Henry's selfish actions meant there was once again a lack of motive power on the NWR. The Fat Director knew this and decided to look for another engine. After two weeks of searching, he stumbled on an actual Atlantic, one in London Victoria.
"This will do nicely," said the Fat Director. "The NWR could definitely use one of these."
A K Class was nearby and overheard.
"You're Sir Topham Hatt, right? Sir, I must implore you, bringing a Brighton Atlantic to your railway isn't a good idea."
"And why ever not? They're reliable, steadfast…"
"They also bullied your E2," interrupted the K Class. "Yes, I know about Thomas: he and I were friends before you bought him. In fact, with the exception of Ivy and I, all the engines on this railway bullied him."
"Look, if you wanted me to pick you, I can't: I already have enough goods engines, I need another express engine."
"I didn't ask you to pick me," said the K Class. "I gave you a warning. You're better off taking me or Ivy than somebody Thomas had trouble with. If you still insist on bringing a Brighton Atlantic, that's fine, but whether you like it or not, I'm coming too: I ain't letting Thomas get bullied by them again."
Arrangements were made with Charles C. Macrae, the Chairman of the LBSCR. The Fat Director chose an Atlantic and both it and the K steamed off for Sodor.
A month passed. On Friday the thirteenth of May, Thomas was busy shunting in Vicarstown when a whistle was heard.
"That sounds familiar, but it can't be."
At that moment, an LBSCR K Class steamed in.
"Hello there, Thomas, long time no see!"
"Lawson?! Is that really you?!"
"Indeed it is, cousin!" chuckled Lawson. "I managed to convince your director to let me help out."
"Wow! I never thought I'd see you again! How's Ivy?"
"She's doing fine," replied Lawson. "Haven't seen her for a while, but I know she's doing fine. As for why I'm here, well, I chose to come because, well…" his joyful face turned to one of seriousness. "This engine behind me, she's what Sir Topham wanted and I knew there would be trouble if she didn't come with me."
He was referring to an umber Atlantic bearing the number of 425 and a nameplate that read "Trevose Head".
"Well, if it isn't 105! My favorite slave," said the Atlantic. "I thought the war had destroyed you."
"The name's Thomas, not 105, Trevose," said the E2. "And I'm not your slave. If anything, you're MY slave."
"Hmm. Seems like you forgot your place. Let me show you once again."
She tried to bump Lawson, but he held firm.
"You must be blind, Trevose," said Thomas cheekily. "I mean, have you SEEN my side tanks?"
Trevose took a look, and was surprised to see a large number one!
"Number one?! Impossible! You're a tank engine, you don't deserve to be number one!"
"And YOU don't deserve to be pulling trains, but you're still doing so," retorted Thomas.
At that moment, two other engines closed in, those being Lily and Edward.
"What's all this fighting going on?" Edward asked. "I didn't know we were getting two new engines."
"Why is an express engine like you standing up for a shunter?" asked Trevose.
"Because Thomas is my friend," Edward replied firmly.
"Friend?! He's your servant, if anything. How you treat him is up to you, but some punishment is never a bad idea."
Edward was outraged, but it was Lily who spoke.
"Thomas isn't a servant, he's his own independent engine!" she shouted. "You touch one buffer on him, I'll do something ten times worse to you, bitch!"
Edward and Thomas stared in disbelief. Lily of all engines had stepped up to defend Thomas.
Conan's lunch break ended around that moment, and he began his return to work, in time to hear what Trevose said next.
"Trying to gain status, are you, 105? Well, no matter if your girlfriend is an express engine, you're still a lowly servant," she said. At this, Conan grew furious.
"Thomas isn't a servant," he said, storming up to her.
"And you are? Why do you bother driving a tank engine? Express engine drivers get better pay."
"I don't know how you knew I was his driver," said Conan, but it's not about pay: hard work is what matters."
"Sure. You'll next say you have a bond with him," said Trevose. The engines groaned: her sarcastic attitude was getting on everyone's nerves.
Thomas outright refused to shunt for Trevose, meaning she had to get coaches herself. She didn't like this at all, and complained bitterly.
"Where's my train?! 105, shunt my train at once!"
"Shunt it yourself, bitch! And I told you: I'm Thomas, always have, always will be!"
He steamed off, wheeshing as he did so.
Lawson watched from a distance, rather impressed.
"I guess she's not so tough when she's alone," he said.
Thinking he was causing Thomas to act like this, Trevose tried to ambush Conan when he left for some water around 18:12 pm. She failed miserably. She was furious about this.
"Did you really think you could strike a human when he's not on the rails?" Lawson asked. "Honestly, you're either desperate or stupid to try anything like that." He then went into the sheds to join Thomas, who was talking to Luci.
"How bad were the Atlantics in your home, Thomas?" he asked.
"Ruthless," answered Thomas. "They all bullied and bossed me, treating me like a slave. They even got violent several times."
"How violent?" asked Luci.
All Thomas said was, "Very."
"Can't really blame you for not wanting to talk about it," said Lawson. "I mean, they were brutes. Not sure why. What were the GCR Atlantics like?" he asked Luci.
"More reasonable than your Brighton ones," answered Luci. "Many disliked shunting their own trains, but unlike the Brightons, they never resorted to violence."
"Wish I'd worked with those."
At the same time,Conan was talking to Jewelie, who had become shedmaster from her own effort, as well as some strings pulled by the Fat Director and Lord Harwick to appease the other directors, who still weren't pleased about a woman working on the railway, especially outside of wartime.
"We can't let her sleep near Thomas. She'll try to push him off the rails."
"Leave it to me, honey. See you at the house."
Jewelie gave him a kiss before heading towards the sheds.
Once there, she made her presence known to Trevose.
"You go sleep in the goods shed. It's an order," she said. "There is no need for bullies on this railway."
"Who are you to command me?"
"Your shedmaster," said Jewelie. "Now do as I say."
"Pull the other one: there's no way a woman could be shedmaster," snorted Trevose. "I'll sleep where I please."
"Is that so? Well then," said Jewelie, giving a smirk, "you can sleep out here."
"Where?"
"Right where you're standing," replied Jewelie. "Where it will be dark, cold, lonely…"
"THAT'S THE SAME AS THE GOODS SHED!" shrieked Trevose.
"No it isn't: the goods shed is warm and toasty, and you'll have trucks for company," Jewelie replied. "And trust me: trucks love to chat."
"Ew! No way no way no way no way!" shouted Trevose.
"Shut up and do as she says!" Lily shouted. "You don't want to make Jewelie Owens angry. I did once, and she made me sleep in the open."
"Is that the best she can do? I'm not afraid, then," snorted Trevose.
"Oh that's not all," replied Lily. "She can also make it so that while you sleep, someone slips stone dust in your firebox. Do you know what that does to you?"
Trevose gulped: she didn't like the idea of stone dust getting into her firebox. Reluctantly, she agreed to sleep in the goods shed.
"Thanks for that, Jewelie," said Thomas.
"It's nothing. Now, if you excuse me, I'll go home. Night everyone."
For all her faults, Trevose proved to be a hard worker: she was able to keep the express going to time more so than Henry, even managing to keep ahead of the schedule a few times! Thomas made sure to keep his distance from her, but when he couldn't he made sure Trevose couldn't push him around.
"I've got my own work to do bitch! If you need that done so urgently, do it yourself!"
At last Trevose had enough.
"Do you want me to try to tear you apart again?!" she threatened.
"By all means, go ahead," smirked Thomas. "Nobody here is willing to help you. Now shove off before I bump you!"
Furious, Trevose steamed off, thinking of ways to put Thomas back into line. As she pondered, she ended up encountering a blue cabless 4-4-0 tank engine.
"You're an unusual engine," she remarked.
"What, never seen an underground engine before?" asked Bluey.
"Underground? Don't be so daft: you're not underground!"
"I used to be though," said Bluey. "Metropolitan Railway it was, I hauled passenger trains along the London Underground, even used on permanent way when electrics started taking over."
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Trying to destroy Thomas," said Bluey.
"You hate that little bug too?"
"Yes: got my boss sent off this island, he did. Now my brother Greeny and I are trying to finish what my boss wanted to start."
"You know," said Trevose, "I think you and I should team up: we both have the same goal."
"You wanna destroy Thomas too?" Bluey asked.
"Not destroy, just remind him of his place," said Trevose. "He refuses to let me push him around like he's supposed to."
"He feared you?"
"Yes, he did," said Trevose. "And now he will again, if you help me."
"What's the plan?" asked Bluey, giving a smirk.
"We tear him in half. Literally."
Someone overheard the conversation. Lily happened to be on a goods train that was being loaded.
"They're going to kill him… I must put a stop to this!"
She told her driver, who had the fireman tell the guard, then left before the train could be coupled.
Meanwhile, Thomas was sleeping after a particularly busy morning. He was suddenly awoken by a loud crash! He opened his eyes to see Lily and Trevose both derailed.
"What is wrong with you?!" demanded Trevose.
"Shut up! You wanted to kill Thomas!" Lily shouted. "I overheard you planning with Bluey! Both of you would couple up and move in opposite directions to pull him apart!"
"Nonsense! Your fat man won't like me getting damaged by you!"
"And he doesn't approve of bullies either," thundered a familiar voice.
"Oh, thank goodness you are here! Lily tried to kill me! She must be sent away!" Trevose claimed.
"Do you really think you can lie to me?" asked the Fat Director. "Lily's guard told me everything. And it just so happens I don't need you anymore."
"Sir, you can't be…"
"He most certainly is," said Thomas, steaming on over. "You're not a controller, Trevose, you're a selfish, vindictive bitch who only thinks about herself. And you're the one who tried to resort to murder, hearing Lily mention Bluey is all I needed to hear. My name isn't 105, it's Thomas. And if I see you here again, I'll make you wish you hadn't returned!"
"No! I'll never leave! You can't do that to me! I'll be scrapped alive if I'm sent back!"
"No you won't, you're making excuses!" snapped Thomas. "And if the Fat Director says he doesn't want you, he doesn't want you." He bumped into her. "And neither do I!"
"Please sir! My class is being retired! Only the scrapyard awaits me there."
"I did my research," said the Fat Director sternly. "Your class isn't being retired. Yes, there are bigger and stronger locomotives used on express trains going to Brighton, but you and your siblings still have plenty of other express trains to pull, such as those going to Newhaven. And even if they were being withdrawn, I still wouldn't have you stay: engines who try to kill others are NOT welcome here."
"I was not going to kill him!" protested Trevose. Bluey came up.
"I got tired of waiting for the signal," he said. "Did you change your mind on pulling Thomas aparrrrrrr…oh crap!"
"You fucking traitor!" she screeched.
"How was I to know Sir Topham Idiot was gonna be here?!" snapped Bluey.
"What did you call me?"
Bluey was about to lie, but realised there wasn't any point: others had heard him.
"Sir Topham Idiot," he repeated.
"Go to the works. You'll be dismantled there. I'm not going to scrap you, but I WILL make you something that won't hurt anybody again."
"Please sir. Don't!" said Bluey, pathetically. "You can't dismantle me for insulting you!"
"That's not why I'm dismantling you," said the Fat Director. "I'm dismantling you because you just confessed to conspiring with this ingrate to murder our Thomas."
Bluey sighed and left the scene.
"You won't kill him, will you?" asked Thomas anxiously. "I know he tried to kill me, but, even so, he doesn't deserve to be murdered."
"Don't worry, Thomas," reassured the Fat Director. "I've no intention of killing him. But between you and I, the Directors' Saloon is getting on in years." Thomas looked puzzled, so the Fat Director explained. "We decided to get a Railmotor to serve as a new one. And now we have the opportunity to build one instead of buying one from another railway."
He turned to the derailed Atlantic.
"As for you. You'll leave today by sundown. Understood? If you try to stay, there will be BIG trouble."
"You'll have to make me leave. I'm comfy on this island," she snorted.
"Then I'll gladly do the honours," said Lawson, coming up with a crane.
"You're not staying?!" Thomas asked in surprise.
"I would, but somebody has to stop her from trying to return," said Lawson. "Besides, time and time again, I saw you stand up to her, even that bump. I see now you don't need me anymore."
"I'll still miss you," said Thomas sadly.
"As will I," admitted Lawson. "But don't worry: I'll make sure to return someday. Who knows? Maybe next time I come, it might be permanent!"
"Bring Ivy with you next time!"
"Oh I will, I promise!"
And he left. Whistling until nobody could hear him anymore.
One by one, everyone left. Only Thomas remained. Alone, he began to think about his dream.
In it, he had seen two people he didn't recognise, yet somehow seemed familiar. That was the beginning, but they looked happy. Later on, the scene changed to a field surrounded by trees. There were some kids nearby and he found himself running. An adult was nearby. On closer inspection, Thomas found that the adult was Aila. It was then that it hit him: this was Conan's early life!
The next thing he saw was a funeral. Conan's grandfather was digging the grave. The grave of his own son. That's why Conan lived with his grandparents: his parents had died. But what from? Were they murdered? Was it an illness? Thomas couldn't know.
The dream switched to third person afterwards. He then saw how he grew up: alone, with only his brother as a friend. The E2 couldn't help but wonder: why were other kids now avoiding Conan? Had he done something to make the other kids avoid him? Were the other kids just being selfish? He then saw how Noah left for war, leaving everyone behind.
He then saw how Conan fell into the water. He saw something bond them. Something that looked like a small steam engine. But it didn't look like any steam engine he ever saw.
"Thomas", a voice called. "Thomas!"
At that moment, the E2 snapped out of his trance.
"Uh? What the bloody…?"
His partner was in front of him.
"I leave for 20 minutes and this happens. What's going on?"
At the same time, Lily was talking to Luci on the sheds.
"Why did you do it?" he asked.
"Do what?"
"Stop that Atlantic from destroying Thomas. I thought you didn't like him."
"Er, well, uh, I don't, just…nobody's allowed to kill him but me!" insisted Lily.
"Oh I think there's more to it than that," smirked Luci. "You don't…like him do you?" Lily went beet-red.
"Shut up!" she snapped. "What would you know anyway?!"
"Well, he's a good match, I think," said Olive, steaming into the shed.
"I… H-Have my eye on someone else!" snorted Lily.
"On who?"
"None of your business!" Lily snapped.
"Calm down, Lily. But seriously, why did you do that?"
The questions kept on going the rest of the afternoon. Lily, however, refused to answer. Does she have a softer side after all?