiff went one week after the air raid

"What brings you down to the rubbish dump?" Whiff asked.

"Can't talk, must work," said Rolf, and he left with his empty trucks: they were needed at Crovan's Gate to be repaired. He'd been avoiding conversation with everyone since the air raid.

Rheneas happened to be in the sheds when Rolf arrived.

"Hullo, Rolf!" he called. Rolf didn't reply: he just moved his trucks into the Works siding. "That's definitely not like Rolf," said Rheneas. He decided to try talking to him, only problem was Rolf would only come if he needed to take some slate. Thus, Rheneas spoke to the Yardmaster, who agreed to make arrangements.

Later that afternoon, Rolf buffered up to the slate train that was waiting in the exchange siding. Rheneas stood nearby.

"You didn't reply when I said hullo this morning," he said. "As that's unusual, I guess something is bothering you. What's up?"

"The sky," said Rolf dryly.

"Of course the sky is up, it's awake," joked Rheneas. Rolf rolled his eyes. "In all due seriousness, something seems to be bothering you. Want to talk about it?"

"It's nothing," said Rolf.

"I know nothing when I see nothing and your tone definitely isn't nothing," said Rheneas sternly. "If you have a problem, I'll listen and keep it between us."

"Very well," said Rolf with a sigh. He told Rheneas all about the air raid on Brendam, as well as how unsafe he felt now. When he finished, Rheneas didn't reply right away.

At last, he said, "I see why you'd fear that: air raids are unpredictable. But Wellsworth is your home. And if you stay away, you're only avoiding your problem, and that will make it worse. The only way to solve your problem is to face it head-on."

"But what can I do? I could die if I'm struck!"

"But you'll go down as a hero," said Rheneas. "Keep hiding, and you'll live, but as a coward. Nobody wants to be labeled a coward."

Rolf said nothing: he thought long and hard about what Rheneas said.

After delivering his slate, he returned to Wellsworth and started working on the Brendam Line again. The Manning Wardles were happy to have him back, but noticed he was still worried.

"He still seems to be on edge about air raids happening," Luoc said to MacHarold.

"Just because he had a pep talk doesn't mean he's completely lost his fears," MacHarold pointed out. "It will take time for that. We'll just have to wait."

That night, at Brendam, the alarms sounded again. Passengers and station staff went into the nearby bomb shelter. Rolf was just about to make a run for it, when a scream of pain was heard. It belonged to a man who had broken his leg nearby. Rolf made a decision.

"Quickly!" he called. "Get that man on my train! He needs a hospital and we're the best chance he has of getting to one!"

"But what about the air raid?" asked the driver.

"Nevermind the raid, he needs help!"

The crew didn't need to be told twice: they picked him up and loaded him into the cab. With no time to ask for a doctor, the fireman was tasked with making sure the man was comfortable while the driver agreed to do as much shoveling as he could. As soon as they made that deal, a buzzing was heard. They all looked up to see a Zeppelin looming over their train. The Zeppelin's captain spotted the engine and ordered his gunners to shoot it. Rolf wasted no time and immediately departed the station, there was no time to wait for the guard, who stayed behind to phone an ambulance to come to Wellsworth. Machine gun fire destroyed the windows of the station, and tore two trucks apart, before the gunners found their mark.

Rolf raced down the line, his wheels furiously pounding the rails! He had to do whatever he could to escape the Zeppelin, who was firing shots at him and his train. Rolf didn't care about the shots: he was determined to either get his passenger to safety or die trying. At one point, the gunner ran out of ammo and had to reload, but still kept following the train. The shots resumed rather quickly, but Rolf kept going. Nothing was going to stop him, not even fear. It was lucky all trains were stopped to allow him to pass.

At last, the Cornish Engine arrived at Wellsworth and pulled into the station, where the ambulance was waiting, but they weren't out of the woods yet. The Zeppelin was still over him.

"Get this man into the ambulance fast!" he ordered his crew. They did so, and left their engine alone in the platform. Rolf closed his eyes, awaiting the impact of the Zeppelin's guns. Instead, he heard a spluttering. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see the Zeppelin making a landing, black smoke pouring out of one of its left engines. "Huh! Something must've jammed," he remarked.

As it would later turn out, the Zeppelin had been hit by flak, completely wrecking an engine. Its crew abandoned it and made a run, not wanting to get caught by the authorities. The Zeppelin was impounded by the Admiralty, but nobody ever saw the crew in Britain again: their General was not happy with them deserting their Zeppelin instead of staying: in his words, surrender would've been better than running like cowards. Consequently, he had them all dishonourably discharged.

Rolf and his crew were awarded the George Cross for their heroic actions. Rolf wore the medal on his smokebox for a day, until the heat from it started to make it melt. Afterwards, he had it hung in the shed for everyone to see. Rolf still gets nervous about attacks during war, but he no longer runs from them, instead, facing them head-on.

—

"Do you have it?"

"Zat depends: remind me vhat 'it' iss?"

"You know what: The book on ancient history."

"Vhich book vould zat be? "

"The…the book my son asked me to get for his birthday."

"Ah cha, zis book." The man handed the other man an old book. "Now, are you sure you vant to open it? I vouldn't vant your son to be upset you read it before he kould."

"My son knows what I'm like. He'll understand." The man began looking through it. "Here it is. "The Magic Railway". This will please my son very much. Well done my friend. Would you mind to join me for a cup of tea?"

"Danke."

The two went inside the house they were in front of and took a seat in the living room.

"Now zen, friend, vat does ze book say about ze Magic Railway?"

"Just what we were looking for: Information on the legend. According to this book, the Magic Railway has been around since time began. It's said that this is the reason why trains are able to talk: their sentience comes from this railway. The book also mentions a special guardian locomotive, but doesn't say what it looks like."

"Voo kares? Does it say anyzzingkt about bringktingkt back ze dead? Zat's vat our Superior vants to know."

"In that case, let's see…" The Englishman continued to look through the book. "Aha! Here! It says that the Magic Railway serves as some sort of connection to heaven, but the details…Most of those are in ancient Sudrian, and I can't read it."

"Zen ve'll chust haf to find somebody vho kan," said the German. "Undt I zink I know chust ze right person…"

"Who?"

"Vait und zee."

"Well, anyway, the book does say this Magic, whatever it is, contains something that allows engines to awake. If you ask me, awakening comes from the first time a fire is lit in the boiler, that's all it takes for an engine to get going. Honestly, all these other theories, reincarnations, extra-attention, they make no sense whatsoever."

"But vat about rollingkt schtock? Zey don't haf fires in zem. Vat makes zem sentient?"

"Good question. I'll admit, I've no idea. I've also heard not all engines awaken when they first have a fire lit too. A load of rubbish if you ask me."

"Zen how do you explain reports uff engines beingkt built vizzout a face only to grow ein ofernight?"

"Like puberty: some bloom early, others late. But I don't see you coming up with any theories. What do you think makes them come alive?"

"I got nein idea: I'm nicht a zeory man like you are, koHerrte."

As the two men talked, a mysterious golden orb stood outside their house. The orb turned red and zoomed off into the sky without anybody noticing it.

Some time later, the orb flew over the sheds at Vicarstown. Later that night, Edward found himself in a strange, yet familiar land.

"Haven't been here since I formed my bond," he said. The K2 gave a sad sigh. "Perhaps my time has come to join him." As he thought this, a golden orb appeared in front of him. "So nice to see you again," said Edward. "What brings me here this time, my dear?" The orb didn't speak, but Edward understood. "You were right to bring me here," he said. "That is indeed grave trouble. Is there anything I can do to help?" The orb flashed. "I don't know, dear: Thomas is still young: I don't know if he's ready to handle it. He still hasn't…" The orb suddenly flashed red. "Oh you think I'm making excuses do you?!" Edward snapped. "Well then tell me this: what does Thomas have that other engines don't?" The orb stayed red for a moment…then fizzled out, until it was nothing. "I didn't think so," said Edward. "I don't even know why Thomas would be most suitable. Like I said, he's young and impatient." Edward then gave a smirk. "Perhaps it's something else you want with him? Maybe something more, uh, steamy?" The orb, now bright, suddenly went pink. It began shaking erratically. Edward couldn't help but laugh.

"I was joking, dear" the orb went red again. "Come on, dear, you know I'm joking."

The orb stopped shaking, but floated behind a nearby tree. Edward kept chuckling.

"Gods, always easy to get a laugh out of," he said.

The orb began to vibrate, as if saying this was no time for jokes.

"Well somebody's gotten stricter," said Edward. "I remember when we were together, you liked to…"

The orb glowed bright red. Before Edward could finish, the orb exploded. The K2 then woke up back in Vicarstown Shed. "I guess that means we're done," he said. "I just hope you know I will always be there for you if you need me."

Unbeknownst to him, the orb was still nearby. It watched over the sheds for a bit, then disappeared.

"It's good Thomas didn't believe it when Skarloey told him the legend," said a voice. "I've chosen him for a reason. I'll be watching closely."